Social Media

Affluence is out. So are the days of the mass market.    A new report projects 10 years out and reveals three fundamental principles that are shaping tomorrow's consumer packaged goods and retail industries: trust, influence and personalization. In a preview of its 2017 Global Future Consumer study, A.T. Kearney predicts the death of the scale economy that focuses on catering to affluence in favor of one driven by the influence of industry stakeholders, particularly by the hyper-connectivity of the younger generations.

Levi Straus is the second most patriotic brand in America. And Ralph Lauren isn't far behind.    That's according to the 15th annual Brand Keys survey of iconic American brands, which asked 4,860 consumers, balanced for age and political party affiliation, to evaluate which of 280 brands were most resonant as to ‘patriotism.’ Jeep took the top spot in the survey for the second consecutive year. (For complete listing of the 50 most patriotic brands, which includes several retailers, see end of article.)

A computer glitch is blamed for canceled orders and growing frustrations among Tesco’s home delivery customers.   An IT meltdown impacted orders filtering into the U.K.-based supermarket giant’s online grocery shopping system. The glitch impacted orders being placed online, as well as those scheduled for delivery, according to customer posts on Twitter.  

Reading business news and talking to retailers, I often hear about marketers’ disappointment in not reaching their email marketing goals. It’s become a real issue that they try to solve by sending more appealing emails with better offers more often. But still, it’s an uphill battle. Why? Because retailers aren’t really missing goals with email; the truth is that you can’t look at email as a stand-alone agent any longer.   Today’s Elusive Shopper

Not only is user-generated content (UCG) the go-to source for 90% of shoppers making a purchase — it outranks all other forms of marketing.   This is according to “Hearing the Voice of the Consumer: UCG and the Commerce Experience,” a report from TurnTo and executed by Ipsos. the report represents responses from more than 1,000 U.S. shoppers who made an online purchase in the past 12 months.  

It may only be mid-June, but retailers nationwide are already eyeing their share of almost $800 billion in estimated back-to-school sales.   Store shelves — both physical and virtual — are already being stocked with this year’s hottest apparel, school supplies, electronics and dorm essentials, all in hopes of luring early bird shoppers. However, beefing up inventory isn’t enough to guarantee a successful back-to-school shopping season.  

Social media may be a popular platform for ad delivery, but that doesn't mean it is a trusted one.   Despite listing social media as the source of the second-highest volume of ad messages they receive — behind only television — consumers ranked social media last among their most trusted channels, according to a study by the Chief Marketing Officer Council. Consumers ranked friends, television, search engines and newspapers as more trusted sources.  

McDonald’s is leveraging a hot app to encourage teens to join its workforce.   The fast food giant is embarking on an aggressive summer hiring spree that aims to employ 250,000 restaurant employees across more than 14,000 restaurants operating in the United States. Eager to get the attention of millennials — its sweet spot — McDonald’s is taking a new approach.