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. 

This entry was posted by Retail Pro on Friday, December 6th, 2013 at 4:51 am .

With the advent of mobile devices and social media, customers now have a wide diversity of channels and devices with which to complete their online transactions. Because of this, many merchants are updating their ecommerce software to adjust for the new shopping experience. While referrals generated from social media only resulted in $148 million of the $2.29 billion in this year's Cyber Monday sales reported by Adobe, the number of customers drawn in by these methods was up across multiple social networks. 

Twitter generated 24 percent more Cyber Monday traffic in 2013 than it did in 2012, while Pinterest grew by 17 percent and Facebook by 12 percent. Pinterest and Facebook were the two most prominent sources for sales through social media, with IBM reporting that the average order amounted to $92.40 and $97.81, respectively. In addition to attracting higher expenditures, Facebook also drove a 38 percent higher conversion rate than Pinterest. 

Merchants should not neglect the growing role that social media may have on their company, as it ties partially into the growing role of mobile devices as purchasing tools. Reaching consumers across all channels will be a key business strategy throughout the coming years. 

This entry was posted by Retail Pro on Thursday, December 5th, 2013 at 4:02 am .

The biggest sales period of the year recently passed, and as some retail industry experts predicted, online spending broke previously established records. According to Adobe's analysis of Cyber Monday, ecommerce purchases reached $2.9 billion on that day, a 16 percent increase from last year. Online sales in general were on the rise, with mobile also a more important factor than ever in how much revenue a company generates. 

"Retailers earned ten percent of their annual sales in just the last five days, an increase of 26 percent [year-over-year]," said Tamara Gaffney, principal analyst at Adobe Digital Index.

Merchants that deployed retail software with robust mobile commerce options may have benefited the most from sales between Black Friday and Cyber Monday. The total number of consumers buying items on their smartphones and tablets rose by 80 percent in comparison to the same period in 2012. Tablets accounted for 12.7 percent of all online Cyber Monday sales, with smartphones generating another 5.3 percent. 

Due to the increased popularity of buying products on mobile devices, Joel Anderson, CEO of Walmart.com, told USA Today that 2013 will be the year "online went mobile." Smartphone- and tablet-based shopping played a key role in Walmart.com's sales, with 55 percent of its Black Friday Web traffic originating from the gadgets. 

Online sales surged upward
Online sales broke previous records every day of the Thanksgiving weekend, and while omnichannel retailers achieved the most overall financial success, Internet-specific merchants captured a 42 percent share of all products sold on Cyber Monday, according to Adobe. USA Today noted that some Internet merchants experienced as much as a 44 percent improvement in Cyber Monday sales between 2012 and 2013.

USA Today highlighted that part of online retail's success is that the channel can provide shoppers with popular products that are sold out in brick-and-mortar locations. While enhanced ecommerce options may be integral to attracting future customers, improved inventory management may also help merchants succeed in an increasingly competitive and diversified marketplace. 

In light of retail trends from the most recent Thanksgiving weekend, merchants should invest in powerful ecommerce software that will be ready to capitalize on consumers' greater comfort with purchasing goods online. With mobile spending generating one fifth of all Cyber Monday sales, allowing customers to easily complete their transactions through smartphones and tablets will also play an important role for e-tailers. 

This entry was posted by Retail Pro on Wednesday, December 4th, 2013 at 3:13 am .

Black Friday recently swept through multiple retail locations, and more so than ever, shoppers were ready with facts about their favorite products – millennials in particular. According to a recent Google survey, 95 percent of the generation likely researched items online before arriving at stores or completing their ecommerce transactions, and this practice will continue throughout the rest of the holiday shopping season. Many of these young consumers sought information online, but some (40 percent) looked into discounts and more in-depth knowledge even as they browsed through brick-and-mortar stores.

Meeting the needs of these savvy, ecommerce-friendly customers may take a shift in how merchants run their businesses, from how they approach their marketing to in-store operations. Unlike years past, TV and catalogs are growing less important, while a strong Web presence might improve sales. 

To better understand the millennial customer and how retailers are engaging with this growing demographic, Retail Pro and Merchant Warehouse will be holding the Millennial Holiday Shopping Trends Survey. By pairing this with a survey focused on millennial respondents, Retail Pro will help merchants derive greater insight into the generation's thinking and habits in order to improve the overall shopping experience. 

This entry was posted by Retail Pro on Tuesday, December 3rd, 2013 at 6:20 am .

With Black Friday having come and gone, many retailers may have found that overall customer spending was down slightly in 2013 from 2012. According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), customers spent an average of $407.02 during the Black Friday weekend this year, while they purchased $423.55 in the same period last year. 

Despite this shift, Matthew Shay, NRF president and CEO, stated that overall holiday spending will still increase by 3.9 percent year-over-year, Multichannel Merchant reported. Shay emphasized that the shorter sales period between Thanksgiving and the end of December has affected purchases, and that many customers have been shopping earlier in response. 

"Retailers are going to be very aggressive with promotions. The ones who are most aggressive are going to grab those holiday dollars," said Pam Goodfellow, consumer insights director at Prosper, according to Multichannel Merchant. 

Notably, 2009 was the last year without overall growth in retail sales. As such, merchants should prepare for an uptick in consumer traffic, both online and off. Those with powerful retail software in place will be able to move the high volume of holiday shoppers through the point of sale quickly, as well as reach the growing segment of ecommerce and mcommerce customers who are opting for online purchases rather than visiting brick-and-mortar locations. 

This entry was posted by Retail Pro on Monday, December 2nd, 2013 at 12:26 pm .

While it is easy to get caught up in the recent mobile commerce trend, desktop sales remain a prominent source of online spending, a recent comScore study found. According to the source, $18.9 billion in purchases have already originated from desktop computers so far this year, an increase of 14 percent from 2012 during the same period. 

