Related Articles

• Which Holiday Shoppers Are Welcome?

  

  A data analytics firm has identified four types of holiday shoppers, and advises marketers to have an appropriate strategy for each one. 

  Well, of course, none of this is news to retailers! But we think it could make a good topic for your next manager’s meeting. (And, it might be news to some of them!)

  • How many of these patterns do you recognize among your own customers?
  • How many of these 4 types of shoppers are you prepared to serve really well this Holiday Season?

• Where Shoppers Prefer to Shop

  

  Most shoppers prefer to shop in stores, not online.

  But – gulp! – there's a catch!

  Despite the ease and convenience of online shopping, “the majority of American consumers still choose brick-and-mortar stores over e-commerce.”
  
  Why? According to Retail Dive’s Consumer Survey* of 1,425 U.S. consumers, there are three main reasons:

  1. “To see, touch, feel and try out items” is the top reason
  2. Shoppers also want it now and want it fast; they want “to take items home immediately.”
  3. One in five consumers cites easy returns  
     

  Refreshing, isn't it? Shoppers want a shopping experience, in a real store. And it confirms that Amazon is nowhere close to being the only game in retailing. (If only everyone would quit hyperventilating.)
  
  But, there is a far more sobering message here about today's very demanding shoppers.

• Cannibalizing Sales? Really?

  

  "Are retailers eating themselves alive?"

  That was the provocative headline we recently saw.

  Then this followed: “Retailers' rising e-commerce sales are taking a big bite out of their brick-and-mortar revenues – a wide-ranging problem.” 

  Other pundits we've seen call it “an untenable dynamic for these retailers.”

  “Huh?”, we scoffed, as we read this about major retailers.

  The definition of retailing is “selling to the ultimate consumer.” Why does it really matter whether they buy from you in-store or online?

• They're in Your Stores, Too

  

  "Sausage stations, 'beer dens' cater to growing ranks of men in grocery store aisles," according to a July 10 article in the Wall Street Journal*. 
  
  Much like car dealerships and consumer electronics stores who "discovered" female shoppers some years ago, the efforts of these grocery chains to cater to male shoppers are lauded with much the same breathlessness. Nonetheless, it is not to be dismissed.
  
  Some grocery chains report that the share of male shoppers has risen from 30% to 40%.  "The dad has been the most overlooked population in grocery-store marketing and brand communication. By ignoring half the population, stores are leaving money on the table."
  

• Look what's trending up this Holiday season

  

  You've seen them, right? All the stories about how strong this year's Holiday sales are expected to be.

  Meanwhile, the department stores – Kohl's, J.C.Penney, Macy's –  keep reporting sales declines. And malls, seeing less foot traffic and fewer shoppers, are scrambling. 
  
  So, where will those robust retail sales come from? 

• Look who prefers shopping in stores

  

  You’ve heard about the robust sales numbers on Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday, right? Now ICSC – the International Council of Shopping Centers – has sponsored a research survey about Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday to delve into them a bit more.

  And what they found sure surprised us. 
  
  For example, who were the biggest fans of physical retail and shopping centers?
  
  Millennials. 
  
  Yep, those "digital natives", folks ages 18 – 36 chose to make their purchases from physical retailers (or through websites operated by physical retailers) rather than shopping pure online retailers such as Amazon.