Where Consumers Shop by Age

Posted on July 27, 2015 by bermanevansretail
Among popular retail chains, where are people most likely to shop by age category?
InfoScout recently conducted research on this subject. As reported by Jack Neff for Advertising Age, there were some unexpected results:
” What’s the hottest big retailer with millennials [young adults]? Wal-Mart. The reason may be its investment in E-commerce and mobile, or it could be that its low prices resonated during the economic downturn. Or it could be specialty Tommee Tippee baby bottles [ 🙂 ].”
“‘Millennials now, as a generation, like Wal-Mart the best, more so than Generation X, more so than boomers,’ said Matt Kistler, Wal-Mart senior VP-consumer insights and analytics. ‘That kind of shocks a lot of people, including inside the company,’ admitted Wal-Mart Chief Marketing Officer Stephen Quinn.”
“It doesn’t exactly jibe with the perception that big-box supercenters are losing ground to niche brands, small stores, and E-commerce. Mr. Quinn sees it differently. ‘As millennials become time-crunched with relationships and kids coming along, it’s opening up a strong need for them to have a one-stop shop,’ he said.”
Click the chart to read more from Neff.

 

 

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 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Pinterest Pins Becoming “Buyable”

Posted on July 24, 2015 by bermanevansretail
Pinterest is more popular than ever, and just keeps on growing.
Consider these statistics compiled by Craig Smith of DMR: 42 percent of all online U.S. adult women (and 13 percent of men) utilize Pinterest. In the U.S., as of 2015, Pinterest has more than 47 million total users (expected to reach 59 million by 2019); an additional 40 percent of users are from outside the United States. The average visit time is 14 minutes (98 minutes per month). 18 percent of Pinterest users have annual household incomes above $75,000.
Based on these figures, it really is a big deal that Pinterest has now decided to allow “buyable” pins. Here’s how the program will work, as reported by Suzannah Morris for HubSpot:
How Does it Work for Consumers? Next to the red ‘Pin it’ button, there will be a blue ‘Buy it’ button on pins. Any product with the blue ‘Buy it’ button will be available for purchase, directly from Pinterest. Consumers can filter by price and see different color and size options right on the pin. Then, when they’re ready to checkout, all they have to do is click the ‘Buy it’ button and pay with Apple Pay or a credit card. Pinterest is working with payment processors and Apple Pay, so that the consumers’ credit card information is secure. This is initially being rolled out in the U.S. on iPhones and iPads. Desktop and Android users will have to wait for future releases to be able to ‘Buy it.'”
How Can Your Business Get Involved? For the launch, Pinterest anticipates having more than 2 million buyable pins available by partnering with retailers like Macy’s, Neiman Marcus, and Nordstrom, as well as companies on the Demandware and Shopify commerce platforms. If you’re a Shopify user, you just need to add the Pinterest channel. If you’re a Demandware user, you need to contact your customer success manager. Not on Shopify or Demandware but eager to get involved? Pinterest has started a waitlist for businesses to sign up to be notified when future integrations are launched.”

 

Click the image to read more from Morris.


 

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, Technology in Retailing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Stages of Social Media Engagement

Posted on July 23, 2015 by bermanevansretail
At this point in time, millions of organizations (and individuals) have become engaged in social media. However, they are not all at the same stage of development. Some are much further advanced than others.
As reported by Simply Measured:
“Nearly every technology applied to business processes, from change management software to cyber security, now boasts a maturity model. They’re intended to point out how far a company has gone towards optimizing the use of the technology. Social media is no exception.”
“Among the sources of information on social media maturity today, one stands out. It’s business research and consulting firm Altimeter Group’s paper, The Evolution of Social Business: Six Stages of Social Business Transformation. The six stages – planning, presence, engagement, formalized, strategic, and converged – describe how companies go from dabbling part-time in social to considering social in every strategic business decision they make in every department. When a company reaches this final, most evolved stage, Altimeter calls it a ‘social business.’”
In what stage of social media development do YOU fall? What are YOU doing to move further along in your development?

 

 

Posted in Online Retailing, Part 1: Overview/Planning, Part 2: Ownership, Strategy Mix, Online, Nontraditional, Part 3: Targeting Customers and Gathering Information, Part 7: Communicating with the Customer, Social Media and Retailing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment