Shopping Wonk|Wonks Shop Too
Sep
06
Filed Under (Shopping) by admin
Money Morning asked:
Dragged down by plunging gasoline prices and an auto industry struggling for survival, retail sales fell by 1.8% in November for a record fifth straight month, according to the U.S. Commerce Department.
But a historic drop in retail gasoline prices and auto sales may have exaggerated the decline. Filling-station sales mirrored the recent drop in prices from $4 a gallon in July to less than $2 a gallon recently. Auto sales fell 2.8%, confirming automakers’ assertions that business had sunk to the lowest levels in decades.
Excluding gasoline, which fell by almost 15%, retail sales fell just 0.2%.
In fact, without sales of autos, gasoline and building materials, sales actually rose 0.5%, the most since May.
“The financial markets were braced for a horrific retail sales report for November, but the numbers were actually not so bad,” Mark Vitner, a senior economist for Wachovia Corp. (WB), told MarketWatch.com.
Retail fell a projected 2%, according to the median estimate of 73 economists in a Bloomberg News survey. Economists consider retail sales to be a bellwether for the overall economy since it accounts for about 50% of all consumer spending.
There were some promising stats, however. Aside from the automotive sectors, sales surged in almost every other important category. General merchandise store sales rose 1.3%, the biggest gain in three years. Electronic stores had a 2.8% jump in receipts.
Purchases at department stores rose by the most in three years as Americans took advantage of discounts by retailers from Macy’s Inc. (M) to Best Buy Co. Inc. (BBY) to start shopping for the holidays.
But while it appears retailers have been successful in getting consumers to loosen the spending reins with aggressive discounts, the devil may be in the details. Retailers have been consistently warning that their profits will suffer from the heavy discounting they’re using to entice shoppers.
Neiman Marcus, the luxury retailer owned by ) and TPG Inc., which recently used heavy discounts to reduce inventories, said this week that profits dropped in the quarter ended Nov. 1. Purchases of expensive goods are also falling because of tight credit restrictions imposed by banks.
Retail analysts have been increasingly concerned about “cherry-picking,” where consumers storm the aisles for heavily advertised items, but leave the store without making other purchases.
That has led some to question the validity of the numbers themselves.
“We are somewhat suspicious of the November results and believe that a seasonal adjustment quirk may have influenced the results,” wrote David Greenlaw, an economist for Morgan Stanley (MS), MarketWatch reported.
Same-store sales in the U.S. fell 2.7% in November from a year earlier, the biggest drop since records began in 1969, the International Council of Shopping Centers said last week.
And aworsening labor market is unlikely to sustain any rebound. The employment outlook is likely to drag down holiday shopping, a time when many stores expect to reap up to half of their annual revenue.
The unemployment rate climbed to 6.7% percent in November, the highest level since 1993. Employers have cut 1.9 million workers from payrolls so far this year. Surging unemployment usually leads to a plunge in consumer confidence and spending cutbacks.
A dismal holiday shopping season also bodes ill for retail sales throughout 2009. That could likely lead to a consolidation in the sector with many retailers closing their doors for good.
In fact, bankruptcies of stores such as Sharper Image Corp. (OTC: SHRPQ) and Circuit City Stores Inc. (OTC: CCTYQ) are already having a negative effect on the sale of gift cards, with consumers afraid to bet on long-term survival of some retail franchises.
Counting on the survivors being the heavy discounters such Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) and the world’s largest retailer, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT).
“This is Wal-Mart time,” Chief Executive Officer H. Lee Scott Jr. told Wall Street analysts during an Oct. 27 presentation at company headquarters in Bentonville, Ark., BusinessWeek reported. “This is the kind of environment that Sam Walton built this company for.”
