U.S. Retail E-Commerce Remains Strong

Posted on April 17, 2014 by bermanevansretail
In 2014, eMarketer predicts that retail E-commerce sales in the United States will rise to more than $300 billion — led by computers & consumer electronics and apparel.
Click on the chart to learn more.

 

 

Posted in Online Retailing, Part 2: Ownership, Strategy Mix, Online, Nontraditional, Part 3: Targeting Customers and Gathering Information, Part 7: Communicating with the Customer | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Why Is It So Hard to Compete with Whole Foods?

Posted on April 16, 2014 by bermanevansretail
For years, Whole Foods has been seen as the model for the next wave of food retailing, a chain that focuses on consumers interested in healthy eating.
Whole Foods describes itself as “America’s Healthiest Grocery Store.” “Who are we? Well, we seek out the finest natural and organic foods available, maintain the strictest quality standards in the industry, and have an unshakeable commitment to sustainable agriculture. Add to that the excitement and fun we bring to shopping for groceries, and you start to get a sense of what we’re all about. Oh yeah, we’re a mission-driven company too.”
As a result, many firms have tried to emulate Whole Foods, often with less than stellar performance. Why is it so hard to follow Whole Foods’ lead?
According to Annie Gasparro, writing for the Wall Street Journal: 
“It’s harder to be Whole Foods Market Inc.  than many companies thought. A year ago, interest in the specialty-grocery business was booming. Fairway Group Holdings Corp., a chain of about a dozen stores in New York and neighboring states, raised $177 million in an initial public offering last April, and its stock jumped 33% on its first day of trading. When Sprouts Farmers Market Inc. followed with an IPO in August, it fetched at least $333 million, and its shares surged 123% in their market debut. Today, that enthusiasm has given way to grim reality, as mounting competition and mistakes like overexpansion buffet their operations.”
“In March, Fresh Market Inc., based in Greensboro, N.C., reported a 90% drop in fourth-quarter net income, thanks partly to a write-down of real-estate and other assets, and said it would close four of its 155 stores. In September, British Grocer Tesco PLC put its U.S.-based Fresh & Easy chain into bankruptcy protection.”
Click the image to read more about the problems faced by fresh grocers.

 

 

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 | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Tracking Shoppers from the Web to the Store?

Posted on April 14, 2014 by bermanevansretail
As store retailers continue to grapple with the competition from online firms, they have become more interested in tracking the success of digital advertising in luring shoppers to their stores.
With that in mind, Google is developing a new program for store retailers. In a Wall Street Journal article, Alistair Barr sums it up thusly:
“Retailers have long struggled to determine whether online ads fuel sales in their bricks-and-mortar stores. Now, Google Inc. is testing a way to solve that puzzle. A pilot program begun by the Internet company is helping about six advertisers match the anonymous tracking cookies on users’ computers to in-store sales information collected by data providers like Acxiom Corp.  and DataLogix Holdings Inc., according to people familiar with the test.”
“One participant in the program is the arts-and-crafts chain Michaels Stores Inc., the people said. The other participants couldn’t be identified. ‘We are running a number of tests to help clients use their own sales data to measure how their search campaigns impact sales,’ said a Google spokesman.”
What do YOU think of this concept?
Click the image to see a WSJ video clip on this subject.


 

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 7: Communicating with the Customer, Privacy and Identity Theft Issues, Technology in Retailing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment