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Amazon Developing STB, Smartphones and Other Devices

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May 10, 2013

Amazon is reportedly moving beyond its Kindle tablet line with the development of multiple CE devices aimed to compete more directly with Apple and Google. According to people familiar with the plans, the company is developing a range of new devices including two smartphones and an audio-only streaming device. The e-commerce giant is also working on its own set-top box for streaming video content. Continue reading Amazon Developing STB, Smartphones and Other Devices

Netscape Founder Predicts the Death of Traditional Retail

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February 11, 2013

Netscape creator Marc Andreessen, who has invested in successful ventures such as Pinterest and Foursquare, recently discussed his views on the future of commerce. The tech investor believes traditional retail stores will die off, while e-commerce stores will be the only way people shop in the future. He expects a big shift in the next three to four years, a different view from those who suggest innovation in e-commerce is slowing. Continue reading Netscape Founder Predicts the Death of Traditional Retail

Shoppers Use Tools to Keep Track of Online Price Changes

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January 31, 2013

Research from Dynamite Data shows that retailers such as Amazon, Sears, Walmart and Best Buy changed their daily Internet prices on various holiday products during 2012 much more frequently than in previous years. Since too many changes can prove overwhelming to shoppers, new tools have been developed, some of which automatically scan for changes and alert consumers when prices drop. Continue reading Shoppers Use Tools to Keep Track of Online Price Changes

Mobile E-Commerce Continues Growth, Especially Via Tablets

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January 17, 2013

Last year, consumers spent a total of $25 billion on purchases made from mobile devices, representing an enormous 81 percent increase from the year before, according to stats from eMarketer. Even so, that total is only 11 percent of all e-commerce sales. So it seems this is only the beginning. Forecasts anticipate continued growth, with mobile sales accounting for 15 percent of all e-commerce sales by the end of 2013. Continue reading Mobile E-Commerce Continues Growth, Especially Via Tablets

Marketing: Retailers Try Twitter for Promoting Holiday Shopping Deals

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December 18, 2012

Retailers are taking a more aggressive approach on Twitter this holiday season, using the social network to heavily promote products and deals. An example of this strategy involves Best Buy, which is using Twitter differently this year than it did in the past. “Last year, the electronics retailer bought ads on Twitter to promote sales the week of Thanksgiving, and not much else,” writes the Wall Street Journal. Continue reading Marketing: Retailers Try Twitter for Promoting Holiday Shopping Deals

Consumer Study Points to iPhones and iPads for Holiday Wishlists

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December 17, 2012
  • According to data from research firm Parks Associates, consumers have Apple devices on their holiday wishlists this year.
  • Parks reports that 53 percent of prospective smartphone purchasers plan to buy an iPhone for the holidays, compared with 33 percent who indicated the same in the third quarter and 24 percent one year ago.
  • “And when it comes to tablets, most of those surveyed said they’d prefer an iPad,” reports AllThingsD. “Following the iPad at 44 percent was Kindle Fire, with 24 percent of consumers expressing interest in Amazon’s touchscreen tablet.”
  • “Twenty-one percent of those surveyed said they’d go with the Microsoft Surface tablet — down from the 45 percent who just a few months ago said they wanted the Surface — and the Google Nexus tablet came in last at 12 percent.”
  • Additionally, Parks notes, “When presented with the iPad mini as a tablet alternative, many of those planning on purchasing other tablet brands opt for the iPad mini.” And among those planning on buying an iPad, 40 percent said they would opt for an iPad mini.
  • The smartphone portion of the Parks survey focused on brands only, not individual models, so it is not clear which version (and price point) of iPhone is enticing consumers.

Retail Strategy: Exec Discusses What He Learned Building the Apple Stores

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November 23, 2011
  • Ron Johnson, the new CEO of J.C. Penny and the former SVP of retail for Apple, talks about what he learned building the Apple Stores, the leading U.S. retailer with sales of $5,626 per square foot, nearly double the sales of Tiffany & Co, its closest competitor.
  • People come to the Apple Store for the experience, the most important part of which is the staff. The philosophy is NOT focused on selling, but on building relationships and making the customer’s life better, a model that worked for Apple.
  • “The staff is exceptionally well trained, and they’re not on commission, so it makes no difference to them if they sell you an expensive new computer or help you make your old one run better so you’re happy with it,” explains Johnson. “Their job is to figure out what you need and help you get it, even if it’s a product Apple doesn’t carry. Compare that with other retailers where the emphasis is on cross-selling and upselling and, basically, encouraging customers to buy more, even if they don’t want or need it.”
  • The Apple model is not easy, and has required persistence. The Genius Bar, for example, was not popular in the beginning, but Apple stuck with it as the best way to help customers. “Three years after the Genius Bar launched, it was so popular we had to set up a reservation system,” writes Johnson.