News and Related Story Links:
MarketWatch:
Retail sales fall 1.8% in fifth straight decline
Bloomberg:
Retail Sales in U.S. Probably Fell for Fifth Month in November
BusinessWeek:
For Exiting Wal-Mart CEO, a Victory Lap
ShareThis
More on this topic (What’s this?) Auto Bailout Compromise Fails (naked capitalism, 12/11/08) Short Interest Down on Financials and Auto Companies (naked capitalism, 11/28/08) Auto Bailout Discussion….Schiff Is Right Here (Todd Sullivan’s - ValuePlays, 12/12/08) Plunging Auto & Gas Sales Hurt Retail Sales in November (Contrarian Profits, 12/15/08) Read more on Auto Makers, Gasoline Prices at Wikinvest
IMF Quietly Creating Three 100%+ Winners
The International Monetary Fund is about to pump $100 billion into a few select countries. This “no strings attached” bailout is creating three 100%+ gainers in the coming days - if you know how to play it. Get all the details in this report: The Trigger Event Strategy: The Only Proven Way to Make Money in an Insane Market. Just go here…
Investing News
Renee
Dragged down by plunging gasoline prices and an auto industry struggling for survival, retail sales fell by 1.8% in November for a record fifth straight month, according to the U.S. Commerce Department.
But a historic drop in retail gasoline prices and auto sales may have exaggerated the decline. Filling-station sales mirrored the recent drop in prices from $4 a gallon in July to less than $2 a gallon recently. Auto sales fell 2.8%, confirming automakers’ assertions that business had sunk to the lowest levels in decades.
Excluding gasoline, which fell by almost 15%, retail sales fell just 0.2%.
In fact, without sales of autos, gasoline and building materials, sales actually rose 0.5%, the most since May.
“The financial markets were braced for a horrific retail sales report for November, but the numbers were actually not so bad,” Mark Vitner, a senior economist for Wachovia Corp. (WB), told MarketWatch.com.
Retail fell a projected 2%, according to the median estimate of 73 economists in a Bloomberg News survey. Economists consider retail sales to be a bellwether for the overall economy since it accounts for about 50% of all consumer spending.
There were some promising stats, however. Aside from the automotive sectors, sales surged in almost every other important category. General merchandise store sales rose 1.3%, the biggest gain in three years. Electronic stores had a 2.8% jump in receipts.
Purchases at department stores rose by the most in three years as Americans took advantage of discounts by retailers from Macy’s Inc. (M) to Best Buy Co. Inc. (BBY) to start shopping for the holidays.
But while it appears retailers have been successful in getting consumers to loosen the spending reins with aggressive discounts, the devil may be in the details. Retailers have been consistently warning that their profits will suffer from the heavy discounting they’re using to entice shoppers.
Neiman Marcus, the luxury retailer owned by ) and TPG Inc., which recently used heavy discounts to reduce inventories, said this week that profits dropped in the quarter ended Nov. 1. Purchases of expensive goods are also falling because of tight credit restrictions imposed by banks.
Retail analysts have been increasingly concerned about “cherry-picking,” where consumers storm the aisles for heavily advertised items, but leave the store without making other purchases.
That has led some to question the validity of the numbers themselves.
“We are somewhat suspicious of the November results and believe that a seasonal adjustment quirk may have influenced the results,” wrote David Greenlaw, an economist for Morgan Stanley (MS), MarketWatch reported.
Same-store sales in the U.S. fell 2.7% in November from a year earlier, the biggest drop since records began in 1969, the International Council of Shopping Centers said last week.
And aworsening labor market is unlikely to sustain any rebound. The employment outlook is likely to drag down holiday shopping, a time when many stores expect to reap up to half of their annual revenue.
The unemployment rate climbed to 6.7% percent in November, the highest level since 1993. Employers have cut 1.9 million workers from payrolls so far this year. Surging unemployment usually leads to a plunge in consumer confidence and spending cutbacks.
A dismal holiday shopping season also bodes ill for retail sales throughout 2009. That could likely lead to a consolidation in the sector with many retailers closing their doors for good.
