Integrated Retailing http://www.integratedretailing.com Integrated Retailing Mon, 09 Aug 2010 16:04:22 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Do you generally agree with Andrew Benett’s view of the evolving “mindful” consumer? If so, what do you think of Mr. Benett’s choices? If not, which public figures best represent today’s consumer mentality? It's ludicrous, all right. As I just wrote to a client who requested my analysis of the recent NY Times article, "Will It Make You Happy?" there is a difference between voluntary simplicity and involuntary penury!These examples are proof only that it can be expensive to live the simple life!Not ... http://www.integratedretailing.com/?p=147 Are retailers achieving a significant boost from buy online, pick-up in stores options? How important is true cross-channel shopping for retailers? How can merchants best optimize cross-channel integration on websites? I have to confess I am surprised the power and the potential of cross-channel has not been realized and implemented more quickly. But it will happen, and it will be big. As a noted futurist has said, we routinely overestimate short-term change and underestimate long-term change. But "never mistake a ... http://www.integratedretailing.com/?p=146 How much of the overall retail business will online eventually become? Are there opportunities for more pure-play Amazon.com-like success stories to emerge? What will it take to make that happen? Here's the key quote: "The biggest mistake retailers make is that they see their online business as a separate business from their offline business. They don't apply the same efforts or energy."As for predictions, here were mine from the same time period:Will online sales grow to the sky?  No, they'll ... http://www.integratedretailing.com/?p=145 Do you see evidence that consumers are getting tired of cutting back and are looking, in varying degrees, to open up the purse strings a little bit? Where do you see opportunities for retailers at this time? If there is one iron-clad rule when it comes to the life cycle of recessions, it is that when things get cheap enough, buyers appear.In other words, there is a bottom somewhere, if for no other reason than even after the worst disaster, survivors must move ahead with their ... http://www.integratedretailing.com/?p=144 What do you see as the biggest potential benefit to be gained from the use of handheld scanners in retail stores? How can these devices and supporting programs best be used to provide an improved customer experience? I shop at Ralph's here in LA, using a loyalty card, and they are obviously keeping track of all purchases. I just got a bunch of coupons in the mail for a list of items I purchase regularly. Recently, to promote a particular (remodeled) store, they sent three or four ... http://www.integratedretailing.com/?p=143 What do you think of CompUSA’s new retail 2.0 concept, especially its move to allow unrestricted internet access throughout the store? Even with its TigerDirect connection, do you think CompUSA will be able to compete on price against online competition? Here's the money quote: "Consumers are looking for alternative places to go and the thrill of walking into a store and looking at products is not easily replaceable for shoppers."As I have been saying for 8 years, multi-channel, then merged-channel is how the best, most successful retailers operate today and ... http://www.integratedretailing.com/?p=141 Will the type of targeting that will apparently be offered by Cablevision result in significantly more advertising dollars flowing back to television? What will the potential of this type of targeting capability mean for consumer brand marketers and retailers? I'm sure this will lead to positive results, but the real "holy grail" will be when consumers can seek out information on the products and services for which they are in the market at the present moment. Hey, I think we already have that: it's called the internet! Just another ... http://www.integratedretailing.com/?p=140 The Sky Has Fallen: Now What? Superstrategist Ed Yardeni is quoted by James Pethokoukis in US News & World Report on what could go right in 2009: (1) Lower mortgage rates fuel a refinancing boom which lifts consumer spending. (2) Home sales increase and home prices stabilize. (3) Easier credit conditions increase auto sales. (4) The drop in fuel prices also boosts ... http://www.integratedretailing.com/?p=139 What has the disparity of incomes in the U.S. meant for the business of retailing? Is there room for middle of the road merchants in a country where the economic middle appears to be shrinking? What has the disparity of incomes in the U.S. meant for the business of retailing?  Well, of course, it has meant a proliferation of high-end retailers on one end, and a proliferation of discount retailers on the other.  But is there room for middle of the road merchants in a ... http://www.integratedretailing.com/?p=138 What do you think of the potential for getting consumers involved in product development via the internet? Is this only an option for certain categories? Do you think that such efforts will be more about public relations than actual product development? I recommend an article in the current issue of McKinsey Quarterly, "The Next Step In Open Innovation." I provide a synopsis in the July issue of my newsletter Growth Strategies (contact me for a copy).       The authors write that increasing numbers of organizations are now approaching innovation ... http://www.integratedretailing.com/?p=137