The Future Of Brands In A One-Touch World

By Doug Stephens

Only a short time ago, the value that brands provided to consumers was chiefly two things – familiarity and consistency. Shoppers had so little access to objective information about products and services that, amid a field of unknown and untrusted alternatives, a familiar brand logo, jingle or tag line provided the much-needed cognitive shorthand to help them confidently choose.  If you were a traveller in a strange city, you needed only to find a familiar Hilton, Marriott or Holiday Inn logo to have a consistently predictable experience. If you were shopping for beer, you knew what to expect from Budweiser or Miller – there were no surprises. Familiar and predictable, that’s what consumers wanted from brands and that’s exactly what many big brands gave them.

All this has now changed.  Shoppers are no longer blind to their options.  With a couple of taps of their smartphone they can gather an immediate and even geospatial understanding of product and service alternatives available to them in the moment.  Moreover, they can easily evaluate those alternatives by seeing what others think.  They can take virtual tours of stores, restaurants and hotels, watch videos of products and services.  They can be completely and objectively informed in a way that was unimaginable only 20 years ago

Consequently, shoppers – especially young shoppers – are no longer as dependent on brands to serve as familiar shortcuts to a decision. Now, the same traveller in a strange city can just as easily use their mobile device to find an outstanding boutique hotel to stay in.  The beer drinker can quickly gather online recommendations to learn what local craft beers are popular. Instead of deferring to the familiar and predictable, the shopper can confidently venture out to discover the new and exciting in a risk-free way.

The New Value Of Brands

So, if we no longer need brands to be beacons of familiarity and predictability, then what do we expect of them?  I believe that now, more than ever, we need brands to be innovators, always working to push us out of our comfort zone by offering new products, new experiences and new services that interest or excite us.   We now look to brands to catalyze change…constant change.

Some brands seem to implicitly get this.  Starbucks, for example, is constantly introducing new products, services, technologies and store concepts into their model.  Just when it seems they might become predictable, they introduce something new to stoke our interest and augment the brand’s appeal.

Amazon too is continually proffering new services, devices, concepts and products. And while some are quick to point at Amazon’s failures, like Fire Phone for example, I would argue that even those failures can and should be counted as strategic victories because, if nothing else, they reaffirm their position as an innovator.

Even 114-year-old Nordstrom is constantly moving its customers along a continuum of innovation like its recently introduced shop by text program.  While it would certainly be easier for Nordstrom to rest on its legendary laurels of superior customer service, it clearly recognizes that its role as a major brand lies in innovating beyond the familiar.

Other brands, however, like Volvo, McDonalds, Abercrombie & Fitch and Macy’s – to name only a few – have chosen to stick to the path of familiarity and dependability.  They have also suffered the consequences of doing so, with poor sales and declining customer loyalty.

Making The Cut

So, do brands still have value in the digital age?  Certainly they do.  But that value no longer lies in faithfully delivering the familiar but rather in revealing the unknown; to no longer be predictable but rather to be constantly surprising.

For most major brands this will require a complete organizational re-wiring – a top-to-bottom overhaul of their people, their beliefs and their manifesto and above all, a willingness to risk. This isn’t easy.  In fact, it very often proves impossible for organizations to alter the D.N.A that got them where they are.  But in a world of one-touch discovery, a relentless pursuit of quantum innovation is the only alternative brands have left.

To View Original Article: http://www.retailprophet.com/blog/the-future-of-brands-in-a-one-touch-world/

How to Use The Zoom Effect To Avoid Confusing Customers

By Melanie McIntosh

Imagine a photograph of a Monarch butterfly
When you see the photograph you can immediately recognize it from its black-orange-white wing pattern. If you zoom in with camera and photograph a portion of the wing, you still might recognize the pattern of shapes and colours. But if you look at the wing in a microscope on low power, you start to see the scales on the wing. And on an even higher magnification, you see even more detail.

Introducing the zoom effect
When you look at the butterfly at such a high level of detail, you can no longer see an image of a butterfly. This is the zoom effect. If you saw this detail first, you would have no idea what you were looking at.

The zoom effect also happens in stores
Often stores have merchandise artfully arranged on tables, shelves and display areas.  It’s as if the store displays are a bunch of different photographs taken through a microscope. Each photograph is very beautiful.

What’s wrong with the zoom effect?
Nothing.

 The zoom effect is just what you get as you move closer and closer to an object.
The problem is that when we don’t understand the zoom effect, customers get confused.  A collection of beautiful displays won’t be effective, if the customer doesn’t understand how the store is organized.  An organized shelf won’t look attractive if it doesn’t seem  balanced with the shelves around it.

When the details look good, but the overall layout of the store is confusing, it’s hard for customers to understand how each display relates to another. What they’re missing is the big picture.
Shoppers won’t show their confusion by stumbling out of the store. But they’ll buy less then they would in a store that organizes the merchandise in a way that is easy to understand.

How do you use the zoom effect to organize the store?
Start backwards.
Don’t start with the displays. Or organizing a shelf. Start with the big picture, and then zoom in. Just like you would with a camera.

There are three ‘shots’ you need for the zoom effect:
1) Panorama shot
2) Medium shot
3) Close-up

1) Panorama shot
The panorama shot is the view of the whole store. This is what customers see when approaching the store, or coming in the door. In a glance, customers take in the entire picture. The brain very quickly maps out the organization of the store.

It’s important that this panorama view is simple and easy for the customer to take in that glance. If it’s too confusing, the customer gets overwhelmed.

Organize the merchandise into three distinct stories. While your merchandise might change every season, each of the three stories will have it’s own section of the store. These sections will rarely change.

For fashion related goods such as; clothing, home décor, gifts and tableware; each story would be a colour, pattern or style theme. A clothing store might have: casual/weekend wear, basics, urban/career wear.

For a hardware store the three stories might be: yard and garden, interiors, lumber.
A computer store might have: computers and hardware, software and accessories, cameras and camera gear.

The three stories will help customers quickly get oriented to the store layout to find what they want. That brings us to the next level of detail.

2) Medium shot
The medium shot is where the customer sees a department or section of the store. Just like a photograph, the medium shot in the store has a foreground, middle ground and background.

Foreground
The foreground is made up of the fixtures at the front of the department, near the main aisle. These fixtures welcome the customer to the department, and frame the view of the rest of the department.
The front fixtures may be lower than fixtures in the centre of the department, so the viewer can see the merchandise behind them. Tables are often used in this location.

Middle ground
The middle ground is usually the biggest area on the floor. This is everything between the foreground and background. It will consist of most of your floor fixtures. In this area there may be gondolas arranged in rows. In a clothing store it could be 4-way racks, tables and other merchandise fixtures. When organizing these fixtures, it is important that they are grouped to provide a view to the back wall. The middle ground fixture provide a frame for the background.

Within the middle ground, merchandise is organized in categories, or groups, of similar merchandise. It is important to group merchandise together in a way that is logical and based on the way your customers shop. Organize aisles and fixtures so that items that will be used together are placed in close proximity to each other. This makes it easy for customers to find everything they need in one area.

A yard and garden department in a hardware store might have categories such as:
Gardening: seeds, pots, hand tools, stakes
General Yard Tools: hoses, rakes, large garden tools
Lawn Maintenance: seed, fertilizers, mowers
Once all your categories are organized in the middle ground, let’s look at the background.

Background
The background is the back wall of the department. At least part of the background should be visible at the end of a main aisle, or above the middle ground fixtures. The background provides a destination.

Often a back wall features a key display and spotlighting to draw customers in through the store. It could also present department signs or lifestyle graphics that demonstrate products being used. Usually customers will see the back wall of a department from a distance, so large signs, graphics or some displays can be placed above eye level. These elements are used to inform the customer about what they’ll find in that department.

Now that we know how to organize the middle ground, let’s look at the close-up shot.

3) Close-up
The close-up is where you organize the details. The close-up deals with organizing merchandise on a rack, shelf, table-top or display area.

This is where you focus on display techniques that encourage shoppers to touch and browse merchandise. The close-up shots are about creating artistic and appealing presentations. Shelves will present the variety of styles and assortments of colour.

In key displays, you will also cross-merchandise products from different categories, to demonstrate how they are used together.

Pulling it all together
All three shots are needed to tell a good visual story. If you focus on beautiful displays, but don’t consider the overall layout and organization of the store, sales may suffer. Create a strong organizational structure with panorama and medium shots to make your close-ups shine

1) Panorama shot
The panorama shots give the wide angle view to help customers understand the layout of the store.
2) Medium shot
The medium shots organize categories in a way that customer find easy to understand. Merchandising complimentary categories together helps boost sales.
3) Close-up shot
The close-up shots are where you create appealing and artistic displays to encourage shoppers to pick up the merchandise.
Just like photographs of a butterfly, the panorama shot helps us to understand the beauty of the close-up.

To View the Original Article: http://merchandisingblog.inspire.ca/how-to-use-the-zoom-effect-to-avoid-confusing-customers/

What devices are shoppers choosing when they shop online?

Last year (2014) was a historic year for mobile. For the first time, according to a number of sources, access to digital content via mobile devices overtook access via "fixed assets" — desktop and laptop devices.

While the use of tablets and smartphones has skyrocketed in recent years, the big quandary for marketers has been figuring out why it's taking so long for mobile buying behavior to follow suit. Certainly, mobile shopping is not accelerating at the same rate as general digital media, but according to a study conducted by Bronto and Ipsos, the device preferences of online U.S. shoppers is indeed evolving — and the trends reveal clues as to the future of mobile shopping and buying.

In the early 2015 study, online shoppers were asked about the devices they own and how they use them, with results broken out by gender, age and U.S. region.

Overall, in terms of device ownership, desktop and laptop computers continue to be most prevalent in the homes of online shoppers. And yet desktop and laptop ownership declined by 4 percent and 2 percent respectively year-over-year. Meanwhile, in 2015, both tablets and smartphones breached the 50 percent ownership threshold for the first time. Smartphone ownership jumped 12 percent from the previous year and tablet ownership grew 13 percent.

For many marketers, the most useful findings from the study may relate to the contrasts in ownership and usage by age group.

In terms of ownership, laptops are clearly the most prevalent device for shoppers under 65, while those 65 and older favor desktops (72 percent own them), with laptops close behind (63 percent). After laptops, the next most owned device for shoppers under 40 is a smartphone. In fact, in the 18-29 age group, 77 percent own smartphones compared with 43 percent of seniors.

And yet the 65 and older set are by no means resisting the mobile movement. The number of seniors who say they own tablets jumped from 35 percent in 2014 to 41 percent this year, and smartphones went from 26 percent ownership to 43 percent.

The sweeping behavioral changes brought about by mobile tech, however, have not yet carried through to the shopping and buying habits of U.S. consumers. According to the study, laptops and desktops are still strongly preferred as the primary device for shopping and buying across all ages.
Overall, 63 percent of those surveyed prefer to buy with desktops and 62 percent prefer laptops. That contrasts with just 10 percent for smartphones and 7 percent for tablets.

Smartphone and tablet preferences, understandably, are strongest for those under 40, with smartphones the more commonly used of the two. Twenty-three percent of online shoppers ages 18-29 prefer shopping on a smartphone, and one in five prefer shopping on a tablet.

  

Although the migration to mobile shopping and buying may seem glacially slow to marketers, it appears inevitable. As generations, young and old, integrate mobile into every aspect of their lives, seamless mobile shopping is becoming an expectation. As mobile payment methods gain adoption and designers optimize the mobile user experience, mobile shopping and buying stats will no doubt catch up with device ownership. The writing is on the wall.

To View Original Article: http://www.retailwire.com/tip/1365/what-devices-are-shoppers-choosing-when-they-shop-online

65% Of Retailers Lack The Tools To Handle Fraud

Up to 65% of retailers say they lack adequate fraud management tools to support effective anti-fraud strategies, according to a report from ACI Worldwide. More than half (54%) of retailers in the U.S. and Europe still need to consolidate their fraud management solutions across all channels.

For the report, titled: Managing Fraud In An Omni-Channel World, ACI Worldwide commissioned Forrester Consulting to conduct a research study that outlined current omnichannel fraud management capabilities. The study was designed to identify and evaluate current pain points for omnichannel fraud management in the retail industry, and highlight the tools and strategies required to retail fraud effectively.

The top three challenges retailers face as they implement fraud management include:

• Omnichannel data aggregation (76%);
• Customer demand for faster fulfillment (73%); and
• An increasing number of payment options (71%).

With consumers continuing to shop and spend through an expanding number of channels and touch points, businesses need to make firm plans to protect payment and customer data. As retailers plan to beef up payment security, 35% of respondents identify point-to-point encryption (P2PE) as critically important, while 31% believe EMV/chip and PIN acceptance at the point of sale is critical. Retailers also pointed to network segmentation, key exchange/management, estate management and tokenization, as critical.
At the conclusion of the report, Forrester Consulting offered the following recommendations:

• Eliminate line-of-business silos and establish a lead fraud management individual or department to ensure that data can be shared, and fraud can be tracked and prevented across all sales channels;
• Articulate the value of effective fraud prevention across the business to secure necessary funding and maintain effective protection as the business grows;
• Ensure tokenization and P2P encryption technologies are adopted to increase payment security and simplify compliance; and
• Leverage tools and services that enable data integration and real-time fraud screening.

To View Original Article: http://www.retailtouchpoints.com/features/trend-watch/65-of-retailers-lack-the-tools-to-handle-fraud

Retail Messaging Strategies Still Lag Behind Consumer Expectations

By Retail TouchPoints

               

Although retail marketers are constantly seeking ways to deliver messages to consumers that are highly relevant to their shopping needs, it appears that their efforts have not yet matched up to rising consumer expectations.

 

In fact, half of consumers say that they regularly see emails with irrelevant information, even though 71% of retailers believe they send tailored messages to shoppers either always or often, according to a survey from Retail TouchPoints and marketing software provider Magnetic.

 

Similarly, 61% of retailers claim that they always or often deliver messages tailored to individuals' profiles or interests, but only 30% of consumers see online advertising as relevant to their interests. Additionally, only 24% say they see information relevant to their own shopping interests when browsing a retailer’s site.

In partnership with Magnetic, RTP has released a study revealing the disparities between consumers’ marketing expectations and retailers’ existing strategies. To compile data for the report, titled: Closing The Gap Between People’s Expectations & Retail Realities, RTP surveyed 200 consumers and 100 retail executives from the U.S. and Canada.

 

“Retailers recognize the need to keep customers at the core of their marketing decisions, but there are barriers to delivering the level of personalized experiences that consumers expect across channels and devices,” said Alicia Fiorletta, Content Strategist at Retail TouchPoints. “Having the right data continues to be among their key challenges.”

 

These retailer execs use a variety of channels to reach the consumer, but it appears that they need more targeted content to meet shopper expectations. Only 55% of retailers send emails featuring relevant information such as reviews, recommendations, sales or trends; while even fewer (37%) deliver online ads based on consumer interests. Less than half (41%) send a follow-up email about a product after the shopper has abandoned the shopping cart.

 

Ultimately, this lack of communication can frustrate consumers: Half of surveyed consumers either find it “frustrating” or “extremely frustrating” that online ads are irrelevant to their personal tastes and preferences. Nearly as many (49%) are frustrated that ads are irrelevant to products they’re interested in buying.

 

The survey concludes that retailers must prioritize their data and information to better understand shopper desires and to successfully reach new people, keep current customers and bring back past shoppers.

 

“Creating personal experiences across the channels people use and the devices they engage can significantly improve their buying process,” said James Green, CEO of Magnetic. “When it comes to shopping, the most important factors relate to efficiency, ease of use and the ability to make informed decisions. Digital experiences give retailers a unique opportunity to empower shoppers to buy, and prompt them to buy more frequently.”

 

To View Original Article: http://retailtouchpoints.com/topics/omnichannel-cross-channel-strategies/retail-messaging-strategies-still-lag-behind-consumer-expectations

10 Keys to Safely Accepting Checks from your Customers

By Nicole Reyhle

With the rise of debit cards, ACH, e-payment systems and other new payment technologies, some would tend to believe that the paper check is becoming extinct.
To the contrary, paper checks still account for about 20% or more of the total payments made annually to merchants for goods and services.

"According to the 2013 Federal Reserve Payments Study, the percentage of payments made by check was still “21% of all payments made”. This amounted to 18.3 billion in checks being paid, with a value of $26 trillion dollars. Based on these numbers, it is clear that checks still play a major role in our payment system."

One challenge that business owners accepting checks face is that there will always be some percentage of checks that are returned for a variety of different reasons. According to the study, 3 out of every 1,000 checks was returned unpaid in 2012.

This amounts to nearly 66.4 million checks with a value of $83.1 billion that were returned unpaid. Checks are returned unpaid by the payer bank for a host of reasons, but most likely because the payers did not have sufficient funds in their accounts (that is, non-sufficient funds, or NSF).
Although it is the case that check usage is slowly declining, the study concluded that “checks’ diminishing share of the payments pie shouldn’t mask their overall significance in the payments system. The value and volume of checks will likely stabilize, with billions of checks being written well into the future” the study concluded.

As a business owner, the goal is usually to make it as easy on the customer to buy as much of your goods and services as possible. One effective way of accomplishing this is to accept all forms of payment, including checks and allow the customer to choose the payment method that he or she prefers.

There are a number of precautionary measures that business owners can take when accepting checks. Among them, here are our top 10 for you below: 

1. Establish a check acceptance policy with clearly acceptable forms of ID, and dollar limits. Allow no exceptions to these policies.
2. Verify the check information. The check writer’s name, address and phone number should be pre-printed on the check.
3. Watch the check writer sign the check. If the name is not readable, have the customer print the name below.
4. Compare the signatures, photo and physical description from the ID with that of the check writer. Always get a photo ID with every check written!
5. Most returned checks have low check numbers (100 to 500), which indicates a new account and therefore a more likely risk. Accept starter checks only from known customers. Any number under 300 should be a “red flag”.
6. Other useful information on the check is the accounts opening date (month and year) usually indicated by four numbers to the side of the account holders name and address.
7. Do not accept checks with PO Boxes. Always get a street address for the check writer.
8. Do not accept altered checks. The check writer’s name, address and phone number should be imprinted on the checks.
9. Do not accept third party checks. The check holder may not have permission from the account holder to have the check (it may be stolen)
10. Have a camera at the point of sale. Individuals committing forgery, fraud and writing bad checks do not want their photo taken. A video camera conspicuously placed will deter most dishonest people.

In the end, it is a balance between allowing your customers to use their preferred payment method of choice while also taking the prudent and necessary precautions in order to effectively protect your businesses financial interests.

To View Original Article: https://retailminded.com/10-keys-to-safely-accepting-checks-from-your-customers/

Power of Print Media: Print Catalogs are Alive and Growing

By Kizer & Bender

Holiday 2015 is closer that you might think. We’ve been working lately on marketing ideas to share to help you make this your best season ever. While brainstorming options for capturing and engaging customers we thought about catalogs. Do you currently use catalogs as a marketing tool? Have you thought about it?

We asked our friend Tom Ungrodt, President and CEO of Ideation, Inc., a catalog marketing company that services independent retailers, for his thoughts. Here’s what Tom had to say:

While large retailers have been mailing catalogs for years, now specialty retailers are gearing up and running with the idea. In fact, several of these mega-retailers have significantly upgraded their catalogs recently. Even digital retailers are now mailing catalogs to enhance and support their business.

