Not too long ago, although it seems like ages since we could attend conferences in person, I met a senior marketing executive from Farmers Insurance who told me that when his team was first presented with the Farmers jingle, they hated it. “Too hokey!” is what he said. But their vote was overridden by more senior executives and the jingle became the sound of Farmers and the sound of history. Turns out customers also loved it and hokey though it may be, everyone in the company became a believer in the power of sonic branding. The golden age …
Bloomie’s Breathes New Life into Tired, Predictable Retail
What’s in a nickname? Nearly everyone has one or knows someone who does. Some are a shorthand version of a longer name. Others are more descriptive, but whatever form they take, nicknames are affectionately used by close friends and family. A Rose by Any Other Name Some brands are christened with a nickname, like MickeyD’s, Tarjay and Chevy. These nicknames are considered the highest form of flattery in branding circles. A recent study in the Journal of Marketing found when people use a brand nickname, it implies the individual has a “real” …
Bloomie’s Breathes New Life into Tired, Predictable RetailRead More
Using Unbiased Metrics to Measure Loyalty
The Holy Grail for any brand or retailer is customer loyalty. In the Arthurian legend, search for the mythical grail promises its finder divinity – even immortality. Customer loyalty as retail grail is magic for a company. It extends the lifetime value of the customer, builds a steady stream of repeat purchases and can turn the customer into a brand evangelist who spreads the word. But just like the mythical grail, loyalty is hard to find – it exists in the hearts and minds of its beholders. Identifying the Ephemeral Because loyalty is so …
Luxury May Not Be the Success Story You Think
By now you’ve heard the news that leading luxury brands are bringing in cash hand over fist. LVMH, with its Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, Fendi and newly acquired Tiffany brands, reported “record first half performance” with revenues up 56 percent over same period in 2020 and organic growth up 11 percent compared to 2019. Its Fashion and Leather Goods segment did even better, up 38 percent over 2019. The news led to hyperbolic headlines including in the Wall Street Journal, “Luxury Shares Soar as Louis Vuitton Shrugs Off Pandemic,” as it …
Saks’ Bold Move
When news broke recently that HBC was splitting Saks Fifth Avenue into two, spinning off its ecommerce business from its brick-and-mortar stores, speculation swirled about the thinking behind the move. That news was followed shortly by an announcement that it was doing the same for its off-price Saks Off 5th company, separating the stores from its digital platform. The Joys of Going Private Since going private in 2019, HBC CEO Richard Baker doesn’t have to answer to the Street. He has a free pass to assert that the Saks move is “redefining …
What It Takes to Be Successful in Retail – Any Retail
As the world begins to open up from the pandemic shutdowns, malls across the country are feeling the love. In March, mall visits jumped 44 percent ahead of February, according to Placer.ai, based upon visit data tracked across 50+ malls in the U.S. in both urban and suburban centers. While April visits held just about level with March, they advanced another 14 percent in May. Throughout the first five months of 2021, the mall traffic remains under 2019 levels, but the gap has continued to shrink. Déjà Vu Over the next months, we can expect …
What It Takes to Be Successful in Retail – Any RetailRead More
Mobile Shopping Is on The Move: Retailers Need to Move with It
After months of pandemic-induced retail shutdowns, it comes as no shock that consumers turned online to do their shopping. Non-store retail sales grew 22 percent to end the year just under $1 trillion ($968 billion). In a nearly $4 trillion retail market, excluding autos, gasoline and food service, that means roughly one-out-of-four retail dollars happened outside brick-and-mortar stores’ four walls, including $883 billion conducted through electronic shopping and direct mail. The Digital Retail Highway What may have gone unnoticed is how …
Mobile Shopping Is on The Move: Retailers Need to Move with ItRead More
A Linear Path to Purchase Is an Illusion
We’ve all been told a consumer’s path to purchase proceeds in a straight line: awareness, familiarity, consideration, purchase … and if done right, it leads to loyalty. It’s a logical step-by-step progression model and gives brands the confidence to manage customers’ engagement and activate them along each step in their journey. Illusion Unveiled The problem is that this linear model is an illusion. Human beings simply don’t work this way -- ever. Instead, a consumer’s path to purchase takes a circuitous route, moving forward, going sideways, …