Tag: retail

Google Brings Product Ads To Image Search

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
On Monday, Google added product ads into image search results, marking the first time Google has allowed ads there. The ads, which will appear atop image search results as a carousel, will direct interested users to a retailer’s website. The ads are mobile only at the moment, which highlights Google’s priority, but the company says a desktop version is in the works.

Besides ads in Image Search, Google is also allowing local retailers to plug product inventories into their search ads, enabling shoppers to make purchases for in-store pickup and check inventory directly within search. Kohl’s is one of the first retailers to use this new feature.

Why Brands Should Care
According to Google, a third of all online purchases in the U.S. now happen on mobile devices, as mobile shopping searches increased by 30% in the past year. The new shoppable ads in Image Search provide a great new channel for retailers and fashion brands to reach shoppers with purchase intent and move them down the sales funnel. The new local inventory feature should also make search ads more effective and help retailers boost sales.

 

Source: AdWeek

 

How American Girl Is Modernizing Its Retail Experience

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Toy retailer American Girl is moving its New York flagship store from Fifth Avenue to Rockefeller Center with a revamped concept in fall 2017. The Mattel-owned brand is looking to reinvent its retail experience to offer more customization. For example, the new store will include an AG Signature Studio where customers can design clothes and accessories for both their dolls and themselves. It will also have private rooms for hosting “personalized parties” and a salon that will help both the customers and their dolls get new looks.

Besides customization, the retailer is looking to draw in doll-lovers by offering unique in-store experiences. The store will debut a media studio, where the retailer plans to host animation workshops for creating stop-motion videos with American Girl dolls, as well as cooking and yoga classes. Digital kiosks will be installed to help with store navigation and booking reservations, which will also be synced up with a new American Girl app.

What Retailers Need To Do
By focusing on personalization and offering unique in-store experiences, American Girl provides a great example of how retailers can modernize their retail experience and give customers good reasons to visit. With more and more consumers choosing the convenience of online shopping over physical stores, brick-and-mortar retailers need to take the initiative in creating in-store experiences that provide added value for customers.

For more information on how retailers can leverage digital technology to modernize their retail experience, please check out the Boundless Retail section in our Outlook 2016.

 

Source: Racked

Why JackThreads Pivoted To Its New Business Model

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Online men’s clothing retailer JackThreads is moving away from the deep discounting it has been known for since the site launched in 2008. Instead, CEO Mark Walker says JackThreads will pivot to a “try-at-home-before-buying” model, which gives customers a week to decide whether they want to keep what they ordered before their cards are charged. All orders will come with free delivery and free returns. The company is also in talks with on-demand shipping startups Shyp and Happy Returns, hoping to integrate their services into its app so as to make the return process as friction-free as possible.

What Retailers Need To Do
JackThreads’s pivot points to the diminishing returns of the online flash-sale fad due to the unsustainability of that business model. By granting customers a generous week-long tryout period and removing all the hassles surrounding online shopping and returns, JackThreads is bringing the fitting room into the online shopping experience and encouraging its customers to shop more – at full price. This pivot provides a great example in how retailers can modernize their shopping experience to meet the demands of connected shoppers.

For more information on this topic, check out the Boundless Retail section in our Outlook 2016.

 

Source: Recode

 

Steve Madden’s First App Blends Commerce And Content

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Fashion retailer Steve Madden has launched its first mobile app to reach shoe shoppers on their smartphones as it aims to drive more store visits and improve its digital conversions. Developed by GPShopper and launched on April 16, the app combines generic ecommerce features commonly seen in mobile apps from retailers – such as support for mobile payments – with branded content from Steve Madden’s lifestyle magazine. The company hopes this integration will provide a context for its products and offer customers some extra value with its editorial content rather than just pushing for sales. Moreover, the app can also send opted-in consumers push notifications on deals and promotions when they are close to a Steve Madden store.

What Retailers Need To Do
With more and more consumers choosing the convenience of online shopping over visiting physical stores, retailers are increasingly taking an omnichannel approach to reach shoppers on all platforms, especially on mobile. Steve Madden’s new app is illustrative of an emerging trend where retailers turn to branded content to inform customers of their products and build brand affinity. L’Oreal, for example, is running content site Fab that even covers products from competitors in order to earn the attention of beauty and makeup customers.  Besides the content strategy, retailers can also consider using proximity technology to drive store traffic.

For more information on how retailers can connect with shoppers with an omnichannel approach  throughout the purchase journey, check out the Boundless Retail section in our Outlook 2016.

 

Source: DIgiday

JCPenney Sets Up Pinterest Boards In Malls To Target Moms

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
JCPenney is looking to attract Pinterest-loving moms to malls with real-life Pinterest boards. The company plans to set up digital billboards in ten malls to showcase their products as well as beauty and hair inspirations as part of its Mother’s Day campaign. The retailer is working closely with Pinterest to leverage user insights from the social scrapbooking site to create the selection. Consumers will see the Pinterest boards in the general shopping area of the malls, and then shop for the looks they like at the JCPenney stores nearby.