Why is all this happening in a business that everyone thought was “a dying breed”? Because print simply re-enforces all aspects of a business, giving the consumer one more opportunity to shop from the mailbox. Social media is here to stay, but catalogs are as well.

After many years in the print business I have identified one advantage to print that is often overlooked, SHELF LIFE. When a catalog arrives in a consumer’s mailbox the next stop on the coffee table or kitchen counter where it remains for weeks on end until the family has the opportunity to review it. It’s the opposite of a typical social media post or an email blast that is generally read and gone within minutes. Catalogs have staying power.

To create even more staying power you can personalize it through data base management companies, allowing you infinite methods of directing your print to the exact customer you are targeting.  A retailer should begin to collect customer names and addresses along with emails, and then revert to a data base marketing company which will give you everything you need to successfully mail your piece to your local neighborhoods. Identifying and tracking your customers is much easier today than in the past, particularly if you use social media to collect your information then refine it for print. Catalogs have specific mailing dates and customer source codes allowing exact tracking of your sales objectives.

Retailers have also discovered that catalogs can be used for high quality content marketing. The use of high quality print pieces filled with stories, fashion images, etc. will drive more traffic to the store. If you own a gift store, for example, and have the need to introduce a new product line, a catalog is the perfect way to reach those customers that have an interest. And it’s a great brand-building tool.

Catalogs, social medias, ad, email blasts all potentially attract a different customer base – multichannel marketing is the key to successful retailing now and in the future. Given today’s new dynamics of multichannel marketing and commerce, and the new targeting measurement capabilities  catalog marketing has to offer, I truly believe catalogs are here to stay for many years to come.

 

To View Original Article: http://www.retailadventuresblog.com/2015/07/power-of-print-media-print-catalogs-are.html

To View Original Website: http://www.kizerandbender.com/

To View Kizer and Bender's Bio:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1U5HAdsik2dzbykqW4LtIehOanBXmTa3t_BKy2PO6fLI/edit?usp=sharing

Turning product page abandonment into further opportunities

Within today's multi-device, cross-channel shopping experiences, there are typically two critical moments when shoppers stray from the online shopping process: when viewing a product page or their shopping cart. These actions are ominously referred to as Product Page Abandonment and Shopping Cart Abandonment, but retailers are breaking away from the view that all shoppers leave without the intention of returning to complete a purchase. Progressive retailers are considering what the shoppers' actions truly mean and responding appropriately to turn abandonment into renewed sales opportunities.

For example, study of their behavior reveals that shoppers are using product pages and the shopping cart as tools to transition across devices and between channels: A shopper may leave a product page on mobile with the intention of moving the item to the shopping cart on his laptop at a later time.

Retailers are learning to adjust their tactics and strategies surrounding these pivotal moments to better assure sales. One weapon in the battle is the use of product page abandonment reminders. The concept of triggering an email when a shopper leaves a product page may be new to some retailers, even those making use of shopping cart reminders. In fact, only 15 percent of retailers, according to Bronto's research, are currently making use of this technique.

Here are a few pointers on proper use of email reminders drawn from Bronto's recently-released whitepaper on the topic (see form below to download):

Timing
While the "strike while the iron is hot" philosophy works well for shopping cart reminders, it could be too aggressive for product page abandonment in which shoppers may be less committed to the purchase. Retailers may get better results sending these types of reminders out 24 to 48 hours after the shopper leaves the page.

Messaging
Shoppers, of course, may be uncomfortable with the use of their browsing data, even for their own, personalized email promotions. While many retailers explicitly let the customer know they are getting the message because they visited a particular product page, others are opting for subtlety — they may feature the abandoned product without noting that the product page was visited, include the product among other related items, or go with a generic customer service theme.

Relevance
Additional influencers, such as product ratings, reviews and availability, can reconnect the shopper to the product they browsed and motivate them to start shopping again. Eleven percent of product page reminders, according to Bronto's research, include product ratings, 6 percent feature reviews, and another 6 percent feature both.

To View The Original Article: http://www.retailwire.com/tip/1361/turning-product-page-abandonment-into-further-opportunities

Do You Recognize These 6 Early Warning Signs Of Losing A Retail Sale?

By Bob Phibbs

 

 

 

A lot has been written on closing a sale, but what if you could see the warning signs you were going to crash and burn? Would that be valuable to your sales team?

Good...

When I was a kid, I loved to bodyboard. Waiting for a wave and riding it was truly a thrill. You had to be careful because suddenly you could end up no longer riding the wave, but you could be crushed by the wave; your face shoved into the rocks and sand of the ocean floor.

Art Hearts Fashion Week: The Men of Spring/Summer 2016

We are in the midst of Fashion Week here in Los Angeles, where the city of culture and business is thrown into a frenzy of fabric and camera flashes. Fashion enthusiasts from all around are introduced to the Spring/Summer line for the upcoming year during the early weeks of October in Downtown Los Angeles.

Art Hearts Fashion Week,  produced by ParkerWhitaker Foundation works to benefit AIDS Healthcare Foundation, is one of the many shows that design students and retail professionals look forward to alike. While the events during Fashion Week are many in number and spread out over 14 days, we pinpoint just a few designers at the forefront of fashion for men in the not too distant 2016.

In the halls of the Tagylan Cultural Complex,  we are introduced to our first designer who worked on pieces for men, a simple look utilizing unconventional fabric, House of Li Jon creates black and grey attire that outlines the simplistic masculinity in her models.

Photos From fashionxchangemag.com

Photo from fashionxchangemag.com

 Just Bones Boardwear offers designs that even those that do not often find themselves at the frontier of fashion movements can get behind. A line created with the intention of only dressing young men, has evolved to create a line that caters to not only boys, but women, men, and toddlers alike. A summer day spent on the beach is just a part of life here in southern California, and with these bright and patterned board shorts men can hit the waves and still look good.

Photo from lafashionjudge.com

  

Photo from lafashionjudge.com

Our next designer steps ahead of the two aforementioned looks, as KOKO BLAQ continues to work with patterns and black and white color palettes, he establishes a much appreciated balance in our wardrobe. Too much of the same pattern on one outfit? No such thing!

Photos shot by Inae Bloom

Photos Shot by Inae Bloom

 Last, but definitely not least, is designer Consort 62. They approach spring and summer in a refreshing way. With a hint of autumn in their attire, we see muted tones in the spring look, creating a laid back and "chill" ensemble.

Photos from fashionxchangemag.com

 This model wears dark blues that contrast with the light gray over his shoulders. A contrast that does not take a trained eye to appreciate, but yet is reminiscent of  that of a lazy, but still fashionable, Sunday morning.

Photos from fashionxhangemag.com

It just isn't summer without your sandals and your favorite pair of shorts. Here we see a model with a  simple look, staying true to those softer colors, a dark grey sweater paired with a lighter shade of shorts truly brings together a Consort 62 look.












It seems that our designers have laid out 2016 to have an unforgettable and revolutionary look. Catering to the look of those men that want to set themselves apart form the flock, those who embrace the patterns, the unique fabrics, and those who are redefining what summer and spring look like.

There are many designers who we cannot highlight, regrettably a post can only handle so much greatness, so don't forget gentlemen, to stay updated on Los Angeles Fashion Week as it draws to a close this weekend.

Embracing “Showrooming”

By Jon Bird

Over the last few years, “showrooming” has received a bad rap. This is the practice where a smartphone-enabled shopper goes into a physical store to touch and feel the merchandise, gets expert advice, and then compares prices on their device and purchases online elsewhere. The classic example is of a customer visiting a Barnes & Noble bookstore, checking out the latest novel by Stephen King, asking the associate for his opinion, and then buying on Amazon.
A new generation of retailers and brand-owners, however, has embraced the showrooming concept and taken it to a whole new level. On a recent retail expedition in and around New York’s SoHo shopping district, I saw numerous examples, and four caught my eye:

Samsung Galaxy Studio – a warehouse-style space filled with the latest Samsung devices, and not a single one for sale. The idea is for shoppers to play with the product and they get rewarded for doing so. Customers collect points for stopping at each “experience station”, and receive free merchandise as prizes at the end. Highlights include a Design Studio, where you can create your own t-shirt with the help of a Samsung Galaxy Tab, and a café where you can order a complimentary cappuccino and pastry via a Samsung device.

The Sound of Porsche – new brands like automotive darling Tesla have stolen some of Porsche’s cool, and this pop-up in the Meatpacking District (now closed) was part of an attempt to get it back. The temporary installation was dedicated to selling the sound of the iconic brand. Set up like a vinyl record store, customers could listen to classic car soundtracks, and in the Sound Studio hear the distinctive thrum of the engine and project accompanying visuals onto the surface of a 9-11.

Story “Tech & Style” with Intel – Story is a “retail space that has the point of view of a magazine, changes like a gallery, and sells things like a store.” Every 6-8 weeks, the entire story of the store changes – every fixture, every fitting, and every product. Right now the featured “story” is a collaborative effort with Intel, showcasing tech both “on the outside” (e.g. gadgets) and “on the inside” (e.g. embedded in clothing). Wearable technology is a key story, like “Ringly”; jeweled rings that can be paired with your smartphone to vibrate and ring when a message is received.

Chobani SoHo – an artfully designed café showcasing Chobani’s signature category-creating Greek yogurt in both savory and sweet “creations”, along with coffee and sandwiches. It’s as much about the philosophy and aesthetic of Chobani as it is about the yogurt itself.

In each of these cases, the stores are unashamed showrooms, allowing shoppers to interact with and experience the brands on a deep and meaningful level, then (hopefully) spread the word via social media. It’s about buying into the brand, not necessarily purchasing from that outlet.

In regular retail too, forward-thinking merchants are happy to treat their stores as showrooms. Apple led the way. From when the very first Apple Store opened in 2001, the retail space was a glistening showroom of all things Apple, where customers were encouraged to play with no pressure to purchase. (Of course, it helped that Apple is famously rigid with pricing no matter the vendor, and that they own the brand.) UK department store John Lewis has also significantly built its business on being agnostic about where the sale ends up – in store or online. They are more than happy for shoppers to be inspired in store and then buy on their devices. Do a good enough job in the store, and the shopper will stick with John Lewis.

For a while, a year or two ago, retailers were penalizing shoppers for treating their stores as showrooms. There was the case in Sydney Australia of a ski shop charging customers to try on boots, then refunding if a purchase was made. Wrong move. You can’t fight the Internet and you can’t bite the hand that feeds you. Instead, it’s time to reinvent retail and embrace showrooming.

To View the Original Article: http://www.newretailblog.com/embracing-%e2%80%9cshowrooming%e2%80%9d/

KIZER & BENDER Interview: What’s Happening in Retail Store Layouts

By Kizer & Bender

Guess What’s Changing in Retail Store Layouts?

Rich Kizer and Georganne Bender are professional speakers, retail strategists, authors and consultants whose client list reads like a “Who’s Who” in business. Companies internationally depend upon them for timely advice on consumers and the changing retail market place. KIZER & BENDER are experts on generational diversity, consumer trends, marketing and promotion, and everything retail. They are widely referred to as consumer anthropologists because they stalk and study that most elusive of mammals: today’s consumer.

MANTHAN: What are you seeing as a new or recent trend in store displays?

KIZER& BENDER: Customers today have more shopping choices than ever before so if the sales floor doesn’t stack up to their expectations they just go somewhere else. Retailers are realizing that a trip to the store is more than a just trip to the store: it’s an interactive and fun experience. Displays are well thought out so they are irresistible; products are cross-merchandised so that shoppers pick up more than one item. Product is placed in specific locations and fixtures are set so that shoppers don’t miss a thing.

MANTHAN: What key questions does a retail store planner need to ask themselves in order to choose the right store layout?

KIZER& BENDER: Store planners definitely need to know the demographic and psychographics of the store’s customers. They must be familiar with the shopping experience the store’s competition has to offer. Every retailer, large and small, chain and independent, has a brand message. The planner must understand this message; it needs to be visible in the décor and signing throughout that sales floor, exterior, etc. The layout should also reflect what customers expect to find once they enter the front door: plush carpeting, soft lighting, and classical music, for example, won’t cut it in a sporting goods store.

When we do a remodel or a makeover we spend time standing and watching shoppers: where do they naturally go, where do they linger, and what do they avoid? Which displays encourage them to pick up product? We document the behaviors shoppers’ exhibit and use this information in choosing which type of layout to use for that store’s unique foot print.

MANTHAN: What would be your best "freebie advice" for retailers looking to improve their in-store experience?

KIZER& BENDER: Do our “V and the Vista Exercise”: Stand inside your front door just beyond the Decompression Zone (about 5’ inside the store) and spread your arms out at shoulder height with your index fingers extended. What’s inside the V your arms make is called is the Vista – the area that builds a shopper’s first impression of your store. The space inside the Vista needs to be clean, uncluttered and full of not-to-be-missed product. This is where you should place your Speed Bump displays.

The V will help you find your store’s Power Walls. Follow your nose down your right arm to the tip of your right index finger: the wall you are looking at is your front right Power Wall; the most important selling wall in the store – that’s because 90% of shoppers will enter your store and look or turn to the right. We call this wall and the sales floor at the front right lake front property. Use it to feature new, hot and happening product.

Now, follow your nose down your left arm to the tip of your left index finger. This left front Power Wall is also important, display it with as much thought and care as your right front Power Wall. It’s what people see when they make a loop around your sales floor. Like Speed Bump displays, Power Walls need to be changed frequently.  At least once a quarter.

MANTHAN: What kind of in-store technologies are you seeing gain more popularity?

KIZER& BENDER: We are seeing all sorts of retailers utilizing promotional videos that highlight the store set strategically throughout the sales floor. And because 70% of purchase decisions are made on site, we’re seeing iPads used as interactive signing. The iPads allow shoppers access to what’s available from the retailer online, find ideas for product usage, and more. iBeams that interact with a retailer’s app that’s installed on a customer’s smartphones are gaining popularity.

MANTHAN: How much does data and analysis help in influencing store layout and display?

KIZER& BENDER: There is so much information available to retailers today, including how time is spent by customers in the store, purchase behaviors, flow tracking, merchandise turn rates, financial statics and analyses, and so much more. Here’s the thing: All of the data garnered should serve as a guide to layout and display, but the retailer cannot rely just on data analysis alone. Retail is a science but it’s also an art. Retailers need to spend time on the sales floor doing cycle counts, tweaking displays that aren’t reaching full potential, and observing customers and their shopping habits.

To View Original Article: http://www.retailadventuresblog.com/2015/09/kizer-bender-interview-whats-happening.html

To View Original Website: http://www.kizerandbender.com/

To View Kizer and Bender's Bio:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1U5HAdsik2dzbykqW4LtIehOanBXmTa3t_BKy2PO6fLI/edit?usp=sharing

How to Use the Panorama Approach to Organize Your Store

By Melanie McIntosh

One of my most memorable experiences was when I first stood on top of Mt. Kobau, BC. The landscape spread out below, in a wide panorama from one horizon to the other.  Beyond the trees, and the sage covered hills, the mountain peaks stretched as far as I could see. At sunset, the view was simply stunning. I had to stop to take in the breathtaking vista.

The customer’s first view of your store has much in common with this mountain top view. When the customer sees your store, the view is a panorama, not a detail view. She gets an overall impression of the store. If this impression attracts and connects with her, she’ll stop to take it in.

In that moment, the customer gets oriented to the store. There are several questions she has to answer for herself:
What is the store about?
Do I like it?
Do I want to go inside to find out more?
Where do I go first?
The way the store is organized helps the customer answer these questions.

The panorama approach
The panorama approach organizes the store to make it easy for the customer to understand at a glance. It focuses on the big picture because that’s what shoppers see first. When a store is organized with this approach, the shopper can easily figure out what the store is about, and decide to venture inside. She’ll understand the layout in a glance, so she’ll know where to go.
So, how do you use the panorama approach in your store?

Using the panorama approach
To learn how to apply this approach to your store, there are three steps:
1) Choose 3 stories to tell
2) Group merchandise by story
3) Create a scene on each wall
Let’s look at each of these steps in detail.

1) Choose 3 stories to tell
The first step of the panorama approach is to simplify your merchandise selection. We all get overwhelmed by clutter. When the customer is presented with a huge selection of options, it all starts to look like clutter. By choosing three main stories the product selection, we get rid of the clutter. The product selection becomes more streamlined and organized.

What is a story?
 A story is a theme, or a message, that you want to convey to the customer. It is a method of grouping merchandise together. Different types of stores are going to have different types of stories.
A store that is fashion oriented like clothing or home décor tend to have colour or style stories. For example, a colour story could be black and white. A style story for home décor could be French Provincial. Depending on the store, these stories might change with every season.

A store that sells a wide variety of products such as pet supplies or hardware would have very basic stories. A pet store’s main stories might be food and nutrition, pet care at home, and pet care on the go (traveling, in the car, at the park). A hardware store could have home and garden, building and renovations, and seasonal. These main stories would not change, even though some of the products within each story change from season to season.

The customer can understand three visual stories quickly and easily. In a glance she can decide if one or more of the stories attracts her enough to step inside.
Now let’s look at how stories are used in the store.

2) Group merchandise by storyOnce you’ve decided on your three stories, it’s time to look at your merchandise layout. The products in each story need to be grouped together. Each story needs to be allocated to one section of the store.
Three examples of story layouts are:

Balanced: One story on the left of the store, another on the right, with the third at the back.

Sequential: One story at the front, one in the centre, one at the back.

Grocery style: One story on the floor (free-standing or on tables),  one on shelves in aisles, one on the walls. Think of the way supermarkets are laid out: produce on tables/bins, canned/processed foods in the aisles, basics (meat, dairy, bread) around the perimeter.

The way you layout your product stories will depend on the shape of your store, as well as the type of product you are selling. Some products are best displayed on tables, shelves or walls. You’ll need to decide which layout suits your situation best.

The panorama approach works because you have one section of the store for each story. And that all the merchandise for that story is placed in that section. It is easy for the customer to know where to look for the products she wants.

All the products are now grouped with their story into one section of the store. Let’s look at how to attract shoppers to that section.

3) Create a scene on each wall
The walls of your store are powerful attraction tools. They play an important role in the panorama approach. As customers pause at the front of your store, they quickly scan the store in a glance. As they look across the store at eye level, they will see the merchandise presented on the walls.
You could think of the walls as the main scenes of each of your stories. For example, when they see the back wall of the store, the shoppers should immediately understand the story for that section of the store.

The most prominent walls that shoppers will notice are the ones to the immediate right and left of the entrance, as well as the back wall. If your entrance is not located in the centre of the front of your store, you’ll have to determine which walls are most prominent. Do this by standing at the entrance and looking into the store. Take note of which walls you notice the most.

Focus your merchandise presentation on these walls. For the panorama approach, we are not paying attention to individual displays. Consider the wall as a whole. Plan a balanced arrangement of coordinating merchandise. At this point, you just want to make sure that the arrangement of fixtures and merchandise on the wall is organized, balanced and neat.

It’s also important to consider what merchandise to place on the walls. It’s not the place for clearance merchandise, or mismatched odds and ends. These feature walls are great for new merchandise and items that will catch the customer’s eye. They will help you to use the feature walls to draw shoppers deeper in the store.

So, you know how to use the panorama approach in your store. But what if you have too many products that don’t fit into your three stories?

