It all started with gasoline stations and small businesses-- you remember, the percent added to sales purchases that is passed on from the retailer to the customer. A $36 mug is assessed a three percent charge if paying by credit card but no fee if you pay cash or use a debit card. Since Covid-19, I have experienced an additional service fee when dining out and Covid-19 surcharges for restaurants and hotels… and this trend is expanding into retail. Pass-along Fees The policy of passing along service fees to the customer may not translate well …
The Direct-to-Consumer Model Is no Retail Panacea
The academician in me needs to clear up some persisting confusion about direct to consumer (DTC) -- even for those working in retail. DTC was originally a label to describe the business model of digital native brands that sold products directly to consumers through ecommerce sites. Warby Parker, Dollar Shave Club, Bonobos, Allbirds, and Glossier immediately come to mind. And of course, we all know Zappos, which in 1999 became one of the first DTC brands still supported by fierce loyalists. Its DTC value is self-evident: Amazon purchased Zappos …
The Point of No Return
The cost of returns is estimated at $550 billion for 2020 and the number of online returns has more than doubled. In 2020, the pandemic accelerated online purchasing with non-physical store sales ending the year up an impressive 23 percent. However, higher ecommerce sales mean higher online returns. Returns fraud is another serious issue: cybercriminal activity and returns fraud are already costing states $1.5 billion in lost taxes and over 741,000 jobs per year, according to a report by Appriss Retail and the NRF. The growing shift to digital …
The New Chief Marketing Officer
The average age of a CMO is 52 for the consumer industry segment -- and the CMO position has the shortest tenure of all C-suite executives at 3.5 years. One could argue that struggling to master the dramatic shift in the digital marketplace and evolving consumer trends has made today's CMO position a revolving door. Over the next few years, I predict the average age of a CMO will drop at least 10 years based on the need for highly proficient digital skills, keen understanding of analytics, drastic change in key marketing performance metrics and …
Grey Is the New Black
An increasing number of major brick-and-mortar retailers-led by Walmart, Target, Best Buy, and The Home Depot-will not open their doors on Thanksgiving, giving employees the day off and pushing more spending to digital channels. What's more, fewer promotions have been targeted specifically for the day after Thanksgiving, today, traditionally known as Black Friday. Over the past few years, our ramped-up consumer culture has expanded Black Friday from a one-day, to a weekend-long, to a week-long event. However, in the year of pandemic, Black …
Coronavirus Shakes Up and Reshapes the Retail Ecosystem
The pandemic that took the U.S. retail market by storm in March changed how consumers shop and will have long-term effects on the retail industry. Some of these behavioral shifts were a long time coming for an industry that is not known to be agile and nimble. The industry had been put on notice for some time that the real CEO in charge is the consumer, and the nimbleness of the industry will be thoroughly tested through the holiday and into the next few years. With the benefit of hindsight, let's take a look at how retail has been reshaped …
Coronavirus Shakes Up and Reshapes the Retail EcosystemRead More
If You Can’t Join Them, Buy Them!
Walmart's bid (with Microsoft) to buy TikTok, the video-sharing social networking service, is a way for the juggernaut to continue to compete with Amazon. A few short years ago Walmart lagged behind in the digital space and was constantly outpaced by the innovation at Amazon in e-commerce, logistics and last-mile delivery. But much has changed in the last three years. When Walmart bought Jet.com in 2016, the goals for its e-commerce business were to consolidate leadership under Marc Lore, to shorten the learning curve for understanding the …
Don’t Be Fooled by Virtual Sizing Apps
Sizing and fit are top concerns for consumers shopping apparel. According to Shapeometry, in 2019 the apparel returns related to fit hit $60 billion, half of which were returns of online purchases. About 85 percent of apparel returns were due to fit issues. So, the premise of a digital personal avatar sounds great for shoppers, but the reality is that the supply chain cannot deliver to specific avatar sizes. Instead, brands match a personal avatar size to the closest size in the existing product range. Jason Wang, COO of Alvanon explains, …