Loyalty Marketing

The online space doesn’t have a lock on new retail concepts, but with its lower start-up costs and potential audience reach it has proved itself a great breeding ground for disruptive retailers.   Here’s a look at four innovative e-tailers that are generating buzz and revenue increases — enough to place them among the top 15 fastest-growing e-retailers in a recent study.*   Casper

Tuesday, July 12 marks the return of Amazon Prime Day.   Based on last year’s results, Amazon will grab a sizable chunk of all online sales that day. Special “countdown deals” starting July 5 will also help funnel more e-commerce traffic than normal in Amazon’s direction. Walmart is countering with its own July online sales event built around its ShippingPass free shipping program.  

Parents are increasing their back-to-school budgets, although overall spending is stagnant compared to recent years.   According to a new survey of 1,830 U.S. parents of elementary through college students by Mintel, 52% of respondents plan to spend more on back-to-school (BTS) shopping than in 2015. Only 4% plan to spend less, with 44% planning to spend the same. However, overall planned BTS spending dropped to $68 billion in 2015 after ranging from $73 - $76 billion annually from 2010-2014.  

You only get one chance to make a first impression, and retailers are applying this truism to their email marketing efforts.   According to a survey of 150 retail clients by email marketing technology provider Campaigner, 39% of respondents say that the first email content new subscribers see from their brand is a thank-you-for-subscribing message. This approach seems to be working, as almost 50% of respondents report that 21% or more of new subscribers engage with such welcome emails.  

The world's largest retailer is throwing a counterpunch to Amazon's Prime service.    Walmart is offering a free 30-day trial of its ShippingPass program, which offers consumers  unlimited, two-day free shipping for a year.  Normally, the service costs $49 per year.   (So as not to feel left out, existing ShippingPass members will receive a free month of the service).  

Although Amazon poses a major holiday sales threat, there are steps retailers can take to produce a merry season.   According to a new survey of 1,500 U.S. consumers by marketing platform provider Signal, 42% of respondents said Amazon will be their primary holiday gift destination. Consumers who use Amazon do so because it is easy (50%), because they are Prime members (36%), and because they like the product reviews and recommendations (29%).  

There are four main channels consumers use to initiate an online purchase, and each one results in a different experience.  

Every seven seconds, a Baby Boomer turns 50. Boomers represent a substantial and critical employee demographic for retailers. The retail trade industry in the U.S. employs 15 million people, or nearly 10% of the workforce, and approximately 38% of this workforce is over the age of 50.