Best Buy plans to open a dozen vending kiosks inside major airports across the country. The machines will stock cell phone and computer accessories, along with digital cameras, portable data storage devices, etc.
I came across an interesting article discussing how department stores have differentiated themselves in the past, what they should focus on now, and what they should focus on in the future.
What happens when the majority of department stores sell similar brands at competitive prices? Retailers then need to start focusing on customer experience and customer satisfaction as differentiating factors.
For instance, retail electronics giant Best Buy offers in home tech support with Geek Squad.
Can you think of any other examples?
Retailers know that they will be facing a difficult back to school season this fall. They are aggressively introducing new products, slashing prices, and amping up marketing. However, despite these efforts, analysts say it will make little difference to consumers pressured by rising costs.
What do you think?
Twenty years ago brands were concerned with total quality management. Then along came customer satisfaction management. Recently, some organizations have begun talking about managing the customers’ experience.
Click here to learn about how to improve your customer experience.
A recent article on retailwire.com discussed how retailers are adding new items to their stores with the hope of driving additional traffic. For instance, Best Buy is adding musical instruments while Walgreens has entered the clothing business.
Adding extra product offerings helps expand the customer base as well as offer more variety to existing customers. However, there are a few things retailers need to consider. For instance, is the new business relevant or compliment existing business. When Barnes & Noble added Starbucks to their stores it became an instant success. We’ll see how Walgreen’s clothing line goes.
What do you think?
A recent article on Supermarketnews.com mentioned that an increasing number of retailers are using online cooking videos to draw shoppers to their stores. Customers watch an instructional video, print the recipe, and then add the ingredients to their shopping list.
I am use to seeing the pocket-sized recipes in-store but I think this is a great idea. Why? Well, first of all, this caters to the trend of more people dining in than out to save money. Also, people are visual. Videos help motivate customers to experiment with dishes.
What do you think?
A survey of 1,110 consumers by Deloitte found that consumers think there is plenty of room for improvement when it comes to product labeling. Consumers want to make informed decisions when they go shopping and many feel that the information on product labels are inadequate.
I think that for some who have allergies, improved labeling would provide better service. Also, in general, people are now eating healthier and are more interested in what they are putting into their bodies. However, most labels are hard to understand and read. If a company can make the effort to make labels easier to understand, then they will have a competitive advantage.
From gasoline discount cards to emphasis on cheaper house brands, grocery chains are doing whatever it tales to keep customers coming back. Grocery chains are maintaining or reducing their costs to keep prices competitive and to prevent customers from going to Wal-Mart.
Banks face a tough situation. While their most loyal customers are their oldest customers, Generation Y’s and X’s are the retailing banking customers of the future. However, the least loyal are the hardest to please. Results reveal more than half of Gen Y (61 percent) and Gen X (53 percent) respondents have either considered changing or actually have changed their primary banking institutions in the past 2 years.
Currently, the customer experience at most banks cater to the Silent Generation and Boomers who more frequently bank in-person. To reach the younger generation who are much more mobile and rely on more heavily on online interactions, banks will need to focus on the online customer experience.
Starting Saturday, 20 Sam’s Club stores in Virginia and Maryland will offer tech support from PC repair services company Geeks on Call. Geeks on Call will not have a kiosk set up. Instead, a sticker on every computer sold at Sam’s Club will direct the customer to call Geeks on Call for tech support. If tech support is required, then a technician will go to the person’s home or business.
Partnering with Geeks on Call helps Sam’s Club compete against retail giants such as Best Buy which already offers the added customer service. Such service is not expected at Sam’s Club and this certainly is an added bonus.
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