Zappos and Customer Service

Zappos is highly regarded for its excellent customer service and motivated employees. Zappos’ goal is to “wow” its shoppers.
As Barry Glassman, writing for Forbes, puts it: “Knowing what clients want and developing ways to meet those needs is the basis of creating tangible opportunities that exceed their expectations.  Zappos invested their money in customer service rather than in expensive marketing campaigns.  Their time is spent observing and tracking customer behavior with the on-going goal of creating more personal emotional connections with its customers.  This speaks volumes as they put their precious resources (money and time) into creating customers for life.”
Click the image to read more from Glassman.

 

Posted in Online Retailing, 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 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Dynamic Pricing in Online Retailing

As we know, many retailers frequently change their prices online — a practice known as dynamic pricing. And this tactic is becoming even more popular.
According to research by Dynamite Data, a large number of retailers stepped up their use of dynamic pricing in 2012 as compared to 2011.
Click the chart to read more from eMarketer.

 

 

Posted in Online Retailing, Part 3: Targeting Customers and Gathering Information, Part 6: Merchandise Management and Pricing, Part 7: Communicating with the Customer, Technology in Retailing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Facebook Tagging on Hangers?

Many retailers recognize the importance of Facebook and are actively involved with this social media platform. Some are going to highly unusual lengths to engage their customers.
Consider this approach, as reported by Meghan Kelly for Venturebeat.com: “Facebook is constantly absorbing our real-life data that we contribute to the social network, but one Brazilian clothing store is taking Facebook’s data and throwing it back into the physical world. The store, C&A, is putting ‘real-time Likes’ counters on its hangers in retail locations around Brazil. The Like data is taken from C&A’s Facebook page, where the company has listed its various wares for people to interact with. When a person Likes an item, that Like shows up on the hanger. It is meant to help customers with purchasing decisions. If they are unsure of one item, they can see how many people online think the product is a good buy.”
Click the image to read more.

 

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, Social Media and Retailing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment