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Articles by Bryan Pearson
The Big Spending Chill: 5 Ways Gen Z, Millennials Differ
Imagine a crowd of 10- to 25-year-old consumers at one of your stores and a crowd of 25- to 39-year-olds at another. How would each store differ in its merchandise, in-aisle communications and payment options? This is something about which retailers should be thinking. The ways members of Gen Z approach spending are different than that of their predecessors.
Experience, Relevance, Resilience: 7 Ways Consumers Haven’t Changed
If retailers think customers engagement was easier back in 1992, it’s because they didn’t know what they didn’t know. Back then, Amazon was just a sparkle in Jeff Bezos’ eye. People happily crowded indoor shopping malls. No one owned a smart phone. And most retailers had to guess what their customers did outside of their stores. Then came data technology. Over 30 years, online and “mail-order” retail advanced to $870 billion from $35 billion. Mobile purchases are predicted to control nearly .
Is Alt-Health Retail’s Next Big Growth Opportunity?
Ness may represent a legendary monster in Scotland, but it’s also waking a slumbering need in healthcare, and it’s a need retailers might want to set their alarms to. Ness, a financial-tech company, has developed an app that issues reward points to users for healthy lifestyle choices, from working out to getting a wellness checkup. But it also aims to reduce healthcare costs to individuals.
The Age of Individualism
Jewellery has long been used as a cultural signifier denoting status, mark, and even rank, and so in an age dominated by these appeals to individualism, it should come as no surprise that personalisation weighs heavily on the minds of consumers today.
Looking back to make the most of what’s ahead
If the past two years have taught the retail industry anything, it’s to meet the unexpected, eye-to-eye, with more of the unexpected. I mean ’unexpected’ as in surprising channels, unpredictable brand partnerships and even a dose of the expected. Consumer desires have not changed; they still want shopping to be stress-free, convenient, personalised and good value.
Gas Prices Raise Costs In 8 Surprising Ways
There’s a reason the price of chewing gum is up 7% from last year, and it’s not all related to supply and demand. It turns out that chewing gum is a crude habit, regardless of personal opinion. The average 42-gallon barrel of oil historically has produced nearly 20 gallons of gasoline and four gallons of jet fuel, according to Earth Science Week. That leaves 18 gallons for other uses, from making plastics and paint to asphalt and ammonia. And yes, to make some candies and gum.
The Big Spending Chill: 5 Ways Gen Z, Millennials Differ
Imagine a crowd of 10- to 25-year-old consumers at one of your stores and a crowd of 25- to 39-year-olds at another. How would each store differ in its merchandise, in-aisle communications and payment options? This is something about which retailers should be thinking. The ways members of Gen Z approach spending are different than that of their predecessors.
Americans Plan To Spend Less, But In What Categories?
Welcome to spring 2022. The luxury bag may be out. Backpacks, however, are in. Reports indicate that some retail spending will decline in 2022 as Americans re-evaluate their priorities. One survey, by Principal Financial Services, reports that 38% of consumers resolve to spend less in 2022. Left unclear is if those respondents really intend to spend less on everything, or just on certain discretionary items.
Where’s The ‘22 Shopper Going? Ikea, CAMP and Baby Vend Know
Image courtesy of Ikea Bryan Pearson Bryan Pearson Advisor, Board Member and Coach Published Apr 8, 2022 Welcome to spring 2022. The luxury bag may be out. Backpacks, however, are in. Reports indicate that some retail spending will decline in 2022 as Americans re-evaluate their priorities. One survey, by Principal Financial Services, reports that 38% of consumers resolve to spend less in 2022.
The ‘Dark’ Stores In Retail’s Future: Prepare To Be Ghosted
If an order is called into a dark store and there are no customers to hear it, you can bet your bottom dollar it still adds up to big money. Nearly $6.5 trillion in big money, according to industry estimates. This is what ecommerce sales are expected to reach by 2023, thanks largely to new fulfillment concepts including dark stores (shuttered stores opportunistically converted into fulfillment centers), warerooms and automated order facilities.
Age Is Just A Number - Worth Billions In Sales On Social Media
Who wore the Atelier Versace gown best – Carrie Bradshaw at 37 or Carrie Bradshaw at 55? That this is a valid question may be more remarkable than the $80,000 gown itself. But age and influence are enjoying a lucrative co-existence in the fashion and pop culture world that is getting the attention of retailers and brands.
Why Six Big Retailers Are Entering The ‘Service’ Sector
Image courtesy of Starbucks When the customer is your toughest competitor, it’s crucial you get everything right. This may be the thinking of many retailers now packaging up and selling their own in-house innovations, from last-mile fulfillment processes to touchless checkout technology. Recognizing the value of these competitive advantages, a range of retailers, from ThredUp to Amazon, are turning their proprietary tech into revenue streams, and other retailers are the buyers.
7 Retail Technology Investments Worth Watching in 2022
Being out-of-touch is totally in, QR codes are quickly finding a new home and robots are strolling the line between novelty and value. This is what retail innovation will look like in 2022. Funding for retail technology reached a record $29 billion in the first quarter of 2021, as retailers and tech companies sought to blend online and in-store experiences, personalize interactions at every point and elevate their fulfillment processes to make it all possible, as fast as possible.
Looking Back And Ahead: What We Learned From 2021 Retail
Tweet Image: Canva If retailers and consumers think price tags are high today, consider all the non-dollar costs that will influence purchase decisions tomorrow, such as time, convenience and (importantly) experience. Any one of these factors could change a shopper’s choice. Every one of them can coalesce to form expectations that are unparalleled and shifting with every rip of the calendar page.
What’s On Trend for Retail in 2022? 5 Predictions
Tweet Image courtesy of Hy-Vee If the past two years have taught the retail industry anything, it’s to meet the unexpected, eye-to-eye, with more of the unexpected. Unexpected as in surprising channels, unpredictable brand partnerships and even a dose of the expected. Because consumer desires have not changed; they still want shopping to be stress-free, convenient, personalized and a good value.
4 Rules - Retail Media Networks And Privacy
Image: Cava Retailers are finally sharing their customer data with other companies in ways that should deliver higher return on investment with each insight. But when opening their doors to buyers, are retailers creating the right experiences by inviting their customers in, as well? The looming demise of third-party digital consumer trackers, such as cookies, has forced brands and retailers to establish their own affordable ways to reach consumers.
Luxury Resale’s High-Class Challenge: Solutions to ‘Frankengoods’
Image: Canva An outsized demand for five-figure watches would seem to mark a good time for the economy, until one follows the chain of fulfillment. Take the Rolex. A second-hand market for it and other luxury watches is mainstreaming fast because, despite rising global demand, the makers of the timepieces are maintaining tight production levels.
What Does Outsized Demand For A 12-Foot Skeleton Tell Us About Customer Experience?
Photo courtesy of The Home Depot In this story, there are no skeletons in the closet. They are, instead, on display for all to see. Back in July, Home Depot did something unusual: It pre-released its Halloween lineup online, and almost immediately, it sold out of everything. It may have its Halloween past, and an unlikely product smash, to thank. In 2020, Home Depot debuted a 12-foot, $299 skeleton that one would think had a limited market.
What Customer Experience Will Generation Alpha Expect From The Mall?
Image: Canva The most important future shoppers can’t yet drive. But they buy. Can retailers steer them to the store? The oldest members of the next generation of consumers, Generation Alpha, were born in 2010, yet in just a decade they’ve learned to become smart online shoppers. In 2020, 81% of children under the age of 12 were reported to influence family purchases, translating to $500 billion in purchases a year.
Dollar Chain Expansion Plans: 4 Lessons In A Time Of Inflation
There Is Only So Far A Dollar Will Stretch Regardless of a retailer’s initiative, even regardless of opportunity, factors such as inflation could reel back a merchant’s expansion plans as fast as a shopper can spend a dollar. Or, in today’s prices, about $1.07. This could become the scenario for the nation’s three leading dollar store chains, which combined were planning to open more than 1,600 locations this year, according to Coresight Research.
Lessons Learned From The Dollar Chains’ Expansion Plans
Tweet Image: Canva Regardless of a retailer’s initiative, even regardless of opportunity, factors such as inflation could reel back a merchant’s expansion plans as fast as a shopper can spend a dollar. Or, in today’s prices, about $1.07. This could become the scenario for the nation’s three leading dollar store chains, which combined were planning to open more than 1,600 locations this year, according to Coresight Research. That represents nearly half of all planned U.S. retail openings.
Are Vaccine Mandates A Shot In The Arm For Retail Recovery?
Vaccine mandates may not be a popular topic at some kitchen tables, but when the tables clear, those mandates could determine where consumers spend. Most people are back to shopping in stores, and of them, 53% are likely to choose businesses that require employees be vaccinated against Covid, according to an Ad Age-Harris Poll released in late August. This is a headline-grabbing finding, but in truth it shouldn’t surprise anyone.
Matching Price To Shopper: 5 Ways AI Can Help, Now
Image: Canva Who invests a database worth of intelligence into the price of a chocolate bar? Turns out, it could be more than half of all retailers. In 2020, 58% of top retailers said they planned to implement some form of AI pricing technology by the end of 2021, according to research conducted for Revionics, a pricing technology company. That compares with 34% in 2020.
Will Vaccines Be A Shot In The Arm For Retail Recovery?
Image: Canva Vaccine mandates may not be a popular topic at some kitchen tables, but when the tables clear, those mandates could determine where consumers spend. Most people are back to shopping in stores, and of them, 53% are likely to choose businesses that require employees be vaccinated against Covid, according to an Ad Age-Harris Poll released in late August. This is a headline-grabbing finding, but in truth it shouldn’t surprise anyone.
4 Answers To The Hardest Problems in ‘21 Back-To-School Retail
Image: Canva Committed workers are the latest in fashion this back-to-school season. And for many retailers, the accessories that will pull their operational outfit together are trending beyond the predictable pay and benefits. In April, a reported 650,000 workers quit their retail jobs – the largest figure in more than 20 years – contributing to shortages not just in stores, but also in retail distribution centers and call centers. By June, the unemployment rate in the retail sector reached 6%.
How to Make Online Fulfillment a Feel-Good Experience
There are a trillion reasons why online retailers have to pack each delivery box with something that captures the emotion of the moment. The trick is making those feelings good ones, by seeing what the shopper sees when that package arrives. Online retail sales are predicted to reach nearly $910 billion in 2021 – up 13.7% over 2020, according to a report by eMarketer.
5 Ways Fulfillment Can Be A Loyalty-Building Experience
Image: Canva There are a trillion reasons why online retailers have to pack each delivery box with something that captures the emotion of the moment. The trick is making those feelings good ones, by seeing what the shopper sees when that package arrives. Online retail sales are predicted to reach nearly $910 billion in 2021 – up 13.7% over 2020, according to a report by eMarketer.
6 Ways Permission Advertising Gains Shopper Trust
Image: Canva In June, an international coalition of consumer rights organizations and data protection experts called for a ban on “surveillance-based advertising.” Are you surveilling the future of your micro-marketing? The most nimble companies are, and this will likely change how online advertising works, soon. More tech companies are placing consumers at the center of the advertising dynamic, giving them the power to choose whether to be marketed to, and by whom.
How Retail Shopping Hubs Are Changing
What becomes of Main Street when all of its retail traffic is redirected to Dot-Com Avenue? El Centro knows. El Centro is an example of how many retail hubs are evolving to keep pace – we mean literally, as in foot traffic – with a customer base that has grown accustomed to shopping everything online. The residential and retail complex, on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles, California, has recently added Amoeba Music, the world’s largest independent record store, as an anchor tenant.
Best Buy Beta Program Expands to 60 Stores in April
How much does it cost to get a house call from the Geek Squad? For 90 minutes, $49.99. This helps explain the $199.99 price tag for Best Buy’s new annual membership program, in pilot mode now. The Best Buy Beta program, which includes perks such as 24/7 tech support and concierge service, free shipping, special pricing and extended warranties, is expanding to 60 stores in six states in April.