When products don’t fit into 3 stories
If you’ve just started using the panorama approach, you might end up with some hard-to-merchandise white elephant items. This is a common challenge. You’ll need to fit them into one of the stories that seems to work the best. And work hard to sell this merchandise as soon as possible. It might take some time to eliminate those white elephants.

Once you do, you’ll find it gets even easier to use the panorama approach. Once the three stories have been developed it’s going to be easier to avoid them in future. Buying and merchandising will get easier because you’ll know your three stories in advance.

Give your customers the mountain top view
Use the panorama approach to get shoppers to pause, take in the view and be drawn into the store.
You know what to do:

 1) Choose 3 stories to tell
2) Group merchandise by story
3) Create a scene on each wall

To View Original Article: http://merchandisingblog.inspire.ca/how-to-use-the-panorama-approach-to-organize-your-store/

5 Ways to Leverage Social Word-of-Mouth Marketing

By Dennis O'malley

Television media companies appear to be the first to leverage social word-of-mouth marketing across screens to keep audiences engaged and tuned in. You've probably seen several shows and events display a stream of tweets or Facebook posts directly on your TV or the stage set. Why? It comes down to engagement, and a new way media brands can further connect with viewers. By leveraging the power of their social network investments, TV media companies are broadcasting handpicked, visual word-of-mouth marketing expressions from passionate advocates to build a sense of community with audiences — all of which helps drive viewership and engagement.

Retail brands should take notice because consumer brand expression on social platforms is booming. The best word-of-mouth marketing is user-generated content. On the social web, this means Facebook wall posts and comments, Instagram photo sharing, Pinterest boards, tweets (especially accompanied by a photo), and YouTube videos. A retailer's best brand advocates are socially engaged and enjoy sharing testimonials and content that's authentic and shows a real passion for the brand.
The payoff for amplifying social testimonials on retailer shopping pages is measurable and significant, including the following:

• increases in page conversions;
• increases in page traffic; and
• increases in online revenue.

Daniel Neukomm, strategy leader for La Jolla Group, a multibrand apparel licensing company, put it this way after his company began promoting social word-of-mouth marketing content on e-commerce pages: "We knew that if a consumer could see a relevant product with a relevant social comment, it would create an additional emotional reaction or layer of attachment to what they were viewing. To put the right content in front of the right consumer at the right time next to a product they're considering buying is just a no-brainer."
The ways and means retail brand marketers can amplify word-of-mouth marketing from social user-generated content is multifaceted. Today's omnichannel audience wants a connected shopping experience online, in-store, over mobile devices, on social media platforms or through printed catalogs. Here are five ways retailers can best leverage social word-of-mouth marketing:

1. Augment product-level ratings and reviews on your product pages with brand and category-level social testimonials that are visual. Hint: Look for your fans interacting with you on Instagram, Facbook or Pinterest.

2. Have digital displays in your stores? Take a page out of TV media and stream real-time, curated, visually compelling social testimonials to show off your community of brand advocates who are proud to be your customers.

3. Leverage social graph information (Facebook's term for user demographics) from your highly engaged fans to improve targeting of precision email campaigns. Add social testimonials from "similar to me" advocates to email content targeting specific ge
ographies, age groups or settings that your data reveals.

4. Promote brand-level social testimonials as new advertising content for your partner affiliates and retailers on their web and mobile sites.

5. Show off your best customers’ expressions on social media channels as a community "Fan Board" or "Customer Stories" page on your branded web properties and mobile sites, or even in printed or digital catalogs as aspirational "Look Books" to reinforce the social proof we all need to feel confident in making purchase decisions.

The ability to capture, filter and promote your fans most compelling visual social testimonials and bring them to life across screens and marketing channels is very real. This is marketing, and retailers that take advantage of greater social integration will be a step ahead in the consumer sales cycle.
Dennis O'Malley is the co-founder and CEO of ReadyPulse, a provider of testimonial marketing. Dennis can be reached at dennis@readypulse.com.

To View Original Article: http://www.mytotalretail.com/article/5-ways-leverage-social-word-of-mouth-marketing/

Love Your Customers and They’ll Reward You With Sales

Written by Susan J. McIntyre

“Love” may seem odd as a business concept. Love includes valuing someone as a person, trying to see things from their point of view, being considerate of their time, trying to make their life easier, working to understand and help them achieve their goals, among other things.
Let’s take for granted that you do all this for your spouse, children, parents, best friend. But do you ever think about “loving” your customer? You should. It’s good business. Here’s how.

Love is Understanding
It still surprises me when I ask a cataloger about their customers and all they know is “65 percent female, average age 30-45, household Income $60,000-90,000.” It completely misses what’s essential to you as a marketer: your customers’ lifestyles, goals and motivations.
How do you find this type of information? Big catalog brands with deep pockets can afford research and focus groups. However, most catalogers are small to medium size. Here are steps you can take:

1. Talk AND Listen. Spend some time in the call center taking calls. The marketing decision-makers I know with the most successful catalogs do just that. It’s an easy, affordable method to get to know your customers in a way that no demographic report can tell you. (But read the reports too!)

2. Be interested. Don’t share your customers’ interests? That’s OK. However, do learn enough to see things from their perspective. Read the magazines and blogs they’re reading. Are your customers hunters? Take a few lessons in shooting and dog handling. Talk to friends and neighbors who hunt. You’ll understand better how to pick the best products, and how to help your designer and copywriter speak your customer’s language. And you’re likely to find it interesting!

3. Be considerate. Have your designers create a catalog that’s comfortable for your customers, not themselves. I know a designer who is urban, cynical, edgy (and designs well for audiences like himself), but his current employer’s audience is very different. His very different design for this female, grandmotherly, heartland audience is appealing and comfortable for them — cute, heartwarming, apple pie, with large serif fonts and easy eye flow. His secret to being flexible and relevant? He spent time in the call center to connect with the audience.

4. Defend them. Be a customer advocate. Other staff often just defend the company (which may be a short-term plus, but long-term harm), like cheapening product quality, eliminating deals, making returns harder, squeezing service out of the guarantee, creating longer wait times in the call-center queue, etc. Yes, every catalog must deal with business realities. However, defending the customer can gain creative compromises that yield short-term profit while also maintaining long-term customer loyalty and thereby long-term response.

5. Don’t rely solely on big data. Big data is great in its own way. It reduces sending messages to the wrong people and sending the wrong messages to the right people. People are more than data points, however; they’re thinking, feeling creatures who can detect the difference between pushing products/services at them vs. actually caring about their welfare. Even if you really are interested only in making money (I hope not), then focus on trying to make your products and services actually improve the lives of your customers. You’ll earn more — and not just money.

