Mobile commerce: Check-out your groceries from the convenience of your shopping cart
May 18, 2011 § 1 Comment
Tired of waiting in the long retail lines every time you need a carton of milk? Some U.S. retail stores are including a check-out system on their shopping carts that allow customers to check out their items as they shop. So far, it looks like it’s a win-win solution for both customers and retailers. Customers are happy because they don’t need to wait in lines to pay, and the retail stores are happy because it turns out this new way to shop actually nets an average increase of products purchased by 10%. In other words, retailers are making shopping and check-out so easy that you although you might only need that carton of milk, why not pick up an extra bag of chips, fruit, and flour while you’re there?
Certainly an interesting concept that just highlights the continuing trend towards a more seamless intersection between bricks and mortar and mobile and online commerce.
Full article at The Wall Street Journal.
One fire. Two stores. One communicates.
June 4, 2010 § Leave a Comment
I was walking to work this week and noticed two popular stores side-by-side. One was a men’s fashion retail store, the other a specialist in men’s shoes. Both stores were emptied out of their contents, were dusty from construction, and had their doors wide open. The first had a large sign written out in black marker on brown paper in the window: “We are temporary closed for renovations due to a minor fire upstairs.” It caught my eye immediately. The other had no sign.
I would assume the second store was closed and under-going light reconstruction also due to the fire; however, how would their customers know? In all likelihood, a customer walking by may have been under the misunderstanding that they had closed, moved, or were in the process of doing either.
In instances like this, communication is key. Speed is everything.
Of course, oftentimes, in a crisis like a fire, who’s thinking about what to say and who to tell… other than the authorities, insurance, etc.? But if you’re in a business of providing a product or service to people, you should also be thinking about communication to potential customers. If you don’t want to lose them, that is. And the crazy part is, sometimes the simplest acts are all you need. Even if it’s a simple hand-written sign on some brown paper.
Anthropologie’s ingenious customer waste reduction
April 19, 2010 § 2 Comments
I have always been very impressed with Anthropologie, but lately, even more so. Not only is their customer service personal, responsive and outstanding, but they have recently implemented a campaign that I thought was ingenious. At the end of a sale, they ask their customers if they are willing to forego the shopping bag, and by doing so, will have the opportunity to be automatically entered into a raffle for store credit.
Smart. Not only does it make the customer think about whether he or she really needs that bag, but it creates incentive for the customer to walk out without another unnecessary shopping bag in an oh-so-subtle and tactful way. Less bags means money saved for Anthropologie, less garbage and a chance to win store credit for the customer, and less waste for the environment. Everyone wins.
Really fantastic. I’m always a fan of waste reduction. Big points for Anthopologie for being thoughtful and responsible.
