Key retail IT trends to watch for in 2011

Key retail IT trends to watch in 2011

1. The use of tablets as part of the instore experience
2. Multichannel fulfillment
3. Better online experiences
4. Mobile platforms & convergence

Full article here

(via retail customer experience)

Mobile Marketer of the Year

Starbucks has just been awarded the "mobile marketer of the year" award in the US.

They're a great example of a (big) brand who has gone all out to trial and integrate mobile into their marketing strategy. I particularly love their use of geo-fencing which offers customers (who opt-in and are located within the geofenced area) discount vouchers for products at their closest store.

According to Mobile Marketers, "Starbucks taps mobile for the medium's strengths: location, timeliness and immediacy, convenience and measurability.."

To read more, click here

via mobile marketer

Creating cross-channel success

In a recent US survey amongst 1000 respondents nearly one in two stated they would be more likely to do business with a retail store if that store had a mobile web site.

This got me thinking about the whole area of cross-channel retailing – particularly as we lead up to Christmas.

The digital channel (defined here as online, web, mobile, apps) is getting a fair bit of airtime lately. I recently wrote about Toys R Us and their iPad catalogue app and today read that Target US (see pic above) have recently launched their own iPad solution. Target are hoping it will help drive purchase intent amongst their expansive and ever-increasingly connected shopper base.

Why does this all this matter?

In a recent interview, Glen Senk CEO of Urban Outfitters in the USA stated that his highest value customers use three or more of their channels and spend six times what a single-channel shopper spends in the process.

Wow. Now that’s a motivation!

Insight? Focus on helping your shoppers shop your brand – not your channels

The US based brand, Moose Jaw is an example of a brand that really “gets” this. Whilst they have a seriously well-planned multi-channel retail strategy, they measure success on the total value of their customers (vs siloed metrics for each channel).

As Jason Goldview from Crossview stated “They [MooseJaw] understand that the more opportunities they create to touch each customer across different channels, the more valuable that customer will be in the long run.”

The other thing I thought was brilliant about Moose Jaw was that they reward customers for interacting with the brand – not just buying from it.

Insight Two? More brand interaction drives greater lifetime value

Brands that successfully implement cross channel retailing share two things in common. First, they know how to manage deployment of touch-points and tactics “in the trenches” (ie: channels). This is important because some of your customer segments may only shop in particular channels and not others. Second, they have vision. They know what kind of bigger brand story and experience they’re wanting to create and use a “helicopter view” to ensure that all channels and touchpoints merge together.


Sources
www.mobilecommercedaily.com
www.retailcustomerexperience.com

Paper to iPad?

In what’s being described by the retailer as a “new and immersive shopping experience,” Toys R Us has launched an iPad version of its famous Big Christmas Book catalogue. There’s a version for kids and one for adults.

Kids can browse the (non-price marked) toys and use virtual stickers to select and place the items they’d most love to receive onto a special wish list. The list can then be shared with Santa, parents and friends via channels including email and SMS. In addition, there is a dedicated section for savings and a store locator making it easy to find the best deals.

As PSFK outlined, online versions of print catalogues haven’t taken off, ‘but iPad versions, with embedded video, as well as the ability to browse whenever it’s convenient and make purchases could be the next big thing’.

Let’s face it, printed catalogues are tangible and cost effective – making them an attractive option to include in the mix. Why spend more if you don’t need to? Research also shows that the great majority of Australians continue to find value in reading printed catalogues (Sweeney Research 2009).

Despite this, one thing is for sure – the ipad will influence and re-shape consumer (and shopper) behaviour. It’s just a matter of time.

One of the key points I liked in the Toys R Us case example was that the retailer was extremely clear about who the catalogue app was designed for (“mums, dads and anyone who knows or loves a child”) and why they’d designed it (“to connect our customers to our brand in new and exciting ways”). They had mapped out a clear strategy where technology was their servant – not master. What’s more, their ipad catalogue app has helped them facilitate a different kind of brand experience – interactivity.

It’s this critical point of brand interaction where the ipad (and other tablet technology) wins-out over traditional print catalogues.

