Consumer-Driven Retail Trends

Posted on February 15, 2013 by bermanevansretail
Bazaar Voice recently published a report on key consumer trends. It noted that: “The rise of social is shaking up things in surprising ways. What does this mean for retailers? Everything. It means the competition, which has already been fierce, won’t get any easier. It means there’s a huge opportunity to capture new market share — and a substantial risk of losing market share to retailers who can execute effective strategies that address social, mobile, and big data. To succeed, retailers need to leverage five trends that are currently transforming the retail landscape. Retailers that embrace these trends and incorporate them into their strategy can realize higher conversions and larger transaction sizes.”
The five trends identified by Bazaar Voice are: (1) Shopping is becoming more social. (2) Millennials — those born between 1978 and 1995 — are becoming more important. (3) Mobile is becoming even more ubiquitous (used all the time, everywhere). (4) Seamless multi-channel retailing is becoming the standard for company success. (5) Big data will be even more important in discovering and reacting to the evolving marketplace.
Click the image to read Bazaar Voice’s full report.

 

Posted in Global 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, Part 8: Putting It All Together, Social Media and Retailing, Technology in Retailing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Shopper Wants Versus Needs in 2013

Posted on February 14, 2013 by bermanevansretail
Now that the Great Recession is mostly behind us (although there will still be trouble spots and ups and downs in 2013), will shoppers be increasing their purchases of goods and services they “want” versus those they “need”?
According to a February 2013 article by Susan Reda for Stores.com: “A year ago, at least 90 percent of respondents cited 10 items they could live without, including manicures/pedicures and high-end cosmetics. This year those percentages are not quite as eye-popping: 86 percent consider a manicure/pedicure to be expendable and 88 percent deem high-end cosmetics to be something they can live without. Still, those figures are lower than the 90 percent and 92 percent, respectively, who earmarked these items as nonessentials 12 months earlier.”
What do YOU think?
Click the image to read more from Reda.

 

Posted in Global Retailing, 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 , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Popularity of Leading U.S. Retailers at Social Media Sites

Posted on February 13, 2013 by bermanevansretail
Retail Customer Experience recently looked at the popularity of U.S. retailers across several social media platforms.
Interestingly, the top 10 retailers differ greatly by social media site. For example, although Wal-Mart has the most likes at Facebook, it is not even in the top 10 retailers for Twitter followers.
Take a look at this infographic 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, Social Media and Retailing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment