Category Archives: Merchandising and Marketing

by Retail Pro

Brand consistency enhances omnichannel strategies

Omnichannel businesses are becoming the norm, and the most successful ones develop a consistent brand across all channels. Several retail industry studies indicated that brand consistency (like pricing) influences consumer decisions, with customers spending more at companies that are more consistent.

When channels are integrated, shoppers can start browsing on one channel and make a purchase on another, while having a seamless shopping experience. Differences between the floor and the website, such as how products are categorized, are inconveniences that could push shoppers to look somewhere else.

"Retailers are seeing themselves as one brand instead of a collection of [shopping] channels," Keith Mercier, an associate partner at IBM's Retail Center of Competence, told The Wall Street Journal Market Watch. 

With this perspective, companies seek to integrate their online and in-store retail inventory management systems and POS software, which can help businesses make better stock and sales decisions and improve the customer experience. According to The Guardian, customers expect reliability and consistency, but a survey found half of consumers dissatisfied with how brands presented themselves across channels. 

Integrated ecommerce software and retail management software can help build a comprehensive omnichannel system. The key for retailers is to take advantage of technology and retail customer intelligence to craft a reliable brand that addresses customers' priorities.

by Retail Pro

Global retail industry bolstered by developing economies

Global businesses had a successful 2012 fiscal year (June 2012 through June 2013), according to retail reports. The Deloitte report found that the top 250 retailers earned increased revenues totaling $4.3 trillion, despite difficult market conditions. Increased consumer spending, opportunities in developing economies and ecommerce were the major factors that contributed to success for the global retail industry.

"This has served to provide a much needed boost to global revenues with nearly 80 percent of the top 250 (199 companies) retailers posting an increase in retail revenue," said Dr. Ira Kalish, Deloitte's Chief Global Economist. "[S]ome of the top retailers undertook a series of sell-offs in order to remain profitable and ride out the tough trading period."

Emerging markets were a stronghold for businesses based in those economies and for European companies. According to the report, retailers in developing markets comprised over half of the 50 fastest-growing retailers, including Russian, African, Middle Eastern and Latin American companies. Europe's market is still struggling – four European countries were added to the International Monetary Fund's financial risk list, and Germany's economy is growing slowly. Consequently, Deloitte indicated, foreign markets have become increasingly important for European companies.

Ecommerce accounted for about one-third of sales for the top 50 etrade companies, the report found. The majority of these companies used a multichannel retail marketing strategy, demonstrating the efficacy of combining traditional store operations with online marketing efforts.

by Retail Pro

Four ways to improve your retail marketing website

With the growth of e-commerce and the prevalence of mobile devices, a fantastic website can do wonders for retail marketing. Even brick-and-mortar stores that don't sell products online will benefit from a strong Internet presence. People turn to the Web to find local businesses, so search results can have a huge impact on consumer choice.

Here are a few tips to get your retail website into shape:

  1. Use keywords and update your site often. Make sure your webpages include plenty of keywords that customers will use to search for your products. Updating your website frequently, such as with news or recent pictures, will improve its place in search results and encourage people to return repeatedly to the site.
  2. Simple, intuitive design. As Paul Dunay wrote in Forbes, customers appreciate a humble, honest presentation that they can trust. You can also use retail customer intelligence to recommend products that make sense to the consumer, which Dunay said is much more effective than promoting the items that your brand wants to sell.
  3. Plan for mobile access. Mobile browsing is continually increasing. In a New York Times blog, Eilene Zimmerman emphasized the importance of "responsive" design, or website frameworks that stretch or shrink based on mobile screen sizes. This ensures that your website is accessible and attractive for mobile users.
  4. Integrate with social media. The Guardian suggested that social media richly augments search engine optimization for digital marketing. Social media is key for winning customer trust and for word-of-mouth recommendations. Plus, Google now includes social media as a factor in rating search results, the source noted.
by Retail Pro

To meet customer demand, some retailers opening for 24 hours

During the holiday shopping season, customers often have difficulty finishing all of their gift-buying in just one trip. There is always some item they forgot or a store that they could not reach in time, which means that they must make multiple attempts at finishing their purchases while there is still time. This year, some retailers chose to open on Thanksgiving Day to provide consumers extra time to check everything off their list, but with fewer days between Black Friday weekend and Christmas this year, those extra hours may not be enough. 

To help consumers fit more shopping into their busy schedules, some retailers will be open 24 hours for part of the time leading up to Christmas, according to USA Today. For example, Toys R Us will start letting customers in at 6 a.m. on Dec. 21 before finally closing its doors at 9 p.m. on Dec. 24. Not all businesses will follow this model, but numerous Macy's locations will be open until 2 a.m., and similar department stores also plan to offer extended hours. 

Because customers often have only a brief window to shop, merchants will need to deploy strong point of sale software that can quickly finish transactions, allowing for a seamless experience that may encourage long-term loyalty, particularly during hectic shopping hours. 

by Retail Pro

Many retailers are still working toward omnichannel goals

Considering how often merchants must have heard about the importance of omnichannel retail by this point, some industry professionals might believe that the message has been received and implemented across most businesses, or that decision-makers have at least started the process. But according to eMarketer, many retailers have fallen short of this goal. 

While most merchants strive to create a robust omnichannel shopping experience, the source highlighted findings from Retail Systems Research that discovered less than 20 percent of retail organizations have achieved full synchronization, while many were not even working to that point. Without these connections in place, customers may have difficulty returning items to brick-and-mortar stores that they purchased online, or experiencing options such as in-store pickup for their ecommerce shopping. Even companies that want to provide these benefits will be unable to without greater transparency, information sharing and versatile sales platforms. Furthermore, chains could be missing out on potentially critical data that might enhance sales and improve productivity. 

Some businesses lack even basic omnichannel services
According to an IBM Tealeaf and Econsultancy study, even simple offerings such as online information about brick-and-mortar locations and hours do not exist for many survey respondents (37 percent). In every other category, merchants fell short of the diverse options necessary for omnichannel shopping, such as not having a social media presence, no near field communication (NFC) devices for mobile payments and a variety of other services that fulfill full integration of offline and online business operations. Emarketer noted that in-store purchases still dominate across all retail categories, but in light of the ecommerce breaking numerous records during Black Friday weekend, this may gradually change. 

Because many retailers do not quite achieve the omnichannel shopping experience that their customers crave, they should emphasize reaching this goal in the new year. One critical step in this process includes deploying best in class retail software that can easily manage sales, inventory and business intelligence across multiple channels, both online and off. Merchants' systems should integrate so that no matter how customers engage with a business, organizations will be able to readily track shoppers and their purchases. A coupon received online and then loaded onto a smartphone should be usable in brick-and-mortar locations, but this requires a robust point of sale system to accomplish. 

by Retail Pro

For retailers, 2014 means better mobile options, customer data

If the 2013 holiday shopping season has proved anything, it is the enduring power of the online shopping experience. Merchants that utilized ecommerce software capable of providing an easily browsed, simple to shop website were able to benefit from the considerable number of customers who wanted the convenience of Internet-based shopping. 

Mobile a powerful online channel…
In light of 2013's shopping trends, Ed Braswell, CEO and president of edo, recently shared with Multichannel Merchant a few predictions about the role of retail in 2014. Unsurprisingly, he expects that 2014 "will be the year of mobile commerce." He noted that by 2017, 25 percent of Internet-based sales will originate from smartphones or tablets, and that 58 percent of adults already browse items on their mobile device before completing a transaction. 

…but less influential for brick-and-mortar payments
However, he added that mobile wallets are unlikely to see widespread adoption in the next year. Although companies like Google and Apple are lobbying consumers to utilize the technology, these efforts have yet to create substantial mobile wallet use. Because there is no unified method for submitting smartphone-based payments, he suggested that technology compatible with current devices may be obsolete in the near future, which decreases the chance that merchants will invest in the necessary equipment anytime soon. 

Data collection a critical part of marketing
While mobile wallet adoption may be a few years off, better data collection efforts will be critical to providing the personalization needed to target local shoppers. Braswell highlighted that some businesses offer discounts and other promotions that do not apply to many recipients, which leads to poor ROI. To avoid this, merchants should include meticulous retail business intelligence software that can collect data from all levels of the organization and sales. Understanding consumer trends and being able to apply appropriate strategies in a more focused manner will help even small businesses perform better, Braswell suggested. 

As the new year swings around, merchants should invest in ever-more robust retail software options to accommodate the changes happening to the industry. Those businesses that can most effectively utilize their customer data, and that are running point of sale systems that can easily interact with smartphones and tablets, will be well-positioned to provide the personalization and shopping options that consumers desire. 

by Retail Pro

Many merchants are going a step beyond price matching

For many retailers, the thought of haggling with customers may seem archaic, or more appropriate to small shops rather than big box stores and well-established businesses. Yet according to NBC News, the practice has been gaining popularity and may become a mainstay for many stores. 

