What Do Consumers Prefer: Free or Fast Shipping?

Posted on September 22, 2015 by bermanevansretail
As we have reported before, shipping is a vital part of the online purchase experience. [See 1, 2, 3.] Because of this, Pitney Bowes recently conducted a study about customer shipping preferences for the upcoming holiday season.
Jacqueline Renfrow, reporting for FierceRetail, sums up Pitney Bowes’ key findings: 
“Most U.S. adults plan to holiday shop in store, 94 percent, and online, 92 percent. Of those choosing E-commerce, 49 percent will make purchases from a mobile device and 94 percent from a computer, according to the 2015 Holiday Shopping Survey by Pitney Bowes. Shipping is important for 93 percent of consumers, a 23 percent increase from last holiday season. In fact, 88 percent of respondents preferred free shipping in five to seven days over paying to get items delivered in one to two days.”
Check out this infographic for more shipping information from Pitney Bowes.

 

 

Posted in Online Retailing, 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 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Better Understanding and Motivating Employees

Posted on September 21, 2015 by bermanevansretail
Retail employees can have a tremendous impact on the customer experience and customer satisfaction, as even giant firms such as Wal-Mart have learned.  Therefore, employee morale is quite important.
As Jeff Fermin reports for Officevibe:
“Employee feedback is becoming a major point of emphasis as of late, as managers are utilizing feedback to make workplaces better and recognizing their employees by giving them more than the metaphoric pat on the back. The feedback they’re obtaining from employees are coming in many forms, recognition platforms, employee surveys, even employee engagement platforms. And endgame is to give and get information from the employee and managers.”
“But before we can improve, we have to look at what’s wrong. So here are some important statistics on employee feedback.”

 
11 Remarkable Statistics About The Importance Of Employee Feedback (INFOGRAPHIC)

 

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 , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Opportunities for Restaurant Growth

Posted on September 18, 2015 by bermanevansretail
Americans like to eat out, and this was so even during the recent Great  Recession.
According to Nielsen:
“While consumer confidence and saving trends paint a picture of relative restraint in the U.S., a look at how much we’re spending at restaurants suggests that dining out is more popular than ever. Data from Nielsen show that U.S. spending at restaurants and bars has been rising steadily since 1992.”
“Not all parts of the country offer the same potential when it comes to patronage, sales and growth. The 2015 Restaurant Growth Index (RGI) — compiled for Restaurant Business by Nielsen — breaks down growth by market and highlights how growth is primarily driven by tourism.

Nielsen

“The Restaurant Growth Index ranks both metro and micro markets. Each metro or micro area consists of one or more counties encompassing the core urban area (while integrating adjacent counties that have a high degree of social and economic similarities).”


 

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 | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment