A Multimedia Look at Couponing

Posted on October 25, 2014 by bermanevansretail
Couponing is alive and well. The big difference today: Print coupons are not nearly as popular as they were in the past; but other forms of coupons have gained popularity.
As Vouchercloud.com reports:
“The concept of launching a coupon or promotional campaign might initially seem to be an easy task for businesses to consider, perhaps it seems relatively simple to offer 25% off or offer free shipping over a bank holiday weekend. However to really maximize the potential a coupon campaign can deliver, a business must carefully plan their campaign strategy and assess consumer shopping behavior.
Many businesses fail to benefit by offering promotions which compromise their profits, fail to market their business, and de-value their products due to regular campaigns running in quick succession or by offering significantly high price reductions. Others fail to promote their campaigns adequately and might simply post one update through social media channels in a bid to market their promotion, and subsequently their business and expect results.”
Here is a great infographic look at the evolution of coupons from Vouchercloud.com.

Posted in Global Retailing, Online Retailing, Part 3: Targeting Customers and Gathering Information, Part 6: Merchandise Management and Pricing, Part 7: Communicating with the Customer | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Retail Assortments: The Power of Color

Posted on October 24, 2014 by bermanevansretail
A crucial part of merchandising involves the retailer’s product assortment with regard to colors, styles, sizes, and so forth. Do you realize how important that color is in driving retail sales and profit?
Consider this research by Stitch Labs:
“To uncover the impact of color choice when selling products, our data team analyzed the sales of products sold that had color as a product option over the course of one year. Although the types of products vary, most of them were apparel or accessories. We wanted to answer the question: ‘Does product color mix impact revenue for retailers? If so, what are the patterns and how can we mine our data to help retailers make smarter purchasing decisions?’”
“We hypothesized that getting color mix wrong can directly affect a business’ revenue. For example, we thought that offering too many colors might spread per color sales thin and make purchasing items difficult because suppliers require a certain minimum of a particular SKU. For example, say you have to buy 500 shirts of a certain color as a minimum from your supplier. If you offer too many colors, is it smart to stock that many units of items that potentially won’t sell? But on the other hand, does offering too few colors turn customers away, decreasing sales?”
Look at the infographic below to see highlights of Stitch Labs’ findings.

Posted in 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 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Retailers That Get the Value of Loyalty Programs

Posted on October 23, 2014 by bermanevansretail
As we have noted before, several retailers have dropped or cut back on their customer loyalty programs. And we have questioned the wisdom of those decisions — especially in today’s highly competitive cross-channel marketplace.
So, take a look at this infographic from Visual.ly that features some retailers around the globe that do get the value of customer loyalty programs.

 

The Best Loyalty Cards Around

 

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