The Importance of Digital Tools During the Shopping Process: A Global Study

Posted on December 10, 2012 by bermanevansretail
As eMarketer reports: “Consumers have different expectations and preferences for customer service depending on where they are in the purchase journey and the types of questions they have. A 2012 global customer experience study sponsored by Capgemini found that social media were most important in the awareness stage (learning about products and promotions), while smartphones were most valuable in the delivery and after-sales care stages.”
Click the chart to learn more.

 

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

Macy’s Two Days of Christmas Blitz: Open 48-Plus Hours Straight

Posted on December 9, 2012 by bermanevansretail
To pump up holiday sales, Macy’s will be open nationwide from 7:00 AM on Friday December 21 until midnight Sunday December 23.
As Caroline Winter reports for Businessweek: “American retailers have never been shy about extending their operating hours during the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas, when most of their profits are made. But last-minute holiday shopping just got more extreme: Macy’s, the nation’s second-largest department store chain, today announced that it will keep doors open at most locations for 48 hours straight  during the weekend before Christmas. The retailer’s now-misnamed ‘One Day Sale’ will last from 7 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 21, until 7 a.m. on Sunday, Dec. 23. At that point, the sale will end, but Macy’s will remain open for the remainder of the day.”
Click the photo to read more.

Photo by by Peter Foley/Bloomberg

 

Posted in Online Retailing, 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

Innovative Digital Technology from Build-A-Bear

Posted on December 8, 2012 by bermanevansretail
Build-A-Bear Workshop continues to be a master of innovation.
As recently reported by Marianne Wilson for Chain Store Age: “Build-A-Bear Workshop has gone high-tech. The company has unveiled a new store environment that combines its signature hands-on bear-making experience with innovative digital technology designed to appeal to today’s tech-savvy kids. ‘The new design provides a fresh experience for a new generation of kids, while keeping the aspects of our experience that has been loved by kids and resulted in over 100 million stuffed animals being made in our stores,’ said Maxine Clark, founder and CEO, Build-A-Bear Workshop, St. Louis. ‘It allows guests of all ages to personalize the bear-making process and offers them a different experience each time they visit a Build-A-Bear Workshop store.’”
Click the photo to read more from Wilson.

 

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, Technology in Retailing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment