I have sat in forums surrounded by independent and regional retailers and listened to their disdain for Amazon—even though they probably frequent the site for their own family. Recently, my office manager was kicked off of Amazon. Yes, you read that right. How can you live without using Amazon? Guess what, she survived. There is life without Amazon. This blog explores 4 ways … [Read more...]
Conflicts Between Retailers and Brands Ruins the Shopping Experience
This blog explores the complicated relationship between the retailer and the brand and how this contentious relationship has created a less than stellar shopping experience for the consumer. Both the brand and the retailer are competing for the attention of the consumer but they don't work together to garner this attention. What ends up happening is the consumer is bombarded … [Read more...]
The Death of the Brand at Retail For CE Products
In a market where there are many similar products, such as in consumer electronics, how important is the brand? I want to say it is VERY important. However, it is difficult for any brand to stand out in-store or online in this ever-evolving retail world. This blog explores how online shopping has changed how brands present themselves and the retailer's role in downplaying the … [Read more...]
What CE Independent Retailers can Learn from the Corner Bicycle Shop
My son has a dream of owning his own bicycle shop. I figured there has to be a book about how to start your own retail bicycle store and sure enough I found one: "Leading Out Retail: A Creative Look at Bicycle Retail and What All Retailers Can Learn From It" by Donny Perry. (Published in 2014). Perry foreshadows a lot of what is happening to independent retailers today and … [Read more...]
What is Hindering Your Product’s Success in Retail Outlets?
I asked many of my LinkedIn connections in the CE industry what is hurting the success of consumer technology products at retail outlets. I received several insights and I thought they are worth sharing to a larger audience. High Costs, Low Margins, Counterfeit Products, and Amazon are Major Obstacles at Retail Outlets An EVP of Sales & Marketing and Operations at a … [Read more...]
The Independent Dealer Can Prosper in the Age of Amazon
There is a place for independent dealers (regional and local) in the consumer technology world. Some chains have failed or are trying to restructure such as HHGregg and Radio Shack. Best Buy is making a comeback and doing battle with Amazon and Walmart. Can the independent dealer claim their place in the evolving retail world? I think they can and in fact, they may be able to … [Read more...]
Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality and the Future of Retail
If you haven’t lived in the woods for the past couple of years you know that these days Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality are all the rage in Silicon Valley. The potential implications of these two technologies can’t be overstated as they might transform many facets of modern society from how we browse the web to how we will work in the future. For the purpose of this … [Read more...]
Brick-and-Mortar vs Online Retailers: Is one the death of the other?
When online stores started becoming a more popular way to shop, pundits predicted the death of all brick-and-mortar stores. Here we are, more than a decade later, and we still have physical stores. There are some brick-and-mortar retailers that became giants on-line and there are some on-line brands that have opened a physical store. Some of the brands that opted to … [Read more...]
Shopping for Phone Cases is #$%# Complicated!
For an uncomplicated product, such as a phone case, it sure is complicated shopping for one. You used to be able to walk into a store and the category was organized by the manufacturer of the case. There were very few competitors back then---Belkin, Targus and Apple to name a few. I remember Belkin owned a corner of that market with their blue packaging. It served as a … [Read more...]
The Philippines and My Retail Experience
During a recent vacation to the Philippines, I made sure to take photos and pay closer attention to my retail experience so that I could share what it’s like to shop there compared to the United States. Retail is Different But the Same At first glance, retail in the Philippines isn’t that much different than here in the U.S., most notably if you're in a highly developed … [Read more...]