One paragraph
A seismic event has changed the landscape of the retail world within the past few
years. Long standing stores like Macy's and Sears are being closed all over the country.
This disturbing phenomena is by no means a North American one. In a business article
from The Guardian, a Great Britain based news media, they cite a similar economic
collapse in their traditional stores also. The author of the article writes, “ The PwC and
Local Data Company report found that 2,656 outlets closed on Britain’s high streets in
the first half of the year. This was a rate of 15 stores a day, up from 14 a day in the
same period in 2015.”
What are the factors that are changing the we buy good from the days gone by?
Could it be a cultural shift, in terms of how baby boomers, millennials or Gen X
consumers prefer to do their shopping in person versus doing the same transaction via
E-Commerce like Amazon? It may not be a cultural one, but a financial one. With the cost reduction from paying store employees, money to keep the stores open, it is often much less expensive to shop online from Cabela's or Bass Pro than actually driving across town to buy the same thing in the store.
Summarize the issue - stores are losing to online stores
Identify the problem - people are shopping online
Explain why this is the underlying problem - time (quicker), money (cheaper), culture
Relate the research to the problem -
Explain how a clearly defined problem could help with solution
Baby boomers are comfortable browsing and shopping online. According to a report done by Immersion Active “66% of people over 50 in the United States routinely make purchases from online retailers.” Baby boomers prefer the one-to-one interaction with retailers, they also love coupons and sales, and loyalty discount. Generation X prefer digital channels. This generation most important channel is email; majority use social media; facebook and Twitter usage is rising for this generation. Loyalty programs are a great way to get this generation into stores. Millennials are content-media driven for shopping guidance. This generation are online, social and mobile. Millennials are inspired by people who share their interests; word-of-mouth advocacy and referrals are extremely important. Marketing to these generations should be blended with rich data and insights to empower the marketers to reach their ideal customer base.
These findings about how millennials and baby boomers shop may surprise you. (2015, April). Business Insider, Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com/sc/how-millennials-and-baby-boomers-shop-2015-4
Culture - Jr.
Money - Elvis
Time - Eric
Eric Time
We live in a technically influenced world. The tool that connects the technology is the internet. The internet is a fantastic tool, which allows us to reach anyone, anywhere in the world. A consumer does not have to waste time, driving to the post office or standing in line. 99.9 percent of what we do via the information highway is designed to make our lives more convenient and let us know of the latest product or service available. The web has also populated our minds with advertisements that are designed to speed up and organize our way of life. Online retailers know this, so they market their products to grab our attention. A key platform in this marketing strategy is social media websites. The millennials love this method of shopping because it saves time. The method of marking has made enormous profits for online retailers. While this technique has been perfect for online retailers, it has been devastating for brick and mortar companies.
Elvis Money
