News Roundup: September 2016
Fall is starting up and with it comes shopping season. This may or may not include finding the perfect Fall boot, Halloween party-planning, Thanksgiving menu-finalizing, and Christmas present-procuring. A great season for online purchasing awaits retailers, but first, a look at the top news from September.
The State of Subscription Box Services
Consumers today manage their lives with hand-held devices that provide instant connections to their friends, brands and influences. They expect no less of a seamless, personal experience from you — across every channel.
The Evolution and Future of Social Commerce
Social media plays an active role in how consumers interact with a brand and it has come a long way since Facebook launched its Collections feature in 2012. Today, social media users learn about products through a retailer’s social channels, while retailers benefit from referral traffic.
Parents and millennials will drive online holiday purchases this year
72% of millennials will shop online this year, and 58% will make purchases via their mobile devices, a new study finds.
Fostering Loyalty In The Digital Age
Forrester Research says improving customer loyalty is likely to be a top marketing priority for 80% of decision-makers at large organizations this year; and a CMO study highlights that 61% of CMOs believe loyalty program participants represent their best and most profitable customers, thrusting customer loyalty programs into the spotlight.
How smartphones drive in-store purchases
More than two-thirds of smartphone owners use their devices to purchase products or services weekly, according to the report “Mobile Has Changed How People Get Things Done” from Google Inc. released today.
Shoppers Disrupted: Retailing Through The Noise
Shoppers have been disrupted. New digital technologies, social networks and advanced analytics have created an intelligent, omnichannel environment. This new environment has completely transformed shopper expectations. Are you prepared to keep pace with this “new normal” and create seamless and enjoyable experiences across all channels?
Virtual Reality for Ecommerce: Pros and Cons
There is no escaping the buzz surrounding virtual reality. Its uses, successes and future opportunities have all been discussed thoroughly. It clearly has advantages and applications in the ecommerce space, but what safeguards should be put in place to protect the consumer and the business?
Shifting the Holiday Delivery Experience Into High Gear
Shipping can be one of the hardest things for retailers to manage during the holiday season. Your customers are placing more orders at that time of year, doing so last minute, and expecting speedy shipping. Yet, according to custom research by Convey, while 66% of shoppers agree that the delivery experience is a decisive factor when deciding to shop with a retailer, only 11% of shoppers say delivery experience is a strength of retailers today.
E-commerce is now key to brand success in omnichannel
Total CPG dollar sales via e-commerce are expected to jump from $11 billion in 2015 to $88 billion in 2022. Brands and retailers have come to understand that e-commerce is more than just a sales channel — it’s quickly evolved into a key component of omnichannel proficiency. And yet with limited historical data and scant resources, e-commerce can be an intimidating channel to enter.
Stay tuned for next month’s news round-up. For real time updates, check us out @minisoft or for more information on how we can help you ease into the holiday season, visit us at www.minisoft.com.