Who doesn’t like a good money-saving deal? It’s human nature to want to save money. "Free shipping! $10 Off! Gift with order! Save 20%! Buy one get one free!" These are all common offers that motivate customers to purchase. We all know that promotional offers increase the rate of response. How do you keep from…
What a difference a year makes. At this time last year, consumers were hesitant to spend on much besides essentials and products that would make their life at home more comfortable. They were fearful about going into stores, many of which were temporarily closed due to the pandemic anyway, worried about how COVID-19 would affect…
COVID-19 has created significant market and supply chain disruptions due to unprecedented shifts in both supply and demand. With retailers and brands cutting inventory, resulting in limited product availability, it's more important than ever that retailers and brands make fast, accurate product design, selection, and pricing decisions to lock in their share of scarce supply.…
I'm so excited to announce that I will be moderating a session at the CommerceNext Virtual Summit, taking place July 28-29! Based on the theme “Path to Recovery,” the CommerceNext Virtual Summit is designed to help retailers rebuild after extended store closures and a rapid transformation of e-commerce shaped by COVID-19. During the event, you’ll hear from brands…
Welcome to this week's Retail Resources, which features a curated list of the best content and resources that I hope will help you navigate through the coronavirus pandemic. This week I offer information and resources about business strategies, wellness tips, and personal finance information. If there's anything you would like me to share in a…
The novel coronavirus and the precautions governments and individuals are taking to protect themselves from infection have already had a powerful impact on the global economy. Those impacts are likely to extend well into this year, possibly even into the fourth-quarter holiday shopping period. Between disruptions to manufacturing and supply chains and shifts in consumer…
The retail industry is feeling the effects of 15 percent tariffs imposed on Sept. 1 on a wide range of consumer imports, and is bracing for the impact of their expansion to additional goods on Dec. 15. These tariffs cover a total of about $300 billion worth of imports from China. Increases on tariffs imposed…
What is the greatest coffee secret at Starbucks you never knew? Simple answer: a cup of coffee from its Clover machine. I will get to the sales and marketing point of this blog post in a moment. But first let’s talk about a subject most of us love: coffee! If you've never had a "Clover," you're…
I always love to learn about unique partnerships in the retail space, and I recently heard about one that involves two of my faves — food and jewelry — so I thought I’d share it with you. The partnership, which launched in June, is between online jewelry retailer BaubleBar and FoodKick by FreshDirect, an on-demand business…
As I go through the discovery process with prospective SPI customers, there's a moment in almost every engagement when one of the planners or allocators shows their current multitab, multidimension, multipivot table, holographic (OK, I exaggerated on the last point) homegrown Excel spreadsheet. It always impresses. I'm genuinely in awe of the complex usage of…
