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...]
BOPIS puts the customer in control
My gut feeling about BOPIS (Buy Online, Pickup In Store) is that it is great for customers but not easy to execute for retailers. BOPIS is another omnichannel marketing process offering a frictionless purchase process for the consumer. Simply put, BOPIS puts the customer in control. This blog shows how this trend can challenge retailers and consumers as well as delight … [Read more...]
3 Ways Your Package Design is Killing Your Brand
This blog explores three different case studies where a package design hurts a brand. 1. Too Drastic of a Package Redesign This is a brand I am very familiar with and I have purchased for several years.The name of the product was prominent and the image did a pretty well of differentiating the types of product (Rice Pilaf, Rice, Couscous) This is what I was accustomed to … [Read more...]
Retail Package Shows Off this Everyday Tech Product
So a power strip isn't a very sexy consumer technology product, but everyone has one or several in their home. We stumbled upon this retail package at Bed Bath & Beyond. There have been several innovations with this product category over the years, but this one is so simple it is genius. How many people can use all of the plugs available on a strip? Try plugging in a … [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...]
How Not To P!#$ Off Your Dealer Network If…
So what are some of those things that can cause conflict between a dealer network and the CE manufacturer? ...you both want to drive traffic to your website. A marketing director for a manufacturer of high performance car audio equipment, shared with me his frustration that he needs to raise awareness for products outside of their own core competency. After 45 years in … [Read more...]
4 Pain Points for Consumer Technology Marketers: Brick-and-Mortar
Having worked on the agency and client side, I can identify several pain points that are universal for many marketers of consumer technology products today. In this blog I will explore a few of these issues as they relate to selling product at a brick-and-mortar store. Pain Point 1: Store sales reps don't know my product's features and benefits. I often go to my clients … [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...]
Everlane’s Retail Transparency
What is Retail Transparency? Everlane, at least for me, was the first company I saw fully embrace the concept of retail transparency. I'm not even sure how I first became acquainted with the their online retail store, but I do remember why I signed up for their emails and website access. They were transparent about their costs to produce high quality merchandise. Part of … [Read more...]