Retail Moments of Truth: Getting Them to Work

Posted on October 10, 2012 by bermanevansretail
According to Manthan Systems: “A moment of truth refers to every instance when a customer makes contact or interacts with your business wherein he or she gets an opportunity to form an impression about your brand. Seeing an ad about your product, reading a friend’s tweet about it, visiting your Web site, checking your catalog, or interacting with one of your store staff each represents a moment of truth.” For example, “Amazon.com has come to be associated with the great online shopping experience it offers with a high level of personalization, quick turnarounds on processing, and flawless deliveries of anything from DVDs and toys to electronics and books, delighting customers who transact with it. Visitors to Amazon.com are addressed by name as they log in and get to see intelligent book and music suggestions that fit their tastes and interests, based on past purchases and browsing patterns.”
Click the photo to learn more.

Posted in Online Retailing, Part 1: Overview/Planning, Part 2: Ownership, Strategy Mix, Online, Nontraditional, Part 5: Managing a Retail Business, Part 6: Merchandise Management and Pricing, Part 7: Communicating with the Customer, Social Media and Retailing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

This Is a Big Deal: Black Friday Not Always a Bargain

Posted on October 9, 2012 by bermanevansretail
This post is important enough as a consumer shopping tip that I am posting it at both of my blogs (bermanevansretail.com and evansonmarketing.com). I’m sure that more than a few retailers are not happy with the Wall Street Journal for publishing the story.
Black Friday has traditionally been the start of the holiday shopping season. It is the day after Thanksgiving, when virtually everyone (except for retail employees and crucial services workers) is home and available to shop. So, in the build up to Black Friday, many retailers advertise heavily and run special sales.
The retailer’s major goal for Black Friday is to encourage shoppers who are bargain hunting to buy non-sale items as well. That’s where the profits are.
Over the years, we (consumers) have been led to believe that on Black Friday retailers offer the best bargains of the holiday season. However, as Dana Mattioli reports for the WSJ: “Attention Black Friday shoppers: You’re probably wasting your time. After crunching two to six years’ worth of pricing data for a number of typical holiday gifts, the Wall Street Journal has turned up the best times to go deal hunting — and they almost never involve standing in the freezing cold all night. It turns out that gifts from Barbie dolls to watches to blenders are often priced below Black Friday levels at various times throughout the year, even during the holiday season, and their prices follow different trajectories as the remaining shopping days tick down.”
So, be a CAREFUL SHOPPER and click the chart to read Mattioli’s full report. To see a WSJ video on Black Friday shopping, click here.
Graph by Alberto Cervantes/Wall Street Journal

 

Posted in Part 1: Overview/Planning, Part 3: Targeting Customers and Gathering Information, Part 6: Merchandise Management and Pricing, Part 7: Communicating with the Customer, Social Media and Retailing, Video Clips (non-career) | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Technology and Retailing: Looking Ahead to 2013

Posted on October 9, 2012 by bermanevansretail
Look at this infographic from eTail for some insights about what to expect in 2013.

Posted in 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