In fact, bankruptcies of stores such as Sharper Image Corp. (OTC: SHRPQ) and Circuit City Stores Inc. (OTC: CCTYQ) are already having a negative effect on the sale of gift cards, with consumers afraid to bet on long-term survival of some retail franchises.
Counting on the survivors being the heavy discounters such Costco Wholesale Corp. (COST) and the world’s largest retailer, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT).
“This is Wal-Mart time,” Chief Executive Officer H. Lee Scott Jr. told Wall Street analysts during an Oct. 27 presentation at company headquarters in Bentonville, Ark., BusinessWeek reported. “This is the kind of environment that Sam Walton built this company for.”
News and Related Story Links:
MarketWatch:
Retail sales fall 1.8% in fifth straight decline
Bloomberg:
Retail Sales in U.S. Probably Fell for Fifth Month in November
BusinessWeek:
For Exiting Wal-Mart CEO, a Victory Lap
ShareThis
More on this topic (What’s this?) Auto Bailout Compromise Fails (naked capitalism, 12/11/08) Short Interest Down on Financials and Auto Companies (naked capitalism, 11/28/08) Auto Bailout Discussion….Schiff Is Right Here (Todd Sullivan’s - ValuePlays, 12/12/08) Plunging Auto & Gas Sales Hurt Retail Sales in November (Contrarian Profits, 12/15/08) Read more on Auto Makers, Gasoline Prices at Wikinvest
IMF Quietly Creating Three 100%+ Winners
The International Monetary Fund is about to pump $100 billion into a few select countries. This “no strings attached” bailout is creating three 100%+ gainers in the coming days - if you know how to play it. Get all the details in this report: The Trigger Event Strategy: The Only Proven Way to Make Money in an Insane Market. Just go here…
Investing News
Renee
Comments Off
Sep
06
Filed Under (Shopping) by admin
Steven Lipschitz asked:
Starting a retail business means you’re excited. Did you know - by adopting Best Practice Retail Sales Performance Standards you can immediately increase your sales and profit expectations by as much as 30%!
Why - because achieving sales objectives is more than just about what’s on your shelves and what your store looks like - it’s about having a customer focused mentality driven by key performance indicators (KPI) to inform staff at every level about the condition of the playing field.
Complicated? Not at all. Retail Sales Performance is just like Sports Coaching. How would sports coaches know how to focus their athletes without statistics? How would racing car managers know how to fine tune their engines and performance - it’s all about statistics. When last did you watch a game on TV without them? They tell us about trends, behaviors, opportunities to increase performance, and they forecast the short to medium term future - enabling us to understand why and where we are heading.
Statistical measurement of fundamental sales performance drivers for any retailer is a prime need. With all manner of spreadsheets, POS systems reports, Dashboards and Scorecards, we use Key Performance Indicators (KPI) to communicate the strategy of the shareholders to the individuals in the company and we employ feedback systems to report the results. It is common practice to compare what we have forecast with what has actually taken place - statistically - so we can make judgments, changes and plans.
It is important to recognise that the standard (senior level) business indicators such as profit margin and wage costs do not drive bottom line sales on the shop floor. You cannot walk up to a Salesperson and say “We did 80% of budgeted sales - please increase your performance.” That’s like the manager of a football team saying to a player “We lost the past few games - you have to do better.” To the salesperson or player the information is useless - they cannot see a clear reason for their ‘under performance’.
What sports coaches do is take the Team Manager’s expectations (of winning) and filter them down to each individual player on the team - so each player can win for them (and the team). The coach measures performance of a few highly enlightening KPI’s that tells the players exactly in which areas to improve. In soccer it may be recording the “number of times a player touched the ball”, or “number of attempts at goal.” In baseball the coach could track “number of players on 3rd base” or “number of strike outs” etc.