3 Shopper Needs Explain Why These 10 Retailers Are Expanding
Image: Canva Why do people get out of the house and go to stores? Don’t ask the retailers with chandeliers adorning their showrooms or the ones with “pile ‘em high and let ‘em fly” deep-discount bins. More than a few retailers have announced plans to open a significant number of stores in 2021. In fact, we can expect 4,000 stores to open so far in 2021, with 10,000 other stores predicted to close, according to tracking data by Coresight Research.
Simple Ideas That Can Help Retailers Win Wellness Tech
Not everyone wakes up with purpose these days. As the clock ticks relentlessly toward another expanse of (for many) open hours, more people are seeking wellness coping mechanisms. And more are finding them in tech-enabled, retail goods. According to American Psychological Association, 47% of Americans are feeling anxiety, 44% are feeling sadness and 39%, anger.
Target, The ‘Apple Experience’ And Training
Image courtesy of Target Corp. Great products sell, but only when sold properly. Eight in 10 consumers will switch merchants because of poor customer service, and this applies even to Apple products. So Target isn’t taking any chances at its shiny new Apple kiosks. The chain is incorporating Apple-dedicated shops in 17 of its stores, building on a long-standing relationship with the tech giant.
Target Will Staff Its New Apple Kiosks With Specially Trained Employees
Great products sell, but only when sold properly. Eight in 10 consumers will switch merchants because of poor customer service, and this applies even to Apple AAPL +1.3% products. So Target TGT -0.5% isn’t taking any chances at its shiny new Apple kiosks. The chain is incorporating Apple-dedicated shops in 17 of its stores, building on a long-standing relationship with the tech giant.
5 Food And Beverage Trends That Retailers Shouldn't Ignore
When it comes to how the pandemic affects retail, supermarkets are fairly high up the food chain. But if they don’t pay close attention to how those dollars are spent, could lose their footing. As of November 2020, last year’s grocery sales rose to $777 billion, an 11.6% increase over 2019. The cause of the increase, and where those new dollars are going, should interest, and concern, retailers.
Apply for spring turkey controlled hunts starting Feb. 1
Hunters wanting to participate in this spring’s controlled hunts for turkey can apply from Feb. 1 through March 1. Spring 2021 turkey controlled hunt information is in the 2020-21 Upland Game, Turkey and Furbearer Seasons and Rules book. Hunters who have a 2021 hunting license may apply for controlled hunts at any Fish and Game license vendor; with a credit card by calling 1-800-554-8685; or online at license.gooutdoorsidaho.com.
7 Must-Do Retail Resolutions For 2021
Tweet Welcome to 2021, retailers. Don’t expect it to get easier. The year about to unfold will likely be a manifestation of all the changes consumers and retailers endured in 2020. That means all the merchandising and fulfillment lessons learned then, and all the new practices retailers introduced, are expected to be applied with improved efficiency and value.
4 Covid Shopping Behavior Trends That Will Outlive the Pandemic
Think of the pandemic as a major, unplanned life stage. Are retail analytics playing the most intelligent role? The health crisis has altered how people live and shop in a lot of the same ways that getting married or starting a new job would. But there is a significant difference: The pandemic affects every one of us, all at once. And this is testing retail marketing – specifically its reliance on consumer insights – at a clip for which retailers were not prepared.
Best of Tips on Selling: how jewellery retailers can sell more in 2021
Posted December 02, 2020 | By Jeweller Staff Following a year like no other, the world hopes 2021 will get back to some form of normalcy, whatever that may look like. Jewellery retailers and the wider jewellery industry are still assessing how best to operate in a COVID-world. While the vaccines offer enormous hope, many of the high-profile international jewellery and watch fairs have been cancelled for 2021.
6 Ideas from Macy's, Target, and Others to Bring Online Shoppers In-Store
If a Christmas tree is erected in a department store and no one is around to see it, does it make a sale? Retailers will likely find out this month. Despite the pandemic, 43% of all shoppers still don’t plan to start their holiday shopping until November – same as years past, according to research by the National Retail Federation’s annual consumer holiday survey. And most of those shoppers, 59%, said they will shift more of their shopping online, compared with in 2019.
