Retail Not Bubbling As Much Today

Posted on April 25, 2017 by bermanevansretail
As we have noted several times before (for example, see 1, 2, 3), these are tough times for many retailers around the globe, not just from the United States. The new Wall Street Journal chart (below) sums things up nicely for the U.S.
Suzanne Kapner reports for the WSJ that:
“The seeds of the industry’s current turmoil date back nearly three decades, when retailers, in the throes of a consumer-buying spree and flush with easy money, rushed to open new stores. The land grab wasn’t unlike the housing boom that was also under way at that time. ‘Thousands of new doors opened and rents soared. This created a bubble, and like housing, that bubble has now burst.’ Richard Hayne, chief executive of Urban Outfitters Inc., told analysts last month.”
“The over-storing, including the influx of fast-fashion and off-price chains, resulted in a brutally competitive landscape that made it difficult for retailers to raise prices. ‘A pair of men’s dress pants costs less today than they did a decade ago,’ Manny Chirico, chief executive of Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger parent PVH Inc., said in a recent interview.”

 

 

Posted in Part 1: Overview/Planning, Part 8: Putting It All Together | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Who’s on Top with E-Commerce?

Posted on April 24, 2017 by bermanevansretail
It’s no surprise that Amazon is the leading online U.S. retailer. But would you be surprised to learn that Amazon’s online revenues for its most recent year were greater than the next 14 U.S. retailers COMBINED (according to eMarketer)? Or that Apple’s most recent annual online revenues exceeded those of Walmart?
In the following chart compiled by us from eMarketer, E-commerce and store revenues are shown for the 15 leading online U.S. retailers. Highlighted in the chart are E-revenues, growth in E-revenues, E-revenues as a % of company revenues, store sales and store sales growth, and overall revenues and revenue growth for the firms’ most recent reported year.  [Note: The table shows that Amazon had more than $40 billion in B2B revenues].
Among store-based retailers in the chart, E-revenues as a % of company revenues are highest for Williams-Sonoma, Nordstrom, Macy’s, and Gap. They are lowest for Walmart, Costco, Target, and Home Depot.
Click here to see data from eMarketer on many more retailers. Click the chart for a larger version of it.
 

 

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 , , , , | Leave a comment

Are You Willing to Share YOUR Data with Retailers?

Posted on April 20, 2017 by bermanevansretail
As we know, many people are reluctant to share their personal data due to concerns about identity theft, access to private information, and more.
Skepticism abounds, as highlighted by these observations from eMarketer: 
“U.S. consumers offer mixed reviews of retailers’ use of their personal data — and they are generally doubtful that sharing additional data would do much to improve their customer experience. In a recent survey by YouGov, commissioned by customer acquisition and engagement platform [24]7, U.S. consumers were asked about their experience with companies that had access to their personal data.”
“The respondents were of roughly equal minds about retailers’ use of their personal data, with 42% saying that generally retailers had put it to good use, and 48% saying that they had not. But the respondents were much less likely to expect a better experience from sharing additional data. In this case, 46% were doubtful that additional data would result in a better customer experience, compared with 36% who were generally confident it would improve things.”

 

 

Posted in 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 | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment