Consumer Analytics

Consumers who use mobile devices for shopping are prime targets for retailer loyalty programs.   According to a new study from Forrester Research, “Master Your Mobile Loyalty Moments,” customers who participate in loyalty programs are more likely to be mobile. Forrester data shows 31% of loyalty program members, but only 15% of all U.S. online adults, will use a brand’s mobile app.  

Credit card chargebacks are a costly reality for online merchants. Chargebacks occur when customers contact their credit card issuers to dispute charges. If an issuer deems a dispute valid, the e-commerce merchant is required to pay the amount owed for the transaction plus a chargeback fee from the processer – which can range from $15 to $100.  

Another value retailer has posted a stellar first quarter, outshining traditional department stores and many specialty stores. Big Lots Inc. surpassed Wall Street expectations with net income and revenue performance that one major presidential candidate might term “huge.”  

The launch of “buy buttons” in the past year on major social networks like Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter received a lot of attention, but so far they are not catching on with customers.
 
According to Digiday, research firms including Forrester and GlobalWebIndex are finding low consumer usage rates for social buy buttons. Reasons include limited functionality and visibility of the buttons.

Two events converged by 2010 that fundamentally changed how consumers shop and how retailers sell.
 
The first was that the world was enmeshed in a deep recession triggered by the collapse of financial markets in 2008. The second was that the world was going through a refresh cycle for consumer mobile phones. What happened next rocked the retail industry.
 

Two events converged by 2010 that fundamentally changed how consumers shop and how retailers sell.
 
The first was that the world was enmeshed in a deep recession triggered by the collapse of financial markets in 2008. The second was that the world was going through a refresh cycle for consumer mobile phones. What happened next rocked the retail industry.
 

From hyperlocal social media intelligence to mobile survey creation, this month’s crop of startups is filling niche spaces that can have a big impact on a retailer’s business. Learn about an augmented reality platform that’s elevating the online experience, a social referral startup that makes it easy to spread rewarding word-of-mouth recommendations and an analytics company that helps retailers and CPG companies get the most out of their online and transaction-level customer data.

SurveyMe

At a time when the world of commercial real estate continues to evolve in new and different directions, many traditional malls find themselves at crossroads. To survive, mall owners and operators must make significant and sometimes dramatic changes in order to remain commercially relevant and financially viable.