Yes, we’re still a fair way from any type of “tipping point” when it comes to converting print to i-pad catalogues. For a vast majority of brands this will provide a safe reason to ‘watch and wait’ – the “let’s see how others pave the way first” approach. And therein lies the exciting part. For savvy brands, it’s an opportunity to strategise, jump in and take the lead.

Which side will your brand take?

Putting Value On The Radar

Great article on the topic of value - customers want relationships not just low prices

Beyond lowest price - emotional satisfaction is critical

Read it here

Towards A New Understanding Of Value

Earlier this year, the National Retailers Association announced it was going to investigate the effect of continual discounting on Australians’ willingness to buy when goods aren’t on sale. It appears that the collective and seemingly permanent glut of “discount” offers have produced a bargain-shopping monster – savvy consumers who now expect (and regularly wait for) cost savings to appear before purchasing.

And who could blame them? Everyone loves a bargain. Everyone loves good value.

And therein lies the problem.

Across the marketing landscape, the promise of value has become synonymous with discounting. Little surprise we might say, given the recent state of economic woes and the declining middle market. Competition is tight and only made harder by the blurring and multiplication of paths to purchase. Toss in ever-increasing technological advancement and explosion of choice and we find ourselves in a culture where collective consumer expectations of brands have never been higher. We have educated people to expect cost and time savings everywhere. The promise of value is reaching a state of commoditisation.

The more we continue to define value in this way, the more we risk diluting competitive differentiation and true brand positioning.

Let me offer a recent real life example.

Walking up the road to get lunch the other day I stopped in at the local deli and placed my order. Whilst waiting, I flicked open the nearest paper and absent mindedly spun through. About mid way I stopped. Something felt oddly similar. I just didn’t know what. As I backtracked through the pages, it dawned on me that nearly every brand I’d seen advertised was offering a time or cost saving. From large chain retailers to travel providers, the language was wrapped up in the same idea – value.

This perked my curiosity so, on my walk back, I held the thought in mind. As I pondered, I passed by a number of retailers. They were the same ones I’d seen earlier but this time I observed something I hadn’t picked up on before.

The promise of value was screaming out at me everywhere. Literally.

Store after store was using value to drive their competitive point of difference. What struck me was that not one of the brand messages I encountered motivated me to change my behaviour or attitude, let alone move me to purchase.

It suddenly became clear that the more I was promised value, the less I believed I’d receive it. The shopping experience has become saturated with the idea of value – to the point where it now feels narrow, hollow and at worst, irrelevant. It also feels counterintuitive to how many shoppers and consumers define value - getting more than I expected, even if it costs me a bit extra.

With all of this in mind, how do we put the value back into…err…. value?

First, I believe we need to be more targeted and selective about the use of the “v” word in our brand promises and marketing communication. How can you cut through the clutter with clearly defined solutions that solve specific needs of your target market? If saving time and money has become a cost of entry, what else will make your brand relevant?

Second, I believe we need to shift our thinking. What if we re-defined value from “lowest price” to best experience? Through this new lens, time or cost saving can still enter the story but they avoid becoming the entire narrative. It enables us to move brands from a functional promise to an emotion-led experience of value. Innovative brands already tap into this – just look at the rise of destination retailing and sensory marketing as a case in point.

An example of a retailer that I believe delivers “new value” brilliantly is Mecca Cosmetica. What started as an idea in Jo Horgan’s mind 13 years ago has transformed to a multi-million dollar success story. Mecca delivers because they wrap promotions & merchandising around clearly identified shopper missions & needs – not price discounting. Their position in the market is differentiated via their outstanding product choices, unique services and most importantly, memorable customer interactions. They don’t need to ‘promise’ value because they create it each and every time a person walks through the door. Staff are regarded and treated as brand advocates who host the customer experience. Their focus on providing consistently great product and service experiences creates wow-factor, talk-ability and expanded loyalty necessary to driving sales. Their store space is truly a world class brand space.

If we focus less on promising value and more on finding ways for shoppers to experience getting more than they expected, we open ourselves to creative, clever concepts and marketing solutions that drive real shopper engagement, brand loyalty and competitive differentiation.

And surely that's good value for everyone.

The Future of Shopping

Love this because it captures & showcases key shopping trends being seen now with implications for what's next.

(via the brand punk/ resource interactive)