The Media Finds a New, Indirect Way to Say Retail is Still Needed
Back in the day, when something existed, writers found a way to describe it. Nowadays, for the sake of brevity, they just call it “a thing” (in the case of this recent Forbes article, the “thing” in question is “Internet Shopping”). While the article trots out retail relics like CompUSA (once the home for all things computers, ultimately rendered unnecessary by other retailers and that Internet shopping thing), writer Michael Wolf, a smart home analyst with NextMarket Insights, suggests retailers might want to get into the next “thing.” That “thing” is a broad category called “The Internet of Things” (IoT), or those things that can be internet-enabled (therefore, “smarter”), such as a refrigerator that knows it's low on milk, or a car that knows oil needs to be added. As such, while Wolf sees retail giants Home Depot and Lowe's, for example, battling it out over home automation, the IoT niche is so large, he envisions other retailers duking it out over other categories, such as kitchens or jewelry. “Sure, connecting a watch to a TV or a thermostat may be a little different than showing how a tablet works,” Wolf writes, “but the key is well-trained staff who show how products work and interoperate with each other.”
Retailers Could Score High Grades from Back-to-School shoppers this Season
A recent survey by ICSC/Goldman Sachs suggests brick-and-mortar retailers could reap 90 percent of the back-to-school jackpot. The survey, conducted in mid-July, also suggests that a rough winter, during which many people found they were unable to get out, eager to do just that – kept folks from visiting malls and shops. According to a press release by the ICSC, “Furthering the trend of 'webrooming,' 73 percent of consumers indicated that they will do research online, and then purchase in a physical store, according to the council.”
Tech Trends for 2014 that Apply to our World
Instead of watching that cute, water-skiing squirrel your buddy keeps posting on your Facebook wall or the cat video your Aunt Bea has forwarded you for the umpteenth time, check out this one from marketing communications firm JWT Worldwide. It's a two-minute animated video featuring 2014 trends that demonstrate how consumers might welcome – and resist – technology's intrusion into their lifestyles. The trends in the video can be applied to retailing or any industry (I raised an eyebrow at #5, and #3 is just dangerous, but that's me). If you found that video interesting you might want to check out their “Retail Rebooted” report, which bundles and updates their findings on three trends that JWT Intelligence has outlined in recent years. The report spotlights how retailers are evolving for an increasingly sophisticated digital and data-centric world: Retail As the Third Space, Predictive Personalization and Everything Is Retail. Click here and register with JWT to download the “Retail Rebooted” report.
DMM is on YouTube!
School is right around the corner and learning about how to use DMM's exclusive online database couldn't be easier. As you cling to the final weeks and days of summer, you could do it from the beach, on a hike, or just about anywhere! Just head on over to YouTube where you'll find our introductory video that explains the helpful tools that DMM subscribers can take advantage of. Click here to view the video on YouTube.
Spotlight Listing: Rogue Valley Mall, Medford OR