What Retailers Need To Do
It makes sense for Pinterest to team up with JCPenney, which Pinterest reports it shares a similar target audience with. By bringing Pinterest boards into the physical world, the retailer is able to create an in-mall activation that engages shoppers and aids product discovery, while also fueling its Pinterest-loving customers with inspiring and helpful ideas. With an increasing number of shoppers now researching online before purchasing in stores, it is important for brick-and-mortar retailers to find compatible ecommerce and digital partners to help bridge the gap between online discovery and offline shopping.

 

Source: AdAge

CVS Plans To Roll Out Curbside Pickup Service

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
On Tuesday, CVS launched a new curbside pickup service called “CVS Express,” allowing customers to order items using CVS’s mobile app and get their orders delivered to their cars when they drive up to the store. This service is currently available at 350 CVS locations in select cities, but the company says it is planning to roll out curbside pickups to its 9,600 retail locations across the country soon. CVS also announced it is investing in Palo Alto-based shopping startup Curbside, whose technology is powering the new experience.

What Retailers Need To Do
With this new pickup service, CVS is making a strong push toward mobile ordering, offering customers a frictionless shopping experience and allowing them to skip checkout lines and receive their orders within hours. As same-day delivery services continue to gain popularity, retailers need to cater to increasing consumer demand for convenience and instant gratification and make an effort to bridge the retail experience across online and offline channels.

For more information on how retailers can modernize their user experiences to better engage with shoppers, check out the Boundless Retail section in our Outlook 2016.

 

Source: TechCrunch

IKEA Pilots VR Showroom Experience

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Yesterday, IKEA made its foray into virtual reality with a pilot program for a branded VR showroom experience. Designed for HTC’s Vive headset and available on Steam, the experience will allow consumers to step into a highly customizable virtual IKEA kitchen, where they can, for example, change the cabinet and drawer colors and view the room from the height of a child or adult. The pilot is scheduled to run through the end of August.

What Brands Need To Do
As a nascent medium, virtual reality holds great potential in marketing for it enables brands to engage consumers with immersive experiences and offer customers a well-rounded look at their products, services, or stores. IKEA’s VR experience makes virtual showrooming an interactive and customizable experience, something that all brands can learn a thing or two from when developing branded VR content.

Source: Engadget

Target’s Discount App Cartwheel Adds Support For Digital Coupons

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Target is expanding its branded discount shopping app Cartwheel to help customers save even more at checkout. Through a partnership with Quotient, a third-party provider of digital coupons from manufacturers, Target shoppers can now enjoy steeper discounts on a wider range of products. Moreover, the app is able to receive communication from the beacons that Target is installing in their stores, allowing the retailer to serve customers with contextually relevant information and brand messages.

What Retailers Need To Do
Adding support for digital coupons should attract more budget-conscious shoppers to Cartwheel, which Target says is already “used by millions.” Cartwheel not only provides Target with a valuable sales channel to reach mobile shoppers, it also lays a solid foundation for Target’s beacon initiative. More retailers should consider developing similar mobile commerce channels to engage today’s connected shoppers.

For more information on how brands can modernize their user experiences to better engage with shoppers, check out the Boundless Retail section in our Outlook 2016.

 

Source: TechCrunch

Amazon Wants You To Pay With Amazon Payments Anywhere Online

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Amazon is expanding its Amazon Payments Global Partner Program to help more ecommerce platform providers and merchants remove payment friction and combat shopping cart abandonment. Previously, individual merchants could sign up to integrate Amazon’s online payment solution into their sites to allow shoppers to check out with their Amazon account payment info. Now, Amazon is bringing this integration to ecommerce platforms, such as PrestaShop, Shopify, and Future Shop, to further expand the reach of its payment service and solidify its leading position in the ecommerce space.  

What Retailers Need To Do
By allowing customers to check out with the credit card information they have on file with Amazon, e-retailers can make it easier for customers to complete their purchases and facilitate more sales. A recent study shows that 46% of shopping cart abandonments occur at the payment stage. Therefore, it would be smart for retailers to consider adding support for “Pay with Amazon” and win over customers with a frictionless shopping experience.

For more information on how brands can modernize their user experiences to better engage with shoppers, check out the Boundless Retail section in our Outlook 2016.

 

Source: TechCrunch

Header image courtesy of Amazon Payments

SXSW 2016: Shopgate Offers Retailers A New Way To Sell On Apple TV

Posted on by Lab Team

What Happened
Mobile commerce platform Shopgate debuted its new tools for building tvOS apps, which allow retailers using Shopgate’s SaaS platform to create shopping apps designed for the new Apple TV. At the launch party it hosted on March 12 during SXSW Interactive, the company partnered with sports apparel retailer Gameday Merchandising for a demo that showcased a TV shopping experience with the Team Store app it created for the Golden State Warriors.

What Retailers Need To Do
The new Apple TV presents new opportunities for retailers to reach consumers with branded content and their apps. Retailers can use Shopgate to develop branded apps that leverage Apple TV’s large format interface to entice shoppers and turn online shopping into a group activity. As TV commerce evolves, retailers with video content would be smart to use the new tools available to create their own content portal apps for streaming platforms.

To read more on how retailers can reach shoppers on OTT platforms with shopping apps and branded content, please check out the Appified TV section in our Outlook 2016.

 

Source: Business Insider

Header image courtesy of Shopgate’s YouTube