Retailers know their role is tough: they are in charge of converting lookers into buyers. Marketers and brands can spend millions in developing brilliant campaigns to later see that in-store implementation was awkward and it actually disengaged consumers. In such a tech savvy world, it seems paradoxical that a display is not set up in time or products are not on shelves where they are supposed to be. The thing is retailers do not do [...]

“I want to understand my shopper better, but I do not know how to do it.” Scenarios are rapidly changing, habits are becoming more complex and competition is fierce. No matter the size of your business or what products you sell, you know that assumptions are not enough. Let us go through some ideas that may contribute to getting to know you customer’s point of view better. As we often discuss, loyalty towards a brand [...]

Retail is a large industry and it covers a long process from chain of suppliers to the moment of checkout. As shopper behavior keeps changing, the whole category tries to keep up. When considering innovations that are gaining acceptance, what may link them is the intent to make shopping experiences more enjoyable. Nowadays, e-commerce has created the need to counteract any factor that could make a shopping trip unpleasant. The innovations we have chosen were [...]

Crowdfunding platforms are enjoying an accelerated growth. This unprecedented scenario has created a powerful impact on enterprise innovation, financial institutions and government policies. But mostly, it has changed the way people discover new products. As we discussed in our last post, most new products fail and huge companies have become quite conservative in implementing innovation in their product line. One of the reasons for slow invention is that collecting meaningful feedback from consumers from traditional [...]

It is quite difficult for a new product to succeed in the market for more than a year. Changing consumer needs, shorter product life cycles, new technologies and increased competition from domestic and global companies demand the creation of new products to stay in the game. The problem is that more than half of all products launched will not sustain their first-year sales performance during their second year. This is a global dilemma with some [...]

Last year, J.C. Penney new CEO, Ron Johnson, decided to put an end to “fake prices,” those that consumers see in tags but seldom pay because they are used to coupons and sales. Johnson’s plan was to sell products at cheaper everyday prices and his statements had to do with the company making an effort to “stop playing games” with customers. The problem was that shoppers love the idea of markdowns and Johnson’s strategy was [...]

You enter a store, spot something that interests you, you examine it and buy it. You were not planning to buy it, but you ended up going home with it. This is called impulse buying and almost 40% of all purchases are done this way. This buying behavior is characterized as unplanned, immediate, unconscious and emotional. Logic comes AFTER the purchase is done. Marketers and Retailers know that a huge part of their revenues depend [...]

According to the US 2010 Census, 16.7% of their population is of Hispanic origin. Hispanics represent the largest minority group in that country, surpassing the African American segment and growing more rapidly than any demographic. Not only are they booming in population, but also in spending power. Wake up call The “2010 Hispanic Marketing Trends Survey,” conducted by the Orci agency, included senior marketers at business-to-business and consumer Fortune 1000 companies. 51% of respondents answered [...]

Have you noticed people fascination for infographics? They are part of Pinterest boards and some turn into framed posters. Innovation in the graphical display of information is welcomed by managers who believe they can make better decisions when key information is properly presented visually. Some scientists believe that a common visual language is more important than flashy intricate charts. Simplicity is the norm, especially when many people use the same kind of data visualization, in [...]

Censuses all over the world show that marriage rates are dropping whereas divorce levels keep going up creating “the single boom”.  Researchers predict that single-occupancy homes will continue to be one of the major trends in the next decade. Urbanization and reduced household sizes, the breakdown of traditional family dynamics, more women seeking professional goals may contribute to this trend. For years social technologists have claimed that social connections are fraying building a society of [...]