Price matching or accepting competitors' coupons has been standard practice for many retailers for years now. This was not necessarily that crucial a few years ago, when a shopper might have to pore through multiple flyers or catalogs to find the best bargain. But in the age of ecommerce and easily researched products, the process has become both faster and simpler for the average consumer. NBC News noted that even Best Buy accepts discounts from other merchants if customers could show proof. 

But for some retailers, simply matching another price is not enough. According to the source, a few merchants are beating competing deals by taking an additional 10 to 20 percent off the relevant items. This includes major chains such as The Home Depot and Lowe's, while even high-end businesses such as Nordstrom created price-matching guidelines for their staff, even if these practices are generally not advertised. 

"I truly feel that the shopping landscape is going to change," Joe Marrapodi, chief executive of Greentoe.com, told NBC News. "It's going to be much more driven by the consumer and ability to negotiate."

Marrapodi added that negotiating does need to be consumer initiated, which can avoid the problem of customers immediately expecting to receive a deal on marked prices. 

Do not get hung up at the point of sale
Merchants that choose to engage in this practice will need adaptable retail software that can quickly mark the change without slowing down the line or otherwise impeding other shoppers from quickly purchasing their items. On-the-fly discounts can add complexity to the point of sale, but this should not unduly disrupt the process or complicate inventory management, particularly when the end goal is to achieve a greater number of sales with a larger volume of customers. With negotiation becoming a more common consumer tactic, industry professionals should adjust to the change, or at least ready their staff members with an answer when a patron requests price matching or an even steeper discount on a product. 

by Retail Pro

Younger Finns driving retail purchases upward by 15 percent

Although many regions around the world are experiencing economic improvement, some shoppers are still reluctant to spend more money on holiday gifts this season. Retailers that can meet customers' demands through solid promotions will be able to achieve greater success in otherwise static markets. 

Reporting on a study from TNS Gallup Finland, eMarketer noted that most Finnish consumers (68 percent) will maintain the same Christmas budgets in 2013 that they had in 2012. While 13 percent of respondents said their holiday expenditures would increase this year, this is countered by the 19 percent who plan to reduce how much money they spend. 

However, TNS Gallup also found that younger shoppers plan to buy significantly more than respondents over the age of 50. The purchasing habits of more youthful consumers are expected to raise holiday shopping sales in Finland by 15 percent year-over-year from 2012. 

Unlike other regions, Finnish shoppers are also less likely to shop online, with only 26 percent of respondents to the TNS Gallup poll remarking that they would purchase gifts on the Internet this year. 

To address these kinds of differences, merchants operating in international markets should deploy customizable retail software that can be adjusted to the specific demands of a region, rather than try and apply one solution to multiple countries. 

by Retail Pro

Many consumers driven by instant gratification

For many customers, online shopping is more convenient than visiting a brick-and-mortar location. Based on ChoiceStream's recent survey of more than 1,000 consumers, only 25 percent of respondents stated that in-store purchases are the easiest way to shop. But with physical sales still dominating retail's revenue stream, some merchants may be wondering what generates so much traffic to their shops. 

In many cases, the main incentive that drives customers to buy items in person is instant gratification, with 64 percent of consumers reporting that they wanted products right away. Other issues, such as being able to see, touch or try on items, were also significant reasons for why people still favor stores. 

In light of these findings, many retailers have an opportunity to improve how they run their store operations. Matching the ease of ecommerce may be difficult, but providing a more streamlined sale process can help merchants stand out while still offering shoppers immediate gratification. Best in class retail software can swiftly complete transactions and give customers the sense of satisfaction that they crave when visiting brick-and-mortar stores. 

by Retail Pro

Improved retail intelligence can help boost sales among older consumers

Retail success stems strongly from knowing the customer. Personalization has become more predominant over the years, particularly as retail business intelligence tools mature and provide greater insight into patrons's mindsets and shopping patterns. 

Yet some older shoppers believe that they are being under served by their local merchants. According to Shoppercentric, many customers over the age of 60 are still frequent Web browsers and they will often visit brick-and-mortar locations about every two days. 

"Sadly our research revealed that one in two older shoppers agree that retailers don't think their age group is important, and only one in five agree that retailers value their age group because they have more time and money," said Danielle Pinnington, managing director at Shoppercentric. 

With merchants benefiting from more powerful retail software than ever, being able to distinguish these informed and frequent older shoppers and target them with the right promotions and bargains may result in a sales boost to a sometimes neglected, but critical, consumer demographic. Pinnington suggested that retailers should become aware of the variation among customers age 60 or above and strive to serve them in ways with which they are comfortable. In many cases, this may mean applying ecommerce strategies that are typically reserved for younger individuals.