‘Forward Buying’ Is The Next Stage Of Anxious Retail Spending
Among the hottest-selling items on Amazon Prime Day this year was a propane patio heater marked down by 25%. But the price likely didn’t need to be reduced. Sales of patio heaters has spiked nearly 100% since the spring.
3 Lessons From Pedigree, Kroger, Zappos
The Pandemic Has Taken A Lot Out Of Us. So More People Are Giving Back. With the pandemic earlier this year effectively shutting down the nation’s economy, forcing people indoors and separating families, people have evidently had a lot of time to reflect. And what they see, or want to see, is something better than what their memory recalls from 2019.
Walmart+ Will Change Online Delivery And Impact the Supply Chain
Let’s Unpack What Walmart WMT+0.2%+ Means To The Supply Chain When the Walmart+ member delivery program launches on Sept. 15, the materials that make the shipping boxes, and the messaging on them, will likely be as important as the items inside. Walmart+ is an evident effort to upstage Amazon AMZN+0.9% Prime AMZN+0.9%, with $98-a-year memberships that include free (sometimes same-day) delivery on orders of at least $35 and fuel discounts.
6 Predictions For Back-To-School Spending and How Retailers Will Act
Let’s Hope Retailers Have Ordered A Lot Of Erasers Back to-school season is upon us, and parents are learning a lot about the science of prediction. The shifting sentiments that come with it should cause retailers to exercise new actions when it comes to building the right customer experiences. For one thing, exactly where and when will school start?
200+ Companies Join Facebook Boycott, Should You? 3 Questions To Ask
Chances Are, Facebook Users May Not Notice The Missing Ads And that probably doesn’t matter. The desired effect of the advertising boycott by Unilever, Starbucks SBUX, Ben & Jerry’s, Honda, Coke and a lengthening list of other companies, is to pressure Facebook and other social media outlets to better regulate against offensive content. Consumers may not notice which ads are absent, but they will likely hear which brands are boycotting in response to the “Stop Hate For Profit” campaign.
6 Ways The Pandemic Is Forcing a Retail Renaissance
The Threat Of Illness Is Reconstructing Retail. The Timing Is Past Due. As retailers gradually reopen their locations with changes that mitigate the potential spread of Covid-19, shoppers are being treated to a rare industry renaissance that includes some of the most creative and ingenious thinking we have seen from the sales floor in recent history.
The Wise Marketer
In rolling out its first paid membership loyalty program, CarePass, CVS Pharmacy not only is demonstrating confidence in its 20 years of rewards expertise, it’s recognizing the nation’s readiness to pay for good health. The program, CarePass, is the first CVS paid loyalty program that offers free national pharmacy delivery and around-the-clock healthcare access, expressly to make it easier for members to care for themselves and their families.
Gen Z Is Ruling Back-To-School: 3 Lessons For Retailers
Getty Images for Target Here’s a lesson retailers should brush up on before back-to-school sales start: Preteen promotions 101. Kids are graduating to consumerism at a younger age, according to the National Retail Federation’s annual back-to-school projections. In 2019, teens are expected to spend an average $36.71 of their own money on back-to-school purchases, up from $30.88 10 years ago. Pre-teens are projected to more than double their spending to $26.40, compared with $11.94 a decade ago.
The Wise Marketer
Call them the hot new “in” b’tweens: Boys ages 8 to 12, often overlooked by retailers, yet developing enough spending muscle to build a cottage industry. Tween boys have long been overshadowed by their female counterparts, but their purchase influence could very soon escalate — thanks in part to the effect tween girls have on their behaviors.
Will Amazon’s Prime Day Ruin Christmas? 5 Unexpected Ways It’s Already Changed Retail
Will Amazon’s Prime Day Ruin Christmas? 5 Unexpected Ways It’s Already Changed Retail What do you give a company that has everything? Amazon, the world’s largest retailer with nearly 200 million unique monthly visits, wants more of your spending — now. Why wait for a holiday?
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