It is common practice in retail to employ only five (5) KPI’s to track individual performance and deliver the on-target information for coaching purposes - more than five and the reporting system is too complex, confusing, and ambiguous. The five KPI’s for retailers are:
Sales per hour - a statistic tells us about the speed at which each individual salesperson is selling or attending to customers compared to everyone else on the shift.
Average Sale - the average selling price of each individual salesperson compared to everyone else on the shift - higher averages show a greater knowledge of product as the salesperson is able to sell higher ticket items. Low statistics reveal the salesperson lacks skill in either product knowledge or effective probing.
Items Per Sale - tells us about the ability of the salesperson to add-on to a sale.
Conversion Rate - tracks how many visitors to the store are turned into customers.
Wage to Sales Ratio - compares a salesperson’s hourly wages to hourly sales. This KPI identifies your clear performers and underperformers - and their value to you.
The most common reason retailers do not track the five vital KPI’s at a staff (team player) level, is their inability to easily and quickly, record and calculate data, to create meaningful reports. After all, one needs to track hours worked, set goals, track planned versus actual performance, and somehow level the playing field for all Salespeople. It can be a lot of work.
In a sports match the playing field is level at all times because everyone is simultaneously on the field. In a retail environment some salespeople will work during fast periods and others during slow periods of the day. A salesperson working during the lunch hours should be expected to sell more than a salesperson working early morning or late afternoon. So any realistic reporting system is going to have to weight individual sales targets - otherwise the data becomes ambiguous.
Critical to any Retail Sales Management Solution is the ability to “determine the most deficient statistic of the five KPI’s because it is logically understood that improving the worst KPI first will have the greatest increase in sales and staff motivation.
Imagine if you had a really simple to use Staff Roster (time and attendance software) that automatically assigned individual, weighted, sales targets to each salesperson, based on when they were working - then integrated with your POS (point of sale) terminal to instantly calculate the five (5) key performance indicators, and figure out the most deficient KPI - on demand! What if that software went further by having integrated sales behavior coaching tips built right into the system?
Playing the retail sales game to win means knowing why you are losing and how to go about fixing problem behavior areas. It’s easier to improve retail sales skills than it is to re-stock a new product or brand.
To win in retail, measure the five principal KPI’s using an affordable solution - and put Best Practice in place for your fast track to success.
Good luck with your brand new store!
Adrian
Starting a retail business means you’re excited. Did you know - by adopting Best Practice Retail Sales Performance Standards you can immediately increase your sales and profit expectations by as much as 30%!
Why - because achieving sales objectives is more than just about what’s on your shelves and what your store looks like - it’s about having a customer focused mentality driven by key performance indicators (KPI) to inform staff at every level about the condition of the playing field.
Complicated? Not at all. Retail Sales Performance is just like Sports Coaching. How would sports coaches know how to focus their athletes without statistics? How would racing car managers know how to fine tune their engines and performance - it’s all about statistics. When last did you watch a game on TV without them? They tell us about trends, behaviors, opportunities to increase performance, and they forecast the short to medium term future - enabling us to understand why and where we are heading.
Statistical measurement of fundamental sales performance drivers for any retailer is a prime need. With all manner of spreadsheets, POS systems reports, Dashboards and Scorecards, we use Key Performance Indicators (KPI) to communicate the strategy of the shareholders to the individuals in the company and we employ feedback systems to report the results. It is common practice to compare what we have forecast with what has actually taken place - statistically - so we can make judgments, changes and plans.
It is important to recognise that the standard (senior level) business indicators such as profit margin and wage costs do not drive bottom line sales on the shop floor. You cannot walk up to a Salesperson and say “We did 80% of budgeted sales - please increase your performance.” That’s like the manager of a football team saying to a player “We lost the past few games - you have to do better.” To the salesperson or player the information is useless - they cannot see a clear reason for their ‘under performance’.
What sports coaches do is take the Team Manager’s expectations (of winning) and filter them down to each individual player on the team - so each player can win for them (and the team). The coach measures performance of a few highly enlightening KPI’s that tells the players exactly in which areas to improve. In soccer it may be recording the “number of times a player touched the ball”, or “number of attempts at goal.” In baseball the coach could track “number of players on 3rd base” or “number of strike outs” etc.
