The Pre-Store Impact of Digital Shopping

Posted on October 9, 2015 by bermanevansretail
Although the purchase volume of in-store transactions remains dominant (well over 90 percent of consumer purchases are concluded in a physical store), digital pre-store shopping tools are becoming more and more popular.
Nielsen reports the following based on its research:
“Before they hit the stores, shoppers leverage an array of online resources to give themselves a leg up when they get to the shelves. The most common resources are coupon sites and retailer Web sites. What are they looking for? Deals and trip planning tools.”
“Not all categories are equal when it comes to digital influence. Brands in personal care, infant care, and nutritional categories have the highest pre-store digital engagement levels. Social media plays a big role among these digitally influenced brand purchases, but it’s not the only digital forum that matters.”

 

Click the image to read more from Nielsen.

Digital Shopping Stages
 

Posted in Online Retailing, 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 6: Merchandise Management and Pricing, Part 7: Communicating with the Customer, Social Media and Retailing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Measuring Whether Retailers Are Providing Good Jobs

Posted on October 8, 2015 by bermanevansretail
As we have reported before, it is critical for retailers to better understand and motivate their employees. With that in mind, what retailers are doing best with employee relations and performance?
Recently, Zeynep Ton, an adjunct associate professor the MIT Sloan School of Management, did research on this topic, which was summarized in the Harvard Business Review:
“Executives can run their operations in a way that uses people as interchangeable parts. Or they can run them in a way that leverages a skilled, capable, motivated workforce. Both ways can be profitable. But the employee-centered way is a better way — even in low-cost retail.”
“In my research, I’ve found that retailers using an employee-centered operations strategy, which I call the good jobs strategy, have two strategic advantages. First, they differentiate themselves by offering low prices and good service at the same time. Second, they are better at adapting to changes in customer demand, technology, and regulation. The good jobs strategy is a strategy in which everyone — customers, employees, and investors — wins.”
“One question I’ve been asked the most is: ‘How can investors or customers identify which companies in a particular industry are following a good jobs strategy?’ To answer this question, my MIT students and I set out to create a good jobs score. Focusing on the 14 U.S. food retailers that publicly file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), we scored them in a range of 1 to 10.”

 

 Click the table below to read more from Ton’s HBR article.

 

Posted in Career Useful Information, Careers in Retailing, Part 1: Overview/Planning, Part 2: Ownership, Strategy Mix, Online, Nontraditional, Part 5: Managing a Retail Business | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Fighting Credit Card Fraud

Posted on October 7, 2015 by bermanevansretail
Credit card fraud costs retailers, consumers, banks, and credit card firms billions and billions of dollars worldwide — and that only includes the fraud we know about, not the fraud that goes unreported.
This post focuses on online credit card fraud. As HubSpot notes:
“Credit card chargebacks can result in tremendous losses for your online store. Not only that, but the financial institutions that back those charges could put you in a sticky situation while investigations are carried out. New technology is regularly put in place to help E-commerce companies weed out the fraudulent charges, but they become obsolete the moment criminals discover new ways of stealing. While you simply can’t catch everything, there are some things you can keep your eyes peeled for. These 10 tips will help you cut down on credit card fraud, which will then boost your bottom line.”
  1. Keep Shopping Cart Software Up to Date
  2. Use Any Fraud Detection Features Offered
  3. Match IP Address and Credit Card Address
  4. Monitor Expedited Shipping
  5. Target Suspicious Email Addresses
  6. Compare Credit Card Entries to Users
  7. Require the Security Code
  8. Request Signatures Upon Delivery
  9. Investigate Non-Physical Shipping Addresses
  10. Ask for More Identification

 

Click the image to read more about each tip.

 

 

Posted in Online Retailing, Part 2: Ownership, Strategy Mix, Online, Nontraditional, Part 5: Managing a Retail Business, Part 6: Merchandise Management and Pricing, Privacy and Identity Theft Issues | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments