Consumer Analytics

The holidays did not bring much cheer for Target, which saw both sales and profit decline during the golden quarter. Worryingly, comparable sales fell at an accelerated pace, ending up at their most negative point for of the fiscal year. The one bit of sparkle in an otherwise dreary set of figures came from digital where sales grew by a stellar 34%, a pace of expansion well above online growth in the whole U.S. market.  

Omnichannel environment places evolving demands, challenges on C-suite executives

The transformation of retail from brick and mortar into a digital omnichannel environment has caused an evolution in certain key roles in the C-suite.

Antony Karabus, CEO of HRC Retail Advisory, spoke with Chain Store Age about how the key role of the chief operating officer is evolving to enhance the transformation of retail companies in today’s more complex environment.

What is the typical scope of responsibilities of a retail COO?

Video game retailer focuses on improving online post-purchase experience

GameStop’s shoppers are becoming increasingly digital — an evolution that is also narrowing the window between when shoppers purchase merchandise and when they expect to receive it.

Eager to stay engaged with shoppers within this shrinking post-purchase gap, GameStop launched a new e-commerce strategy just prior to its holiday rush focused on driving post-purchase revenue and creating more satisfied customers during this critical selling period.

Email remains the go-to strategy for retailers to grab their piece of the digital pie — yet efforts don’t always meet their shoppers’ needs.   Three-fourths (76%) of marketers said they rely heavily on email promotions to drive revenue, and one-third said more than half of all emails sent include a promotion or discount, according to a new survey from Coherent Path.  

Mobile display advertising continues to surge, and it’s on pace to claim a significant portion of online advertising revenue.   In fact, more than three-quarters of all online display advertising income will stem from mobile by 2020, according to data from analytics provider by IHS Markit.  

Retailers are increasingly relying on mobility for customer engagement, however their marketing strategies are lagging.    The fourth quarter 2016 marked the first time mobile engagement has trended down as the mobile click-to-open (CTO) rate declined by 12.6% quarter-over-quarter, and 14.4% year-over-year, according “Q4 2016 Email Benchmark Report: The Mobile Engagement Shift,” from Yes Lifecycle Marketing.  

Digital transformation is CEOs’ number one priority this year.   To make this a reality, chief executives are investing their capital in the Internet of Things (IoT), big data, robotics, and augmented reality, according to “CEO Viewpoint 2017: The Transformation of Retail,” a report from JDA Software Group and PwC.  

Twitter is taking a new approach to “humanize” its business partners’ customer service-based “Direct Messages.”   Twitter’s new feature – “Custom Profiles in Direct Messages” – allows businesses to better emphasize the human element in private conversations, as well as more clearly indicate when a bot is speaking, according to Twitter.