Consumer Analytics

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.  

The Buckle is the latest cyber-crime target.   The teen apparel retailer was alerted that some guest credit card information was pilfered following purchases made at some of its retail stores. The chain launched a thorough investigation, which revealed that store payment data systems were infected with a form of malicious code, which was quickly removed.   

In a sobering statistic, one out of every 27 employees was apprehended for theft from their employer in 2016.   That's according to “The 29th Annual Retail Theft Survey,” conducted by Jack L. Hayes International, a loss prevention and inventory shrinkage control consulting firm. The survey is based on reports on over 380,000 shoplifting apprehensions that took place in 23 large retail companies, representing 16,038 stores with combined 2016 annual sales in excess of $370 billion.   

Despite the many sales that showrooming has afforded Amazon over the years, the retailer surely doesn't want to become a victim going forward.  

Amazon may be looking to bolster its enterprise services offering with an innovative addition.   Corporate chatroom startup Slack Technologies has received inquiries of late about a potential takeover from technology companies, including Amazon. The company is valued at approximately $9 billion, according to Bloomberg.  

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.