As super model Heidi Klum often advised, “one day you’re in, the next day you’re out.” That certainly holds true in retail as a recent Forbes article revealed which strategies worked and which fell flat this last Black Weekend.
First, the good news for brick and mortars: foot traffic and sales were up compared to last year. According to ShopperTrak, retail foot traffic for this year’s “Black Weekend” rose 8.2 percent over last year, amounting to over than 594 million store visits. Retail sales jumped 2.7 percent, as shoppers let go of $22 billion during the four-day Black Weekend.
ShopperTrak founder Bill Martin noted that retailers finally gave shoppers a reason to part with their money. “Shoppers follow value. And this year, for the first time, retailers presented significant value for shopping on Thanksgiving Day,” said Martin. “So even though retail sales were slightly down on Black Friday, traffic and sales for the weekend as a whole increased over 2011.”
Among this year’s “out” strategies was the big, all-or-nothing single-day rush. Today’s consumers simply have too many options to be tied down to a single shopping day. While sales were up over the entire four-day “weekend,” Black Friday sales were down. Many consumers bought online, bought early on Thursday, or simply waited for Cyber Monday.
Also “out” is the big ad blitz. Stuffing newspapers and mailboxes with ads and fliers that scream generic messages and doorbuster specials has reached the saturation point with consumers. Retailers need to do their homework and learn what and when their customers want to buy. Messages need to be more focused and targeted. Most consumers have a specific shopping list of things they want to buy. And “doorbuster” items are usually not on the list.
Another big “out” are clueless salespeople. Today’s savvy shoppers expect salespeople to be informed about what's on sale and to possess a certain level of product knowledge. Buyers increasingly visit web sites online and scour product reviews and social networks to make informed purchases. Salespeople should be equally web savvy and informed about what their store is selling.
So what’s "in" this year? Showrooming for one. A recent study by Aprimo and Forrester Research analyst Sucharita Mulupuru, suggests that one in five consumers is now “showrooming”--trying products in-person, then price shopping online using a mobile device. To turn these price/feature-fixated customers into buyers, retailers will need to offer service/support incentives, 30- or even 60-day price guarantees and free setup and delivery on larger items.
Finally, rather than bother with showrooming, many customers simply bought online, a trend that’s rapidly growing. Retail tracker comScore noted that Black Friday online sales topped $1.042 billion--a 26-percent jump over Black Friday 2011. The handwriting’s on the wall: The bottom line will clearly be driven by online sales in Black Weekends to come.
Are you doing everything you can to turn retail prospects into customers? Are your websites and salespeople up to speed on the latest products and buying trends? In short, do you know what’s in and what’s out this holiday season?
Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.com
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