The Covid-19 recession of 2020 saw big gains for categories of merchandise including groceries, health and wellness-related products, pet food/supplies, furniture, and the DIY or home improvement category. It came as no surprise that while spending more time at home, people sought to improve the comfort, safety, visual appeal, and functionality of their environments. A study by Harvard University researchers found that 2020 was a record-breaking year for home improvements, with consumers spending around $420 billion on DIY projects. By May …
Experience
Are Facebook and Instagram Toxic for Young Consumers?
Social media can be toxic for young consumers, and some platforms are worse than others. The Facebook empire, in particular, has been in the hot seat lately due to the recent release of a few studies that point to the destructiveness of Facebook and Instagram for teen girls’ perceptions of body image. In investigating claims, Facebook found that “one in five teens say that Instagram makes them feel worse about themselves.” Not a good look for the largest social media platform. Advertising on Facebook and/or Instagram is a given for most …
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What Does a Luxury Brand Sound Like?
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 …
ZZ Driggs: Furniture Where and When You Want It
When Whitney Frances Falk started ZZ Driggs in 2015, she not only invented a memorable name for the company, but she also invented an entirely new business model that really didn’t exist before in the home furnishings retail business. Equal parts furniture rental, design service, antiques resource, selling platform and showcase for maker, designers and emerging artists, ZZ Driggs seems to have found a niche in the bigger home goods market – and it is now running with it. In its short existence it has become a go-to resource for commercial …
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 …
The Shape of Things to Come
To the terror of millennials everywhere, Gen Z has officially canceled the skinny jean. Denim’s wider silhouette is only eclipsed by the flamboyant nature of today’s styles. The post-pandemic consumer mindset is defined by post-traumatic growth, or “the positive psychological change that is experienced as a result of the struggle with highly challenging life circumstances." Experiencing Fashion PTSD Post-traumatic growth can result from circumstances such as war, climate change, loss, or a global pandemic. A single incident can change the …
A Disconnect with Americans’ Fascination with Wellbeing
It isn’t only Belinda, the beleaguered spa manager in HBO’s smash summer hit The White Lotus, who’s finding it exceedingly challenging to cater to the whims of stressed-out guests right now. According to findings of the 2021 ISPA U.S. Spa Industry Study, a recent survey of more than 2000 American spa owners, the total number of U.S. employees fell by more than 20 percent last year. While it would be easy to attribute that fall-off to an overall decline in revenues and spa visits during Covid – each of those two vectors plummeted by a hefty …
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Macy’s, Target Add Yet Another Chapter to the Ongoing Toy Story
The toy market is once again – sorry, folks – in play. With recent moves by Target and Macy’s ahead of the critical fourth quarter surge in holiday-driven business, the toy and playthings category is shaping up to be as much in flux as it’s ever been in the past few years. Supply chain logjams, price increases and pandemic uncertainties only promise to exacerbate all of this. Toy Story: Last Chapter Of course, all of this comes in the context of the biggest development in toy retailing over the past 30 years: the demise of Toys’R’Us in 2018. …
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