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Online vs in store shopping
Online vs in store shopping
The impact of social media on consumer buying behavior
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In the Wall Street Journal article “Why Can’t a Store Be More Like a Website,” Elizabeth Holmes dwells into the possible future of shopping by detailing some innovative changes being done by retailer Saks Fifth Avenue. As our involvement with technology continues to increase, Saks is presented with a dilemma that many retailers are being presented with today, and that is the issue of having high online views, with few purchases, and high in-store purchases with too few in-store visitors. In order to combat this problem, Saks has begun to develop various techniques to combine the best features of online shopping with the in-store shopping experience (and vice versa). To begin, Saks has taken a in-depth look into what features presented to …show more content…
As highlighted in the article, in-store shopping has provides various features that are difficult to replicate through the internet. Some of these features include the personal attention, advice, and even heightened sales, that are accompanied with in-store shopping. In order to bring some of these benefit to online shoppers, Saks has provided a means to chat with real sales representatives though their website and to even connect local shoppers with employees from nearby …show more content…
For instance, Saks has created a page with all their associates listed on it. On this page there is an “about me” section for each employee that highlights specialties and particular interests of the store’s representative. Not only does this allow customers to better find sales associates who can meet their needs, but it allows salespersons to better advertise themselves. Newly developed tools even allow sales persons to go so far as to directly comment on certain products, so customers can identify what sales representative’s opinions are on particular products. To ensure a proper implementation of Saks’ attempt to effectively blend elements of online/in-store shopping, Saks has also changed elements of what they search for in an employee. As mentioned in the article, interview assessments now consist of questions related to a interviewee’s ability to navigate the internet, and whether or not they are knowledgeable of internet trends and culture. Enforcing this criteria ensures that newly hired employees can stay abreast with the fast moving trends of the internet, as well as keep up with changes in the way people interact with the
Nordstrom can continue providing their exceptional online experience and client focused approach using their online system by offering an unmatched online experience that copies their in-store customer service. This would allow Nordstrom to raise its revenue considerably as well as further improving their brand image. I will also discuss specific ways of successful execution, and the steps required to provide Nordstrom a stunning picture of how to execute strategy.
With the reputation of an online experience that includes an “erratic nature of delivery time makes us nervous when buying online with a hard deadline,” Kohl 's nearly begs customers to come in and try on the merchandise, then buy somewhere else. Obviously, as in the case with JCPenny and Sears, Kohl 's must follow Target 's lead and immediately overhaul its online shopping experience to lock consumers into both the in-store and online loop of consumption and purchase. While revamping an online platform sounds easy, it is, obviously a difficult task . But one that must happen if Kohl 's is to usurp the JCPenny and sears customers while competing with
Nordstrom’s product offerings are not only of the best quality available, but are also presented in a fashion appealing to customers. The reputation Nordstrom has built in the industry has sustained their success for over a century. Nordstrom’s further expects to enhance their company philosophy in the future by implementing additional differentiation tactics that will continue their market dominance in highly volatile economy.
Consumer purchasing decisions and behavior is continuing to change, not just in the U.S. but worldwide, shifting more away from the department store and onto the web. In such a changing environment, customer relationship management (CRM) becomes more important than ever, especially to a company such as Nordstrom who is the gold standard of customer service, the measuring stick by which other companies measure themselves (Spector & McCarthy, n.d.). The key for Nordstrom will be to adapt their traditional core strength, intimate and personalized customer service, to this new environment.
With the advent of the digital era, Sephora was among the very first few to adopt the digital media not only for promotional activities, but also for strategic marketing activities through Sephora Direct. Year after year Sephora has created a well-valued digital experience for its customers. However, most of the customers complain about a single thing all the time and that is the experience they get from the store is different than that they get from the digital experience from the website and the existing Sephora apps. In addition, the experience few of the customers experienced during the holiday season of 2014 had further tarnished Sephora’s brand image and the Asian customers perceived the brand as an anti-Asian brand. Most of the Asian customers claimed that the website has locked out for people either with Asian names or email ids with domains from Asian countries. This event led the customers to vent their anger on the various social media
Even though Nordstrom is an upscale fashion retailer, its outlet business, Nordstrom Rack, gives customers more acceptable price choices, and broaden its target market, exposing itself to totally different customers. Along with Nordstrom’s edgy fashion picks, outlet business attracts more young customers who contribute largely to online fashion business. Nordstrom is catering to Millennials by bringing in famous brands like Topshop and by investing heavily in digital channels. Nordstrom Rack is a way that the company provides different purchasing experience. Many people, in particular, women like the hunt of good valued items with lower price, which gives a completely experience in the Nordstrom
The prospects that they’ve been selecting over the years has not done a great job at assignments for Macy. Macy’s has re-evaluated and now searching for employees to better their future at all Macy’s stores. Consumers believe that Macy’s had some major professionalism habits within the stores around the world. The consumers of that buy from this company has decided not to shop there if service of Macy is not fixed. Macy’s has change dramatically and its hottest crisis is the lack of professionalism inside there industry. Macy’s professionalism lacks in appearance and reliability due to the fact there employees can’t keep the company professional
To do so, we are moving faster than ever before, employing more technology and concentrating our resources on those elements most important to our core customers (Macy's, No Date). In order to do this, the company must move fast. Employing more technology such as Omni-channel marketing and my mobile wallet, while continuing to look to the future at what advancements can be made to further refine the use of technology in the retail space. In addition to technological advancements Macy’s leadership teams will be utilizing the ‘voice of the customer’ and concentrating resources on the elements that are crucial to the core clients. They will also focus on the corporate structure and processes so that they are streamlining for efficiency and
According to the 2015 Macy’s Annual Report and Form 10-K, Macy’s saw a decline in net sales from $28.1 billion in 2014 to $27.08 billion (3.65%) in 2015 which decreased its net income from $1,526 billion to $1,072 billion (p. 14). There are many risk factors that affect profitability of the company such as: competition from other physical and online retailers, consumer preferences and consumer spending, unfavorable economic and political conditions, seasonal nature of business, extreme weather conditions, regional or global disasters or pandemics, changes in interest rates, increases in costs of employee benefits, inability to access capital markets, ability to attract and retain quality employees, dependency on supply networks, product safety concerns, success of advertising and marketing efforts, disruptions to computer systems, and legal and regulatory changes. Macy’s requires new approaches to affect consumer experience and draw them away from other retailers through innovations and more exclusive merchandise. Macy’s introduced 40,000 Internet-compatible terminals that allow shoppers to search for merchandise while in store, initiated digital marketing efforts such as a 360-degree view of customer shopping habits, and developed digital mannequin applications and virtual fitting rooms. Most importantly, our group suggests that Macy’s needs to concentrate on the development of mobile applications and other digital initiatives which result in changes to operations management, process analysis, capacity planning, project and quality management, inventory management, lean systems, demand forecasting, and consumer preferences forecasting. Productivity should be measured on the regular basis using best practices and compared against sales goals. Gantt chart can be used for project scheduling and performance monitoring. The
Take Pinterest for example, when looking for fashion boards or shoe boards it is easy for Macy’s to see your interest in shoes or fashion and gives you the ability to also see their fashion and shoes. This would be how Macy’s gets the attention of new customers. “For Macy’s, those micro-moments could come in the form of a customer showing an in-store sales rep a product they saw on the brand’s mobile site. The result could include being promptly led to where to find this item in-store, whether to try on/inspecting, or to skip straight to the purchase via mobile payment.” (Parisi, 2015) This can make customers see the customer friendly way to find just what they are looking for and help them checkout immediately. This is a strength because the easier it is to shop at Macy’s the more likely they are to become loyal to the
At the beginning of this year Macy’s planned to close 100 stores of their 675 locations “to focus capital and talent on better-performing locations in prime markets” (The Motley Fool). To offset this change for their customers they want to focus on keeping their business via the Macy’s app and website. These store closings though are not enough to keep Macy’s a viable competitor in the current retail world. Because of the issues that we have identified, we have collaborated to provide recommendations for Macy’s to help improve their business in relation to their
Zappos.com is a website that started off just selling shoes but now sells items such as handbags, clothing, and housewares in addition to shoes. Their company logo includes their catchy name with an explanation point as the end in the shape of shoe print which leads consumers to believe Zappos has strong feelings about the service they provide to their consumers. Zappos believe that customer service is the number one priority and is focused on cultivating repeat customers which is why they have always provided free shipping on both orders and returns; occasionally provides upgraded shipping so customers can receive their shoes the same day that they are ordered even though this is very expensive to the company; and they only show products on their website that they actually have in stock albeit they lose 25 percent of their potential business by doing so (Walker, 2009). For a compa...
In addition to Gap Inc.’s competitive advantage given its multiple brand, channel and geography model, the company plans to build its online success by delivering an industry-leading world class platform for consumers as the retail landscape continues to merge online and in-store shopping experiences. This end-to-end system, which includes capabilities such as ship-from-store, find-in-store and reserve-in-store, is designed to leverage Gap Inc. channels and resources to drive store traffic and conversion, while meeting the needs of customers who increasingly demand an integrated shopping experience.
The brilliance of My Macy’s strategy that pay attention to the needs of local population not only speak to the large and steady increase of different ethnicities, but it is also focusing on a social concept that will give the sense of confidant to customers that Macy’s is respecting the local community and acknowledge their needs enveloped in the style and elegance of Macy’s. To concrete the success of Macy’s goal in launching this concept, Macy’s managers needs to be products, savvy and involved in the community through constant communications with the local customers frequenting the stores and encourage associates to develop the element of clientele with customers to insure that the local customers understand that Macy’s is committed to their needs and welcomes their inputs of items they love to see and shop for at Macy’s. The associates at Macy’s must play a greater role in delivering the message of customers’ needs and concerns of customers to management since they are at the front line and the number one point of contact with the customers. Developing an aware associate who is adapting personally to the idea of My Macy’s and communicating the corporate message to the local customers that Macy’s in your neighborhood to fulfill the community’s needs; this can only be accomplished by providing the necessary training of associates to appropriately prop for those needs and develop the necessary rapport to fulfill the important role they play in My Macy’s concept. It is important to complete the bridge between the local population and Macy’s through knowledgeable sales and customer service
They store merchandise, mark prices on it, place items on the selling floor and otherwise handle products; usually they pay suppliers for items before selling them to final customers. They complete transactions by using appropriate locations, and timings, credit policies, and other services e.g. delivery. They influence life style of consumers and help people to build their identity in a social setting.