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Posts Tagged ‘online retail’

Retailers Battle Against “Showrooming”

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , on July 13, 2012 | 3 Comments »

It’s called Showrooming, and it’s becoming an issue. You go into the big box store, looking to buy a Blu-Ray player. You look at the models while the kid in the blue shirt explains the pros and cons of each. So far, so good. Then, you whip out your smartphone and snap a few pics, zap a QR code or two, and do a little online comparison shopping. Ultimately, armed with all of this consumer knowledge, you leave the store, go home, and make your purchase online. So, from Best Buy’s point of view, they are doing all the work while Amazon gets the sale.

So brick-and-mortar stores are getting creative.

Now some big retailers are taking a new approach to the dreaded showrooming by transforming their stores into extensions of their own online operations. Wal-Mart, Macy’s, Best Buy, Sears, the Container Store and other retailers are stepping up efforts to add Web return centers, pickup locations, free shipping outlets, payment booths and even drive-thru customer service centers for online sales to their brick-and-mortar buildings. Memphis Commercial Appeal

Additionally, Wal-Mart is letting people order online, pick up at the store, and pay in cash – which is a surprising chunk of business for them. Meanwhile Sears is introducing drive-thru pickup – and even drive thru returns (if you have ever stood in line at the Service Desk, you know that sounds AWESOME!)

So, what do you think? Are you a Showroomer? (It’s OK – we’re all friends here!) Have you seen any of these new developments at you favorite brick-and-mortar store? Let us know…read the original article…and have a great weekend!

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Online Shopping, Credit Card Use On the Rise

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on December 6, 2011 | 4 Comments »

Extreme Online Shopping: It's RADICAL!

Black Friday is a time-honored shopping tradition. In recent years, Black Friday had a baby named Cyber Monday. And this year it was a BIG baby! This year…

Cyber Monday (was) the heaviest online spending day on record, with $1.25 billion in sales.  Tuesday and Wednesday followed with billion dollar spending days, helping Cyber Week reach a record weekly total of nearly $6 billion in spending.  Consumer Affairs

So far this season, we have spent almost $19 billion online, an increase of 15% over last year. So, great, we’re spending again – that’s got to be good news for the economy, right? Well, maybe and maybe not. It seems that we’re doing a lot of that spending using our credit cards. Credit card spending is up 7.4 %, while debit card use is up only 3.4%. Will we pay off those credit card purchases, or will we let ‘em ride? That’s the question! Paying them off is usually a sign of consumer confidence – which has been in short supply lately!

So, how about you? Have you increased your online buying this year? What makes you choose one retailer over another? Are you using more credit or debit? Let us know!

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Older Folks and Online Security

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on November 11, 2011 | 7 Comments »

"Where do I slide the card through?"

Now, my 70-year-old mom happens to be one of the most computer-savvy people I know. But I actually knew a guy whose mom was worried that a virus in her PC could also make HER sick!

Older folks are catching up when it comes to the computer, but one thing they still aren’t sure about is the security of online shopping.

The survey found that 77% of consumers 55 and older say they worry about being a victim of online fraud. And 46% say they don’t feel secure that merchants are protecting their safety and security when shopping online. Internet Retailer

Their snot-nosed 18-25 year old kids and grandkids share these concerns, at a slightly lower rate: 62% worry about online fraud, and 27% think retailers aren’t doing enough about it.

The big difference seems to be what happens NEXT. The youngsters research a company more thoroughly, it seems. As a result, while older folks are more worried about fraud, they are also more likely to get ripped off: 46% have gotten scammed at some point, compared to only 35% of the younger folks.

So, caveat emptor*, y’all. And do your research! Do YOU worry about online fraud? Ever been scammed? Let us know!

* “Let the buyer beware.”

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Holiday Shopping Goes Mobile!

