Customer is Key for Retail Growth

US retail sales have seen a rise for the seventh consecutive month in April amid economic recovery. Sales picked up 0.4 percent, higher than the 0.2 percent expected by most economists, according to data from the Commerce Department.

A new research study shows retail demand intelligence (RDI) as the most pressing investment issue currently facing retailers and this is agreed by the elite members who form the NGR US committee. According to the new report, retailers are not only implementing advanced demand-forecasting tools, but are using RDI as a foundational retail technology, tightly integrated with retail planning systems, supply chain applications, and customer selling systems.

In today’s economy, consumers are increasingly demanding. They require customized, targeted promotions carrying personalized benefits and incentives, highly automated and easy-to-use multi-channel technology, and rapid response times to their changing preferences. The retailer needs to be apparent, with accessible product information, clear communications, brand-appropriate service levels, and consumer-centric multi-channel support – all without being intrusive.

To properly address these requirements executives which make up the NG Retail US summit (hosted by GDS International) will look at the best way to deliver a truly improved shopping experience, and gain competitive advantage, retailers must fine-tune their business processes to be able to make quick decisions. Demand trends change rapidly, and consumers expect companies to be always up to date and ready to deliver whatever they want in the shortest amount of time.

Representatives from Amazon - Rick Batye, VP Retail Systems, eBay - James Barrese, VP Architecture, Platforms, Systems, Best Buy - Jeff Peterson, VP Store Operations, Lowes - Ron Blahnik, VP IT Engineering and Starbucks - Elizabeth King, VP Global HR Solutions & Services hope to discuss practical steps and approaches for RDI, identifying common failings to ensure success and how to initiate RDI programs.

With the retail sectors future already picking up it is now to invest in securing growth and remembering the customer is always right.

If the shoe fits...Zappos’ Secret to Amazon Deal

When it comes to a copy of Harper Lee’s ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ or a rare Tarantino DVD, Amazon has long been the internet’s go to guy, but even with blood, sweat and tears, it hasn’t had the success and conversion rate that Tony Hsieh’s Zappos has demonstrated. Tony reveals his success in an Exclusive interview for MeettheBoss.tv on how he has built Zappos from a $1million company to the $847 million Amazon has just reached into its pocket for this unprecedented purchase.

During the interview recorded earlier this year Hsieh divulges innovations he has made to Zappos to grow the business from nearly no sales in 1999 to over $1Billion in gross merchandise sales in 2008. Hseih states ‘The number one driver of that growth has been through repeat customers and word of mouth.’ He also shares his secrets to improving company culture through recruitment and to his Marketing Strategies. ‘Most of the money that we would of spent on paid advertising we put into the customer experience......Any costs that we put into investing in the customer experience ends up driving that repeat customer behavior and word of mouth, so we think of it as an in direct marketing cost’. And he clearly was on the right track as Amazon digs deep to increase market share.

With $23 billion in annual sales generated by footwear and apparel online, Amazon appears to have made the move with money in mind. According to Forrester, this sector tops the hyper competitive PC market, ($16 billion) and consumer electronics ($11 billion). This has always been an area where Amazon has been lacking, but today’s purchase of Zappos is perhaps the most obvious admission of its failure to dominate this lucrative sector. In this respect, the deal makes sense. "They've been trying to do it for years with very little success," said Sucharita Mulpuru, a Forrester Research analyst.

Whilst Amazon has stated that they aren’t ‘disappointed’ with the performance of Endless.com (their presence in this market), this move is clearly an indicator of the company’s desire to become a more prominent player in certain areas of online retailing.

The move has, however, prompted some critics to question Amazon’s motives. Is it purely a case of profit and turnover that has led Amazon to tap into a sector in which they weren’t “King of the Hill”? Or, as some are speculating, is it perhaps a pre-emptive manoeuvre to prevent one of the most celebrated online retailers from expanding their repertoire into segments that Amazon has traditionally dominated?

After all, Amazon themselves started as an online bookshop before rapidly expanding into sector after sector. As a shopping option Amazon is engrained into our lives as the de facto choice for online purchasing, a podium place they simply cannot afford to share.

Both companies have shown a resilience and sustainability even in the most challenging of times, which is good reason for such attention from not only Silicon Valley, but the financial and retail titans.

For more information or to see the exclusive video go to MeettheBoss http://www.meettheboss.com/amazon-buys-zappos.html