Based on current projections, comScore expects that $48.1 billion in desktop-based sales will be reached by the end of the holiday sales season. Only $42.3 billion was generated in 2012. While no one particular day has exceeded the $1 billion mark, Nov. 14, 19 and 24 all individually exceeded $900 million in retail spending from home computers, and these numbers are predicted to be broken in the coming days. 

Even as retail industry professionals adjust their ecommerce software and point of sale systems to account for mobile purchases, they should also look to improve online shopping through more traditional channels. Laptops and desktops will remain important methods for buying products, and enhancing the customer experience through a streamlined transaction process can avoid issues like cart abandonment or consumers turning to competing merchants. 

This entry was posted by Retail Pro on Monday, December 2nd, 2013 at 4:08 am .

Ecommerce is an important step for any retailer to take, as the decision gives merchants access to a considerable volume of new customers. Despite lacking a brick-and-mortar location in a region, businesses can sell their wares to anyone with an Internet connection. The decision is not without its challenges, such as figuring out the best way to deliver goods and manage inventory, but the examples set by other retailers can help overcome these obstacles. 

But just as ecommerce means thinking about a wider variety of customers, it also means considering turning to international sales. According to Internet Retailer's Top 500 Guide, the largest online apparel retailers operate on a global scale. The top apparel and accessories business, the Otto Group, commands 5.8 percent of the industry's Web-based market, and it operates in dozens of countries through its websites and various holdings. 

Along with international sales, Internet Retailer also emphasized that the top online retailers also focus on regularly acquiring other companies. With Hudson's Bay Co.'s recent purchase of Saks Inc., the source stated that the Canadian-based e-retailer might move from its No. 158 position in the Top 500 Guide to one of the top 10 slots.  

International ecommerce can also help brick-and-mortar sales
Those online merchants that prefer to think locally may eventually find themselves competing against numerous international apparel merchants, as is happening in Australia, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. Some of the retailers planning to set up shop in the country with new brick-and-mortar stores were inspired by the success of their online offerings within the nation. The source noted that for e-retailer Asos, sales in Australia were only outmatched by those in the company's native United Kingdom. This suggests that while online purchases can bolster current success, they can also provide insight into new, untapped markets that may be worth investing in. 

Because of the international nature of retail, merchants working within multiple countries or thinking of expanding into them should also deploy versatile retail software capable of working across borders and language barriers alike. These systems should also integrate despite linguistic differences to ensure that decision-makers are receiving the best retail business intelligence possible throughout all online transactions and levels of their operation. International sales can help unlock new opportunities, and robust analytics can assist in these efforts. 

This entry was posted by Retail Pro on Monday, December 2nd, 2013 at 4:07 am .

For many retailers, point of sale systems that integrate ecommerce software are a must. Although brick-and-mortar purchases still dwarf the amount of money spent online, more consumers are turning to the Internet to find the deals and items they are most interested in. During the busy holiday shopping season, some customers will also browse the Web to avoid the crowds in physical stores. 

In Denmark's case, the ecommerce analytics firm Dansk E-handelsanalyse anticipates that new holiday sales records will be set this year. Emarketer noted that digital shoppers are predicted to buy DKK1.2 billion ($207 million) in goods this year, a 33 percent uptick from 2012. About 81 percent of the country's Internet users age 14 and older have bought products on the Internet throughout 2013, and this number is expected to reach 84 percent by 2017. 

Most of the retail spending in the country remains focused on brick-and-mortar locations, but ecommerce sales are predicted to reach 15 percent, up from the 12 percent spent online last year. Due to the growth in Internet-based purchases, merchants should ensure their websites and POS systems are robust enough to handle an increasing level of traffic. 

This entry was posted by Retail Pro on Wednesday, November 27th, 2013 at 11:25 am .

In just a few days, the biggest online sales day will be underway, and retailers will be offering the most considerable ecommerce discounts to their customers all year long. Cyber Monday will put merchants' ecommerce software to the test, and those deploying easy-to-use point of sale systems will be positioned to attract those consumers intent on taking advantage of convenience and simplicity. 

Yet when midnight rolls around on Cyber Monday, the sales will not stop for some retailers. Sears and Kmart announced that their promotions will continue for 79 hours, starting at midnight Central Time on Dec. 1 and continuing until 11:59 p.m. CT on Dec. 3. Imran Jooma, executive vice president at Sears Holdings, stated that this offer is meant to give customers more access to deals during the shortened holiday shopping seasons. 

With fewer days between Cyber Monday and Christmas this year, many retailers may need to improve their typical online and in-store operations to quickly move consumers through checkout and to handle what may be a considerable volume of customers shopping all at once. 

This entry was posted by Retail Pro on Wednesday, November 27th, 2013 at 6:07 am .

During this holiday shopping season, mothers will play an important role in shopping, with recent Adroit Digital research revealing that 71 percent of moms will be responsible for more than 75 percent of gift buying. Retail industry professionals will want to focus their efforts on appealing to these customers, and in many cases an appropriate incentive can convince them to buy more than they initially planned. 

While 39 percent of respondents said that the right online promotion might cause them to buy more than they initially planned, 93 percent of surveyed moms stated that a good ecommerce-based discount could also inspire an impulsive purchase. So while not all mothers will deviate from their holiday shopping budget, many are interested in finding bargains as they research products. 

Furthermore, millennials will be an important component of mobile commerce, with more than a quarter of young mothers between 18 and 34 planning to purchase 50 percent or more of their gifts from tablets or smartphones. Having the right point of sale system in place, with mobile options at the ready, will be critical to serving these customers. 

This entry was posted by Retail Pro on Wednesday, November 27th, 2013 at 4:12 am .