Shopping Trend: Retailers Find that Consumers Prefer Apps to Websites

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November 22, 2011
  • New iPad apps are rolling out this holiday season to entice the eight percent of online shoppers that own tablets.
  • That percentage may seem small, but Forrester Research found that 60 percent of tablet owners use their devices to shop and many prefer them to smartphones or computers for shopping. For clothing company Anthropologie, iPad shopping accounted for six percent of sales this year and is expected to rise to 20 percent with the introduction of their new app.
  • These new apps aim to provide a more interactive experience and capture some of the in-store essence by revamping their electronic catalogs and adding new features to their shopping pages.
  • Revel Touch has built apps for multiple companies including functions like a “virtual dressing room,” that allows users to create outfits and the ability to share choices on social networks. Apps allow tablet shoppers to zoom in, see videos and find the sizes they want with ease.
  • “You can bring the objects to life on an iPad and you can’t do that on paper — and you don’t have to chop down a tree,” the CEO of Catalog Spree told The New York Times. The company also reported that, on weekends, its users spend almost eight times as long on the retailers’ app as they do on the retailers’ Web sites.

Risk-Taker: Amazon Betting Big on Prime Customer Loyalty Program

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November 16, 2011
  • Amazon is willing to lose hundreds of millions of dollars annually on the Amazon Prime customer-loyalty program because of the increased consumer spending it creates.
  • “The cost of Prime underscores the willingness of Amazon Chief Executive Jeff Bezos to shell out money as he continues the company’s transition from an online retailer of paper books, to an Internet megamall that sells an array of products from various companies, to a seller of digital goods and even its own devices, such as the Kindle Fire tablet computer,” reports The Wall Street Journal.
  • “[Fiona Dias, VP of rival service Shoprunner] estimated that after joining Prime, members tripled the amount of money they spent on Amazon to $1,500 a year,” the article indicates. “She estimated up to 40 percent of Amazon’s domestic revenue, which totaled $18.7 billion in 2010, comes from Prime members.”
  • Some investors look unfavorably on Amazon’s subsidizing (the company loses $90 a year on each Prime subscriber and sells each Kindle model at a loss of $10+), but analysts say the costs are offset by Amazon’s profitable website.
  • Prime will be offered free for 30 days on the new Kindle Fire.

New Apple Store App Enables Online Orders and Self Check-Out

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November 3, 2011
  • Apple’s new retail store app for iOS is expected to launch today, and will include two major features: 1) Online ordering with retail store pick-up, and 2) Self check-out at retail locations.
  • The new services have already started at a number of Apple locations in California and New York City.
  • A customer will be able to order an in-stock product online and pick it up approximately 12 minutes later — skipping lines and registers, then simply picking up and signing for the product.
  • If customers order an item that is not in-stock, they’ll be a given a pick-up date right after the online purchase is completed. All products sent to an Apple store will include free shipping.
  • With self check-out, customers are encouraged to launch the Apple Store app on an iOS device to purchase in-store items. “You scan the product with the camera on your device in the app, click purchase, and it will charge whatever credit card is associated to your Apple ID,” reports BGR.
  • The company expects the new program will generate a 30 percent increase in sales.

Shall I Buy Enables Social Shopping: Foodspotting for Everything Else

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November 3, 2011
  • Shall I Buy is a free iPhone app with the goal of combining instant social feedback for shoppers to make better purchasing decisions and possibly combat buyer’s remorse.
  • A shopper can share a video, picture, price and location to engage potential followers and incite comments, and allows sharing of links through Facebook and Twitter.
  • “The app is done simply, taking heavy styling cues from Instagram, but in doing so it’s effective and easy to use,” reports TheNextWeb.
  • The post cites two potential downsides: 1) By default, users receive a great number of push notifications, and 2) It would be helpful to have “a way to configure notifications inside of the app itself,” rather than going to the website.
  • Robert Scoble equates it to “Foodspotting for everything else.”

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