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black friday 2015 review

Was this Black Friday Naughty or Nice for Retailers?

Like reading tea leaves or gazing into a crystal ball, predicting the future of holiday shopping trends is not an exact science. After all, retail shoppers are people who are known to be a pretty fickle bunch.

In “How to Prepare for the 2015 Holiday Shopping Season” we turned an eye to the future with some predictions about this year’s holiday shopping trends.

Preliminary results for Black Friday shopping are in; now let’s see if our predictions were accurate.

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Read More »Was this Black Friday Naughty or Nice for Retailers?

Five Wins for Retail with Predictive Analytics

Originally published in The Predictive Analytics Times

We’ve heard a lot about how big data is changing the world, and even more about the changes that are still to come. There is more data collected now than at any other point in history, but many decision-makers have yet to figure out exactly what to do with all of this information.

Thankfully, in most businesses that hinge on an efficient supply chain, the inherent value of using predictive analytics is understood and accepted. Retailers, and especially clothing retailers, can benefit in many ways from gazing into the crystal ball that predictive analytics can provide. Here are a just a few examples to keep in mind.

Read More »Five Wins for Retail with Predictive Analytics

How to Reduce Customer Waits with Properly Trained Employees

Nobody likes to stand in line, be stuck on hold, or have to sit in a waiting room, but it’s a necessary part of life in almost every business. If you own a business, you should be trying to reduce wait times at all costs, because customers that don’t have to wait are typically much more satisfied with their experience and will be more likely to come back in the future. There are a lot of ways that you can reduce wait times (or at least the perception of a long wait), but few are more important than training your employees properly.

This includes all facets of the wait- you want to train them on how to deal with an unexpectedly long wait, how to reduce the chances of a wait in the first place, how to get customers through a line quickly… the list goes on. The fact of the matter is that if you spend a lot of time training your employees, your customers will spend a lot less time waiting when they visit your business.

Read More »How to Reduce Customer Waits with Properly Trained Employees

mobile checkouts

Are Mobile Checkouts the Next Big Thing in Retail?

Once upon a time, retailers were terrified when a customer pulled out their smartphone in the store. The dreaded practice of “showrooming” was surely in effect from that point forward.

Yet the practice of comparing prices on the sales floor hasn’t had the detrimental impact that retailers once feared. If anything, the use of smartphones in brick and mortar stores has been a benefit to retailers.

If that phone-toting customer is inclined to spend more than one who does not, then it behooves you to do everything you can to cater to mobile users. The introduction of mobile checkouts is the next logical step in the continued evolution of the retail shopping experience.

Read More »Are Mobile Checkouts the Next Big Thing in Retail?

fitting room text alerts

How to Let Your Customers Keep Shopping While Waiting in Line

Even though your customers may be excited to try on a few pieces of clothing at your retail store, they will not hesitate to put their selected items back on the rack and head for the exit without making a purchase if your fitting room lines are too long.

It’s not always easy for retail companies to implement innovative technology into their customer service strategy, but in today’s world technology is being used by businesses of all types to improve the client experience, and with great results.

If you want to prevent your customers from leaving your store unhappy, you need to make it possible for them to browse the store while they wait for a fitting room to become available.

Read More »How to Let Your Customers Keep Shopping While Waiting in Line

build customer trust

Build Trust With Your Customers by Keeping Them In-the-Know

The only thing worse for your business than an angry customer is an angry customer who feels that you have misled them in some way. Customers need to trust that the company they’re working with has their best interests at heart before they give them money, and one way to earn that trust is to be as upfront and honest as possible. This is true of every facet of business no matter what industry you work in, but it’s especially important when it comes to wait times.

Restaurants, retail stores, repair services, and many other types of businesses will likely require their customers to wait at some point during the transaction. This is an inevitable part of life, but in an age where attention spans are shortening, and people are programmed for instant gratification, wait times can be devastating to your business. A study done by Northwestern University found that when standing in a fast food line, the amount a customer is willing to pay decreases each extra second that they’re waiting.

Read More »Build Trust With Your Customers by Keeping Them In-the-Know

smart mirror technology

How Smart Mirror Technology Increases Smiles and Sales

This post has been edited since it originally appeared on VMSD.com

As online retailers continue to grow, brick and mortar clothing stores have been struggling to find ways to remain competitive against juggernauts like Amazon and eBay. These massive online retailers have access to seemingly limitless inventories of styles and colors that customers can browse at the click of a button. And, they don’t have to worry about some of the same costs such as staffing and theft. So how are top tier retail clothing stores supposed to entice shoppers to visit their stores and get the sales they need to stay in – and grow – their businesses?

The newest advance set to help reframe the retail experience is called the smart mirror.

While there are several competing models being tested across the country, a standard smart mirror functions as a combination of a mirror and video camera. The smart mirror will snap a video of a customer in an outfit and then display it as they try on different combinations letting them quickly compare looks. This lets customers decide which outfit they like best, and some smart mirrors can even let customers see how they would look in a different outfit without ever undressing.
Read More »How Smart Mirror Technology Increases Smiles and Sales

Fitting Room Occupancy Indicators

Why You Need to Know if that Fitting Room is Occupied

There are many devices used in the world today that you don’t appreciate until you do without. Take occupancy lights, for example. Anybody who has ever used a public restroom understands that it’s difficult to know what’s going on behind a closed door. Peeking under doors or knocking feels a bit creepy, but nobody likes waiting unnecessarily.

Who knew such a complex social situation could be solved by something as simple as a lightbulb that’s triggered by the locking of a door?

In fact, retailers should give some serious consideration to the idea of occupancy indicators for fitting rooms. It’s crucial to know if a fitting room is occupied, and here are a few reasons why.

Read More »Why You Need to Know if that Fitting Room is Occupied

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