It is common practice in retail to employ only five (5) KPI’s to track individual performance and deliver the on-target information for coaching purposes - more than five and the reporting system is too complex, confusing, and ambiguous. The five KPI’s for retailers are:
Sales per hour - a statistic tells us about the speed at which each individual salesperson is selling or attending to customers compared to everyone else on the shift.
Average Sale - the average selling price of each individual salesperson compared to everyone else on the shift - higher averages show a greater knowledge of product as the salesperson is able to sell higher ticket items. Low statistics reveal the salesperson lacks skill in either product knowledge or effective probing.
Items Per Sale - tells us about the ability of the salesperson to add-on to a sale.
Conversion Rate - tracks how many visitors to the store are turned into customers.
Wage to Sales Ratio - compares a salesperson’s hourly wages to hourly sales. This KPI identifies your clear performers and underperformers - and their value to you.
The most common reason retailers do not track the five vital KPI’s at a staff (team player) level, is their inability to easily and quickly, record and calculate data, to create meaningful reports. After all, one needs to track hours worked, set goals, track planned versus actual performance, and somehow level the playing field for all Salespeople. It can be a lot of work.
In a sports match the playing field is level at all times because everyone is simultaneously on the field. In a retail environment some salespeople will work during fast periods and others during slow periods of the day. A salesperson working during the lunch hours should be expected to sell more than a salesperson working early morning or late afternoon. So any realistic reporting system is going to have to weight individual sales targets - otherwise the data becomes ambiguous.
Critical to any Retail Sales Management Solution is the ability to “determine the most deficient statistic of the five KPI’s because it is logically understood that improving the worst KPI first will have the greatest increase in sales and staff motivation.
Imagine if you had a really simple to use Staff Roster (time and attendance software) that automatically assigned individual, weighted, sales targets to each salesperson, based on when they were working - then integrated with your POS (point of sale) terminal to instantly calculate the five (5) key performance indicators, and figure out the most deficient KPI - on demand! What if that software went further by having integrated sales behavior coaching tips built right into the system?
Playing the retail sales game to win means knowing why you are losing and how to go about fixing problem behavior areas. It’s easier to improve retail sales skills than it is to re-stock a new product or brand.
To win in retail, measure the five principal KPI’s using an affordable solution - and put Best Practice in place for your fast track to success.
Good luck with your brand new store!
Adrian
Comments Off
Sep
01
Filed Under (Shopping) by admin
Mark Doherty asked:
Medical supply and pharmaceutical companies share a lot of the same criteria in hiring young professionals and graduates for their open positions. These companies require an inquiring mind because there is a lot of information that needs to be assimilated into a simple sales pitch. Medical sales people need to be good at speaking with a diverse group of people and feel comfortable answering questions or speaking on behalf of a company. Finally, the companies in question often look for younger sales professionals who are eager to build a career in one industry and with one company.
However, many of these skills and attributes can only be built through experience. The academic setting is great for students interested in learning the theories and ideas behind sales and business. However, medical supply companies and pharmaceutical firms are looking for sales people with at least some experience in sales or within their field. While graduates may be frustrated by this idea, there are a few simple ways to gain experience without working for decades in the same field.
One of the best ways to break into the medical sales field is to utilize graduate trainee programs. Medical supply companies and other health supply providers often take in a good deal of graduate trainees on an annual basis. These trainees are taught about product lines and corporate policies while they take some time out of their day to shadow experienced sales people. For medical sales aspirants who want to get right to the source of their ideal career, these opportunities are ideal.
However, there are only so many graduate trainee slots to go around. For graduates who are interested in medical sales but cannot break into a trainee system, there are plenty of temporary jobs available. Graduates should look for any field sales position possible, even if it is only remotely related to medical sales. Companies that hire retail sales people, like automotive and telecommunication firms, are plentiful. These experiences can give medical sales aspirants the confidence and the experience to land their ideal position in the near future.
Finally, graduates can turn to recruiting agencies and placement services to find the right position for their level of experience. Young professionals and new graduates who have done at least some project work can find solid entry level positions through recruiting firms. Recruiting agencies also look for inexperienced graduates for temporary or project positions, which are becoming more popular in medical sales to meet the ups and downs of the marketplace.
Marlene
Medical supply and pharmaceutical companies share a lot of the same criteria in hiring young professionals and graduates for their open positions. These companies require an inquiring mind because there is a lot of information that needs to be assimilated into a simple sales pitch. Medical sales people need to be good at speaking with a diverse group of people and feel comfortable answering questions or speaking on behalf of a company. Finally, the companies in question often look for younger sales professionals who are eager to build a career in one industry and with one company.
However, many of these skills and attributes can only be built through experience. The academic setting is great for students interested in learning the theories and ideas behind sales and business. However, medical supply companies and pharmaceutical firms are looking for sales people with at least some experience in sales or within their field. While graduates may be frustrated by this idea, there are a few simple ways to gain experience without working for decades in the same field.
One of the best ways to break into the medical sales field is to utilize graduate trainee programs. Medical supply companies and other health supply providers often take in a good deal of graduate trainees on an annual basis. These trainees are taught about product lines and corporate policies while they take some time out of their day to shadow experienced sales people. For medical sales aspirants who want to get right to the source of their ideal career, these opportunities are ideal.
However, there are only so many graduate trainee slots to go around. For graduates who are interested in medical sales but cannot break into a trainee system, there are plenty of temporary jobs available. Graduates should look for any field sales position possible, even if it is only remotely related to medical sales. Companies that hire retail sales people, like automotive and telecommunication firms, are plentiful. These experiences can give medical sales aspirants the confidence and the experience to land their ideal position in the near future.
Finally, graduates can turn to recruiting agencies and placement services to find the right position for their level of experience. Young professionals and new graduates who have done at least some project work can find solid entry level positions through recruiting firms. Recruiting agencies also look for inexperienced graduates for temporary or project positions, which are becoming more popular in medical sales to meet the ups and downs of the marketplace.
Marlene
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Sep
01
Filed Under (Shopping) by admin
Bruce Leach asked:
Interactive kiosks are an easy-to-use tool that should be incorporated into every retailer’s sales force. Acting as virtual salespeople, they help keep customers informed, entertained and happy.
Why Interactive Technology Is Needed
Use of the Internet has forced retailers to respond to two new realities. First, customers are extremely knowledgeable about the products on offer. Second, Web access to a store’s complete inventory has led customers to expect access to everything in the catalogue at the bricks and mortar store.
Interactive kiosks present a single solution that can both improve the customer experience and satisfy customer needs.
Expert Customers
Many customers research products online before ever setting foot in a store. They know many of the features of the products they are shopping for, and they expect the salespeople to know them too. If they have questions, they do not want to hear a salesperson say “I don’t know”, especially when they can look up the information on the Web themselves.
The retailer’s solution to the “expert customer” should be to provide well-informed and well-trained staff. But that is not realistic. Sales positions have notoriously high turnover rates. It is also unreasonable to expect an average store employee to have detailed knowledge of every product a store stocks. Further, with many chains concerned about the bottom line, a full complement of staff has become a bit of a luxury.
Given all of these considerations, it is easy to see how interactive kiosks can help a retailer. They stand in for salespeople when staffing levels are low or when a salesperson doesn’t know the product line well. They give a customer the freedom to look up answers to questions without feeling pressured by a salesperson. They provide an opportunity to educate customers about product features through entertaining short video or animated segments. And they allow the retailer to promote sales and higher-margin items.
Product Selection
We’ve probably all experienced the frustration of seeing the exact item we want on a store’s Website only to go to the store and find that it isn’t there. In an effort to remedy this situation, some stores provide online access to inventory information so customers know ahead of time if something is in stock. This option may help the customer, but by stopping the customer from coming to the store, the retailer loses a valuable opportunity to make a sale.
Using their Website to draw customers, retailers can rely on interactive kiosks located in-store to close the sale. With interactive kiosks, customers are given the convenience of ordering an alternate product (or a higher-margin item) even if it is not in stock at the time. Because it is available when the customer is motivated to buy, the kiosk allows for impulse ordering. Without the kiosk, that customer would leave the store, have time to rethink the purchase and, perhaps, decide against it.
Hybrid Digital Signs
A recent innovation combines the power of digital signage with the functionality of interactive kiosks. Sometimes referred to as “hybrid digital signs”, this technology uses large digital displays to draw a customer’s attention. It then switches content based on shopper input, either through a touch screen or as a reaction to the motion of a customer who is passing by. The blending of digital signage and interactive kiosks offers retailers the best of both worlds - maximum reach with a personal touch.
No matter what format it takes, the interactive kiosk is the solution retailers need to keep pace with their well-informed customers.
Carol
Interactive kiosks are an easy-to-use tool that should be incorporated into every retailer’s sales force. Acting as virtual salespeople, they help keep customers informed, entertained and happy.
Why Interactive Technology Is Needed
Use of the Internet has forced retailers to respond to two new realities. First, customers are extremely knowledgeable about the products on offer. Second, Web access to a store’s complete inventory has led customers to expect access to everything in the catalogue at the bricks and mortar store.
Interactive kiosks present a single solution that can both improve the customer experience and satisfy customer needs.
Expert Customers
Many customers research products online before ever setting foot in a store. They know many of the features of the products they are shopping for, and they expect the salespeople to know them too. If they have questions, they do not want to hear a salesperson say “I don’t know”, especially when they can look up the information on the Web themselves.
The retailer’s solution to the “expert customer” should be to provide well-informed and well-trained staff. But that is not realistic. Sales positions have notoriously high turnover rates. It is also unreasonable to expect an average store employee to have detailed knowledge of every product a store stocks. Further, with many chains concerned about the bottom line, a full complement of staff has become a bit of a luxury.
Given all of these considerations, it is easy to see how interactive kiosks can help a retailer. They stand in for salespeople when staffing levels are low or when a salesperson doesn’t know the product line well. They give a customer the freedom to look up answers to questions without feeling pressured by a salesperson. They provide an opportunity to educate customers about product features through entertaining short video or animated segments. And they allow the retailer to promote sales and higher-margin items.
Product Selection
We’ve probably all experienced the frustration of seeing the exact item we want on a store’s Website only to go to the store and find that it isn’t there. In an effort to remedy this situation, some stores provide online access to inventory information so customers know ahead of time if something is in stock. This option may help the customer, but by stopping the customer from coming to the store, the retailer loses a valuable opportunity to make a sale.
Using their Website to draw customers, retailers can rely on interactive kiosks located in-store to close the sale. With interactive kiosks, customers are given the convenience of ordering an alternate product (or a higher-margin item) even if it is not in stock at the time. Because it is available when the customer is motivated to buy, the kiosk allows for impulse ordering. Without the kiosk, that customer would leave the store, have time to rethink the purchase and, perhaps, decide against it.
Hybrid Digital Signs
A recent innovation combines the power of digital signage with the functionality of interactive kiosks. Sometimes referred to as “hybrid digital signs”, this technology uses large digital displays to draw a customer’s attention. It then switches content based on shopper input, either through a touch screen or as a reaction to the motion of a customer who is passing by. The blending of digital signage and interactive kiosks offers retailers the best of both worlds - maximum reach with a personal touch.
No matter what format it takes, the interactive kiosk is the solution retailers need to keep pace with their well-informed customers.
Carol
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