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Black Friday Twitter Wars – JCP hijacks Target

The wild west of Twitter heating up before the holidays 

Most of us think of social media as a pretty benign place with friends, fans and followers.  But in today’s economy and competitive market place, retailers are resorting to new disruptive strategies in order to hijack attention and potential customers.  While hijacking Google traffic with keywords is not new, promoting Tweets with competitor keywords shows just how competitive online retailing and social media have become.

5 Insights - Joint Scorecards to Improve Profit

Missing KPIs mean lost opportunities for both partners

Earlier this year IMS had an opportunity to complete a review of top US retailer scorecards.  This past week at the VCF Fall Conference there was a unique opportunity to participate in simultaneous dialog with retailers and vendors on metrics and scorecards.  The clear take away is that scorecards are far from balanced.  But, the real gain for both partners will come from joint scorecards focused on profitable life cycle management. 

The cancer eating local retail stores from within!

A retailer’s own website is biggest threat to their survival

Like 80% of consumers you go online to start shopping.  You check out options and prices, but you go to the store to get firsthand experience.  After getting some assistance from the retail sales person you make your choice AND then ask for the online price you saw on their web site.   Good for you, but it will be the kiss of death for the store if they give you the online price.

When Smartphones Replace Your Mom

What mobile trends mean for moms and retailers 

There is an old saying…that to really get to know someone, ask their mother.  Seems that moms know all the important stuff about you … birthday of course, what you like to eat, preferences in clothes, colors, etc.  Today, mom can’t hold a candle to what my phone knows about me.  Today’s moms are even more challenged with kids who are hooked on mobile devices before they ever get to school.  What does this mobile tsunami mean for retailing in the very near future?