Where Wearables Are Headed in 2016

Posted on January 13, 2016 by bermanevansretail
Over the last couple of years, there has been a flood of wearable technology — from smart watches to pure activity trackers such as Fitbit. So, what’s likely to happen in 2016?
These are 2016 predictions from James A. Martin, writing for CIO.com:
  • “The popularity of wearables will continue to mount.”
  • “Smartwatches won’t kill off dedicated activity trackers.”
  • “Fitbit will remain king of the activity trackers. [But] Competition will heat up for Fitbit.”
  • “Fitbit will add ‘advanced sensors’ to maintain a competitive edge.”
  • “Wearable apps will become more sophisticated — and expensive.”
  • “Hackers will target wearables.”
  • “Athletes will embrace ‘smart clothing’.”
  • There will be more of a “focus on sleep.”
  • “Niche wearables will become commonplace.”
  • “Activity trackers will remind more people to stand up.”
  • “Traditional watch makers will add ‘smart’ elements.”
Click here to read a lot more from Martin.

 

Posted in Part 1: Overview/Planning, Part 2: Ownership, Strategy Mix, Online, Nontraditional, Part 3: Targeting Customers and Gathering Information, Part 6: Merchandise Management and Pricing, Part 7: Communicating with the Customer, Technology in Retailing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Slow North American Retail Growth Ahead

Posted on January 11, 2016 by bermanevansretail
United States and Canadian retailers are forecast to be in a slow to moderate growth mode well into the future.
According to an eMarketer study:
“Despite steady growth of 3%, which puts the U.S. ahead of Canada’s rate of increase, the country’s retail market will lose share of the worldwide total over eMarketer’s forecast period as retailing in developing markets grows more quickly.
“The vast majority of 2015’s nearly $5 trillion in U.S. retail sales occurred in stores; retail E-commerce accounted for just 7.1% of all retail sales (though that share is growing). By 2019, eMarketer estimates that 9.8% of U.S. retail sales will be transacted over the internet. The 2015 E-commerce share was slightly behind Western Europe, where 7.5% of retail sales were transacted online. In Asia-Pacific, the share was 10.2%, the highest in the world.”
Click the  chart to read more.


 

Posted in Part 1: Overview/Planning, Part 2: Ownership, Strategy Mix, Online, Nontraditional, Part 3: Targeting Customers and Gathering Information, Part 4: Store Location Planning, Part 5: Managing a Retail Business, Part 6: Merchandise Management and Pricing, Part 7: Communicating with the Customer, Part 8: Putting It All Together | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Do Company Ethics Affect Consumer Behavior?

Posted on January 7, 2016 by bermanevansretail
Do consumers really care about whether companies are ethical when they decide to patronize them? Or are other attributes (such as brand loyalty, price, convenience, assortment, etc.) so important to consumers that they ignore ethical issues when making a purchase decision?
As reported by Emarketer, Mintel and Lightspeed GMI recently conducted a large study on this topic. Companies should pay attention to and behave appropriately with regard to the findings:
“Consumers might not reward a company they believe is ethical, but many are likely to punish a company they perceive to be unethical, according to a 2015 study. Mintel and Lightspeed GMI surveyed 2,000 U.S. adult Internet users. More than half of respondents said they stop buying products when they believe a company is unethical. Over one-third of Internet users said they would tell others and 26% of respondents would do neither of those things.”
Click the chart to read more about the ethics study.


 

Posted in Part 1: Overview/Planning, Part 2: Ownership, Strategy Mix, Online, Nontraditional, Part 3: Targeting Customers and Gathering Information, Part 5: Managing a Retail Business, Part 7: Communicating with the Customer | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments