Retail experts say blaming online shopping for in-store decline is an oversimplification of a multifaceted problem: changing consumer tastes, demographic shifts, technological advances and other forces also add to their woes.
Read more in CTV News’s article here
Black Friday numbers are in and online sales far outweighed in-store, showing consumers prefer doing their holiday shopping online. Read Dealerscope’s outline and insights on it here.
Amazon is once again going from online-only to brick and mortar as it introduces the UK to Black Friday sales through “Home of Black Friday” pop-up stores.
“E-commerce on its own is less special these days, I’d argue that we’ll see the death of pure-play e-commerce before the death of the store.”
says Natalie Berg, Director of Retail Insights at Planet Retail RNG.
Read Retail Drives interview and thoughts on the matter here
HBC announced today that Gerald L. (Jerry) Storch has stepped down as
Chief Executive Officer, effective November 1, 2017. In the interim Richard Baker, Governor and Executive Chairman of HBC, will reassume the duties of CEO, while an executive search firms works to find a new CEO.
You can read Retail Drive’s insight on the matter here
The age group currently makes up $44 billion in direct purchasing power but thinks far differently that previous generations.
“In the old days, there was one segmentation — that was great and we all loved it,” said Monica Dreger, global consumer insights, Mattel, Inc., on a panel. “But now we can’t do that. Now we have to have smaller, more customized, more lean segments to go through. They can’t be based on demographics anymore.”
Read Market Drives feature on it here
The Washington Post thinks so. Data shows that year over year the retail sales made during Black Friday are declining as consumers are getting used to year round sales. Read the full story here.
Amazon announced a new Instant Pickup service today. This will be free service offering Prime and Prime Student members a curated selection of daily essentials available for pickup in two minutes or less at five of Amazon’s fully staffed pickup locations in Los Angeles, Atlanta, Berkeley, Calif., Columbus, Ohio, and College Park, Md.
Items available with Instant Pickup include snacks, drinks and electronics, as well as some of Amazon’s most popular devices.
See Retail Drive’s Insights on the matter here
Retail Dive outlines some retailers to watch for during the back-to-school season either because they are doing something new, something old that seems to be working or are in need of a win this year. Read the full details here.
Apple Inc. is reportedly planning to release a version of its smartwatch later this year that can connect directly to cellular networks using LTE modems supplied by Intel, a move designed to reduce the device’s reliance on the iPhone. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman has more does a great job of explaining the product in this episode of ‘What’d You Miss?’ (Source: Bloomberg)
Apple HomeKit Experience Centers do a fantastic job of showing consumers what they get with their purchase by providing an interactive experience that’s available at retail level without the need for a large showroom.
Dealerscope provides a great overview of the display in their article Apple HomeKit Experience Centers Do Smart Home Demos the Right Way