6. Build lifetime relationships. “Our customers are so great. Some have been buying from us for 30 years and 40 years.” This is a real quote from a cataloger that’s doing everything right, and succeeding because of it. Quality products. Knowledgeable customer service representatives. Solid guarantee. Relevant marketing. Despite its success, this cataloger keeps striving to improve. New products, expanded website, better photography. It just keeps on loving and listening to its customers. That’s a winning strategy.


To View Original Article: http://www.mytotalretail.com/post/love-customer-theyll-reward-sales/

Inventory Management Is Crucial To Your Business

Peter Pishko, VP of Operations at One Step Retail Solutions

Inventory management is crucial to your business; from cash flow to customer service, having the right product on hand at the right time all depends on the careful management of your products. In order to assist you, we’ve put together a successful inventory management guide that can be broken down into the following points:
1) Classification- The breakdown of your inventory should be based upon specific classifications. I often meet with customers that classify their inventory by vendor. Telling a vendor story is a great way to display your merchandise but it falls short when it comes to inventory management. It is your business not ABC vendor’s business, classifying your inventory in the same manner as your vendors could lead to disastrous results.  It does not allow for flexibility in your assortments or is just too dependent on vendor performance.  The viewpoint I like to take is that every retail location can be viewed as a mini department store.  Break your merchandise down by departments and classifications at a minimum, so you can follow historical trends in your assortment. Do not be too specific in your department breakdown, or it will not allow you to view trends easily.

How To Engage Retail Customers Begins With A Wow Moment

08 | 16 | 15            

 

For retail customers to let down their guard, share their desires, and get over their fears of purchasing, you must get them involved...

10 Tips That Can Drastically Improve Your Website's User Experience

            Written by Darling Jiminez                     

 

In today’s changing marketing landscape, your website has become a more powerful tool than ever. As a 24/7 salesman, your website has the potential to be your most powerful asset and the centerpiece of your marketing efforts.

 

However, rapidly changing technology can make your website feel old and outdated. While sometimes a redesign might be ideal, you may not have the time or money to invest in such a large project. If you're one of the folks that falls into this boat, we have put together a list of 10 simple ways you can improve your website to make it more helpful and useful. 

Retail Metrics: Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) – Days of Supply

By Scott Kreisberg
CEO, One Step Retail Solutions



Previously, I’ve talked about Retail Metrics and the importance of Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) in running your business. What does that really mean anyway? Some of you new to the retail business might not have a clue as to what constitutes a “Key Performance Indicator”. Some of us old timers who’ve been around the block a few times, might not know what they are either or may just need to brush up on retailer lingo. Either way, I want to really delve into what things you can look at to help navigate your aircraft, so to speak, like an airplane pilot would.

Flying a plane is a good parallel to managing a store. How does a pilot know what to do when? What tells him when it’s time to raise the plane to a higher altitude? What gauges tell him to lower her down a bit? How do they know when it’s okay to add on more cargo? What tells the pilot to toss some cargo overboard? When do they know to just keep flying along and not change a thing?
A retailer makes decisions all the time to best navigate the constant change of consumer buying habits. Doing this actually consists of five critical decisions on any given item in stock in order to keep costs down and profits high. These are:

• Mark the item up?
• Mark it down?
• Buy more of it?
• Buy less?
• Don’t change anything about it?

Well, the answer to these million dollar questions lies in the treasure trove of information provided by your store’s KPI’s. Just like a pilot, a retailer must know his KPI’s and how to address them, as well or better than a pilot needs to know how to read and interpret the gauges that indicate what should be done next. As a retailer, your KPI’s will tell you what to do next; it’s just a matter of being able to read what those indicators are trying to tell you and put that information into practical use in the store.

Let’s take a look at what I consider to be the five most important retail KPI’s that you can get from your point of sale (POS) software program. We’re talking about Days of Supply, Turn, Stock to Sales Ratio, Sell Through Percentage and Gross Margin Return on Investment. The last one is the most important indicator. We all want to know how much money a particular item will bring back in revenue. But, the Gross Margin Return on Investment is also the most tricky one to manage and know how to use in managing inventory.

Days of Supply

In this article we are going to start with Days of Supply… What does that really mean anyway? We hear this term thrown around all the time, but not all of us really know what this actually is or what it means. Simply put, Days of Supply means how long it will take you to sell out of your present stock, assuming that sales continue at the same rate as recent sales have been. This is weighed against a time frame, like 30, 60 or 90 days. Days of Supply is a great statistic to use for predicting the future. It’s kind of like having a real crystal ball right on your desk. The information contained in this report/statistic lays it all out in a clean and concise way of telling you how much longer it will take to sell a particular piece of merchandise based on what’s been happening sales-wise in your store. It’s like a sign post that points you in the exact direction you need to go in.

For example, you have 1000 t-shirts and over the last 30 days you’ve sold 250 of them. Based on how many have been sold over the last 30 days, it will take another 90 days to sell the remaining 750 t-shirts. So, for these 1000 pieces of inventory, the Days of Supply equals 120 days.
In essence, Days of Supply analyzes the last period of sales and based upon that rate, gives you the amount of days left to sell off the remaining merchandise. But how far back do you go? Let’s take non-seasonal merchandise which sells at a relatively steady rate; for this you could use a longer basis period, such as 30 or 60 days. Then for seasonal merchandise, the rate of sale changes rapidly, and you would want to use a shorter period, a week or even a day in some cases. Interestingly enough, different parts of the country have different length seasons. For instance, New York has really short bathing suit season, about two months and that’s it.

Putting this information into practical use, you would then want to make sure Days of Supply on a certain item matches up with the lead time to restock it. You don’t ever want to run into the problem of having Days of Supply be less than the time it will take to get the items in. In that case, you would miss out on sales because the sell-out and restock time frames did not overlap. Instead, you ran out of an item before the shipment came in to restock it. This can have bad effects on overall sales in the store, too, if the item you are out of stock on is a hot seller at a critical time of year or you lose customer loyalty because you’re out of stock on something. Your goal here is to reduce your Days of Supply to match the lead times without losing sales, plain and simple.

And your point of sale system is where you should be able to get this information and statistical data to manage your inventory. Make sure your POS is giving you this information so you actually can better manage Days of Supply. If your POS isn’t giving you that information, you should think about investing in a system that will give you the information you need to better manage your inventory because in retail, profit is all about inventory and the expert management of it.

In my next article I’m going to cover inventory and lots of little tidbits about it, what you can do with it when it’s not selling and how to increase profits by better managing your inventory.