Grabbed my attention

Out and about the other weekend for a totally different purchase and spotted these from the corner of my eye as i passed by the store.




Thought it was an interesting way to position the product around a shopper need - really dialed up the benefit most people look for in sheets.

Would you have stopped or bought a set?


- Posted from my iPhone (please excuse any typos!)

Before and After

Doing the groceries the other week and these guys jumped off the shelf - a mini "before and after".....

What do you think of the redesign?


- Posted from my iPhone

Made me look

Saw this a few weeks back at the local liquor store - definitely made me stop and check in.

Whilst it didnt have a promo that was relevant to me it got me looking and participating.

Have you seen four square pop up near you?

Watch this space as Facebook gets in on the act shortly..

- Posted from my iPhone

Surprised and delighted

Shopping for a new camera tonight and came across some unexpected surprise and delight in the corner of a big box retailer. The product? Dr Dre's range of noise canceling headphones.




I must point out that they were stocked right next to competing products but stood out because of the promotional stand and packaging which drew me in.

The merchandising and packaging was fantastic - each product in the range told a story that connected it back to music and the passion and inspiration of the musicians involved in promoting the products. Loved too the connection to product (red) which the brand was supporting via a limited edition SKU.







I was surprised by how involved I got - I stood there for about 10mins listening to the music and trying out the whole product range.


Did I go into the store expecting to fall in love with a $799 pair of headphones? No. Are they now on my radar? Yes. Would I love a pair? You bet.

The lesson?
Feeling beats fact. Tell a story. Evoke emotion. Invite shoppers into the brand experience.


- Posted from my iPhone (excuse typos!)

Location:Late night shopping

Retailers need to get savvy with tablets, kiosks and geolocation in 2011

Forrester Research have just launched a report - "Five Retail eCommerce Trends to Watch in 2011" with the key take-out that 2011 will be "marked by an even more disciplined approach toward multichannel retailing, investments in mobile and tablet presences..."

Some topline points:

• Retailers hoping to boost their e-commerce sales this year should focus more on such areas as in-store pickup for online purchases and making shopping appealing for consumers with tablet computers.
• Retailers must boost their multichannel offerings (as evidenced by growth in 2010 of e-commerce spending, including during Christmas)
• Offline (the store) has to integrate online - kiosks as a touchpoint flagged here along with geolocation apps such as Shopkick
• Ads / offers need to be based on shoppers' browsing behaviours

Creating Shopper Value

Enter 2011 and everywhere I go as a shopper, ‘value’ continues to be a promise I’m surrounded with.

And with this overriding observation comes the cold, hard reality that there’s often a gaping difference between what I’m promised and what I get.

Put plainly, it sucks.

Why? Because I end up feeling devalued, duped and disappointed.

In an era defined by choice, channel, connectedness and community it’s a 101 imperative that brand experiences live up to expectation (and then exceed them).

Last year I suggested a redefinition of value from lowest price to best experience.

I’d like to add an additional thought.

And that is, we need to ensure we’re helping shoppers feel genuinely valued.

I don’t want to get into a long spiel about “loyalty” but suffice to say that valuing shoppers needs to become a far more personal affair. As we move from mass market to mass niche it’s the brands that engage us as friends & allies that will win the day.

Take Moose Jaw for example.

Based in the US, Moose Jaw is everything that their competitors aren't. Which is, I hear you say, arguably why they’re so successful. Take their opening description:

At Moosejaw we want to make shopping as much fun as backpacking the Chilkoot trail, climbing in Yosemite, mountaineering in the Himalayas or playing red rover with the neighbors who you don’t like that much but they’re always ready to play any game in the cul-de-sac so you make do.

Hardly a brand you could say no to, right?

This is a brand that lives and breathes the language & lifestyle of their shoppers, interacting with them across multiple touchpoints. Further to this, they live their values and make the shopping experience personal, fun & rewarding in unexpected ways. Take their ‘guarantee’ for example (or should I say “Living Will” ) as another quirky example.

Five thoughts toward creating new shopper value in 2011:

1. Reward shoppers for interacting with your retail brand- not just buying from it.
2. Offer an exchange of value at every touch point through seamless online/ offline integration
3. Stand for something great - create value by having values that are seen, heard and felt
4. Surprise and delight in personal, unexpected ways to strengthen differentiation, relevance and loyalty.
5. Get 'brand mobile' to enable your shoppers to engage and buy from you wherever, whenever.

Key tips for mobile commerce-enabled sites

If we needed more proof that retail is now anywhere a transaction happens here it is.

Mobile Commerce Daily looked at which brands and retailers launched unique mobile commerce-enabled sites in 2010 and listed their top 15.

Note that these are a mix of retailers - from fashion to hardware.

What they've got in common:

• Capitalising on growing smart phone penetration by optimising across key handsets (iphone/ Android/ Blackberry)
• Personalised suggestions and rewards for shoppers when they're in buying mode
  
• Facilitation of pre-shop research and discovery
• Browse-to-buy (online or instore pick-up)...closing the loop
  
• Flexible, customer centric, convenient - on 'your' terms
  
• Real time promos & special offers
  
• Integration of mobile coupons
• Practical assistance (ie: nearest store locations)