Britt Beemer
Britt Beemer
buying cards christmas customers free gift money protective value
Customers are being just as protective with their gift cards as they were with their own money when buying Christmas gifts. The idea of free money is all in the past. They want value or something very special.
charged customer measures retailers soon struggle surprised tougher
I won't be surprised if a day comes very soon when the customer is charged $5 for every return. On the one hand, tougher measures frustrate the consumer. But retailers also don't want to struggle with unnecessary discounts.
admiration america assist buy customers deserves employees happy high level low prices questions seem stores willing
Wal-Mart deserves their high admiration level because they do what they say. They give America a place to buy at low prices in stores where employees seem happy to be there and willing to assist customers when questions are asked.
customer people sell shop store trying unique weak
They're trying to sell to a 2006 customer with a 1980s presentation. When people want to shop at your store because of a unique battery, that's a weak niche.
attitudes christmas consumer customer felt help hurt instead last loyalty people percent pricing profits shift stores year
I think the big story of Christmas will be this shift in consumer attitudes where people felt that stores gouged them with their pricing strategy. The 30 to 40 percent discounts this year instead of the 50 to 70 percent off last year will help profits but will hurt customer loyalty in the long term.
certain happens known product retailers return
What's happens is retailers become known for certain things. You want to be known for some product category. You want to be known for a return policy.
christmas consumers seen
I've never seen this many consumers not done with their Christmas shopping.
apparel benefit cause colder completed created dollars excitement form holiday hot percent research sales shopping spent start top watch weather weekend
Electronics is particularly hot cause there is nothing else that has created much excitement for consumers. Our research indicates that 44 percent of shoppers have completed their holiday shopping and about 20 percent still have to start it. This weekend we think more dollars will be spent overall. Apparel sales could benefit form colder weather but watch out for electronics to come out on top again.
categories continue growth lead sales
Electronics continue to lead all categories in year-over-year sales growth for the holidays.
christmas consumers discount employee example great last mood sale spending success
The success of GM's employee discount sale is a great example that consumers still are in a mood to buy. However, I think Christmas spending could be a little narrower than last year.
advised battles clients fight might types
I've advised clients that when you get into these types of situations, the PR battles are so bad. You might as well get out of it and not fight it.
final hard lose market product teen whether
(Teens) are hard to market to because they have to see the final product before they can tell you whether they like it. When you lose teen customers, it's hard to get them back.
aggressive buying drive parents point spent stores time
At this point in the buying season, parents have only spent $71.96 so far, so there is time for stores to get aggressive and drive more sales,
consumers enamored year
Consumers this year just never got enamored with what they saw.