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on November 8, 2011 | 6 Comments »

Half of consumers with mobile phones view their device as a holiday shopping resource for product and sale information, coupons, product reviews, and store information, a new survey finds. And 32% believe their mobile phone is helpful for buying products. Internet Retailer

The stats say that one-third of us have already begun our holiday shopping, and 54% are going to start any minute, here at the beginning of November. Nothing new there. What IS new is the number of us getting more and more comfortable doing our holiday shopping on our mobile devices.  In fact:

  • 70% of consumers who use mobile devices for information and guidance on gift buying say they are likely to consider spending $20 or more on items such as toys, games and electronics via their phones.
  • 40% feel comfortable spending $50 or more on a single holiday gift item using their mobile device.

Consumers at this time of year are on a mission – they have a list and they are ready to buy! So I guess it makes sense that some of the neat-o functions you play with on your phone at other times of the year now suddenly become vital tools in your holiday shopping – locating, researching, comparing and, of course, downloading coupons!

How about you? Will you be using your mobile device as you do combat this holiday season? Let us know!

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Getting Craft-y with Mobile Coupons

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on October 25, 2011 | 3 Comments »

all I need now is a KNITTING app!

It makes sense for a certain type of retailer to keep their brick-and-mortar stores healthy, even as they make a big push into mobile retail. Michaels craft store is one example, and they have introduced a mobile coupon app to get the job done.

Mobile is providing an important alternate means of coupon distribution for Michael’s and other large chains that have traditionally used newspapers for that purpose as more consumers turn toward digital media and away from print.  InternetRetailer.com

17% of us used mobile coupons last year, and the number is growing. For Michaels, one key to driving consumer acceptance still lies in the old circular stuffed into your newspaper. It leads people to the mobile site, and promises them that the coupons they find there will be different from the ones in the paper.  Also, while the coupons in the paper are necessarily general in nature, the mobile coupons can be more easily tailored to the consumer.

Hey, as much as I feel like a hostage every time my wife drags me into Michaels, I really can’t imagine that you would get anywhere NEAR the same experience – getting ideas, seeing completed projects on display, etc. – from simply shopping online.

So what do you think? There have to be some Michaels fans among us! Have you tried the app? What do you think? What other retailers would you like to see try this method?

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Target.com’s “Missoni Impossible”

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on September 20, 2011 | 6 Comments »

If you are totally in the dark – or a dude – Missoni is an Italian knitwear designer. They are the latest “big get” for mega-retailer Target. They teamed up to provide Target shoppers with their wide-ranging line of EXTREMELY popular knitwear. But the big launch didn’t go so smoothly!

Comedian Louis C.K. has a bit about people becoming violently frustrated with their smartphones: “Come ON! Download! Stupid thing!” Louie says, “Could you relax? It has to go to outer space and back to provide you a convenience you couldn’t have imagined 10 years ago!”

Something to think about because, during last week’s big launch day, shoppers completely MELTED Target‘s online store, Target.com.  Millions of online shoppers saw the following message:

How can you stay mad at Toolbox Dog? He's got a little toolbox!

And how did they react? How do you think? According to the article, there was a whole lot of “What the ____? Bummer! Totally p*ssed off!” on all the discussion boards.

Meanwhile, the lucky shoppers who had gotten through and glommed up all the merchandise prior to the meltdown were already on eBay, reselling at premium prices.  Come on! These aren’t Beanie Babies or Cabbage Patch Kids!

So anyway, no big judgment here, other than to say if you are going to whip up a consumer frenzy, you’d better be able to handle the traffic! So how about you? Were you part of the madness? Did you score, or were you shut out? Let us know!

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The Sound of Savings

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on August 12, 2011 | 4 Comments »

You won’t hear it with the human ear, but the next time you are in a big chain store, Shopkick may be calling out your name!

According to a recent article at Forbes.com, Shopkick is a location-based customer loyalty app like Foursquare or Gowalla, but with an important difference:

…it doesn’t use the phone’s GPS. Instead, Shopkick uses a different technology. It plugs in a small box inside each participating store. The box emits a high frequency sound that humans can’t hear. When the Shopkick app is opened, it recognizes the sound so that it knows that the person is actually in the store.

The bottom line is engagement. Remember a few posts ago we were talking about the difference between TV ads that are just on, shooting dumbly out into the atmosphere, versus web ads that tease you and make you click? If you click the web ad, you are already interested in the product. That’s engagement, and the same principle applies with Shopkick. You physically go into the store, you turn on the app, and you wait for the deals to come to you. And Shopkick claims a success rate of 45% that, if it’s true, is a really high number!

For now, because it requires hardware, Shopkick is mainly in large chains like Target, Best Buy, Macy’s, Disney and so on. Foursquare uses existing satellite tracking, and it is popular with smaller independent stores. But of course, they are looking into copying Shopkick’s success. Hopefully the winner will be YOU.

So have you used Shopkick? What do you think?

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New Amazon.com Cashout Option!

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 27, 2011 | Leave a Comment »

Check out the brand new Amazon.com cashout option for MindField Online Panelists!

That’s right, starting now, in addition to our check request and PayPal cashout options, you can also choose to get your dough in the form of an Amazon.com Gift Card*! Whether you just hit your $5 threshold, or you’ve been saving up, you can request an Amazon.com Gift Card* at no extra cost to you. You receive a gift card code via email, you enter the code number at Amazon.com, and you go nuts!

We hope you enjoy this new convenience…let us know!

And now the legal mumbo-jumbo!

*Amazon.com Gift Cards (“GCs”) sold by McMillion Research, an authorized and independent reseller of Amazon.com Gift Cards. Amazon, Amazon.com, the Amazon.com logo, and the Amazon Gift Cards logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. GCs may be used only for purchases of eligible goods on Amazon.com or its affiliated website Endless.com. GCs cannot be redeemed for purchases of gift cards. Except as required by law, GCs cannot be reloaded, resold, transferred for value, redeemed for cash, or applied to any other account. See www.amazon.com/gc-legal

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No Escape from Ads?

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 26, 2011 | 6 Comments »

Watching TV, it seems like there is a commercial every 5 minutes. On your PC, it’s hard to escape the pop-ups. By comparison, your mobile device is sort of an escape from Ad-madness – but maybe not for long.

According on an advertising exec quoted in a recent article in Adweek, advertisers know that:

There are over three times the number of mobile subscribers as there are TV subscribers, he said. Globally, it’s the most adopted technology and media channel in history. The engagement rates are higher. And inventory, thanks to 24-hour access to users, is unmatched.

Engagement rates means that, unlike the TV that blasts ads at you without your consent, online you choose to Click Here, meaning you are interested in the product on some level.

So, far, mobile ad spending is a drop in the bucket compared to TV, but a lot of advertising geniuses expect that to change. The question is, how will you feel when there’s just as much advertising on your mobile as there is on TV and PC? Let us know!

*  BTW, the art department spent literally minutes on the opening picture!

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Marketers Targeting Smartphone Moms

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 22, 2011 | 2 Comments »

I see a young mom at the grocery pushing a fully loaded cart with a 2-year-old boy in the seat. Standby for the screaming tantrum, right? Except not. All is at peace…because the kid’s watching cartoons on mom’s iPad.

About a week later, I saw this article on WashingtonPost.com that says that moms with smartphones:

…are becoming a new kind of shopping force online. A decade ago, these women were single and childless 18- to 34-year-olds who captured the hearts of Madison Avenue marketing executives with their voracious consumer appetites. Now, they are older and often in charge of the household wallet.

 Apparently, advertisers have been studying the habits of regular “desktop moms” for years, coming up with new ways to grab their attention. But now, mobile moms are busting out, becoming the fastest growing segment of smartphone users. And they are among the Web’s biggest spenders, either buying directly from mobile apps or researching products that they buy later.

So what’s your favorite way that your mobile device interacts with your shopping habits? Research? Couponing? Purchases? Or simply shutting up your 2 year old? Let us know!

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