The good news is that 2018 showed progress for retailers in several significant ways. DynamicAction’s Retail Index: 2018 Year in Review & 2019 Outlook demonstrates North American retailers exercised more restraint on promotions and improved their inventory value and consumer-driven curation in 2018. It’s a big step in the right direction, but it's just one of many…
John Squire
Returns can be every retailer’s biggest headache. In a blizzard of customer dissatisfaction, inventory disruption and increased operational costs, retailers worldwide lost $642.6 billion due to returns in 2014, according to research from IHL Group and DynamicAction. This sobering detriment to retail profitability is overwhelmingly fueled by poor product descriptions, unorganized marketing programs and disconnected…
We've all been there. We've all sat at home on our couches on Feb. 14, a pathetic expression on our faces, laptop open, desperately crying out, "Why can't I find these shoes in stock?!" It's not quite the woe-is-me sob story we're used to reading around Valentine's Day, but it's a sad ending indeed when consumers can't find their retail love match. Even worse, it's an epidemic that strikes all year long.
Marketing and customer service teams are typically at the forefront of managing customer engagement, but the relationship goes much deeper than that within a retail organization. These five "critical connections" show how teams such as call centers, shipping and fulfillment, and operations can have a significant impact on customer satisfaction and avoid losing valuable customers which are critical to fueling the business:
Whether the official definition puts it in arcane measurements like terabytes or petabytes, for retailers, big data is seen as this: data sets which are too large, too complex and too disjointed to manage, analyze and use in traditional systems to determine profitable business decisions. The retail landscape is more complex than ever, with consumers expecting a more seamless experience between channels and devices. Furthermore, retailers must contend with giants like Amazon.com that use their size and structure to out-innovate the market at lightening speed.
I recently watched a documentary that claimed the Disneyland Resort begins planning its holiday decorations every February like clockwork. My takeaway from this tidbit is that Disney has hit on something every retailer should know: Relying on last year’s holiday trends or waiting until the last minute to identify new ones is a poor way to lure customers, especially during the holidays when everyone is pressed for time.
Some things never change: Leading up to Black Friday, retailers are in a frenzy to capture wallet share among consumers shopping online. However, there are a number of new trends emerging as we head into Black Friday, including surgical shopping, social shopping and the return of luxury goods to shopping carts.
