Reputation is more important than fear of enforcement October 10, 2006
Posted by kk in Retail Consumer/ Behavior.add a comment
Our reader Rajeev has sent an interesting story about importance of cleanliness and reputation in running a retail food service business.
According to the story, Smith, general manager of CiCi’s Pizza, said that …. “a food-service business lives on its reputation. Good quality, service and price won’t mean much, unless cleanliness and food safety are top notch.”
Smith agreed with …. health officials, who said the biggest incentive for food-service businesses to deliver a safe product is not the threat of enforcement action, but their reputation.”That is true,” Smith said. “If somebody has a good dining experience, they might tell one or two people. But if they get sick or have a miserable dining experience, they’ll tell 20 or 30 people or more. They’ll tell everyone they know.”
“We live on our reputation.”
Thanks Rajeev-kk
Why Coke? Brain provides answers October 9, 2006
Posted by kk in Retail Consumer/ Behavior, Retail Research.add a comment
Marketers have always espoused power of the brand. They have known for years that Coke and Pepsi, both of which although nearly identical in color and chemical composition; evoke strong subjective preferences for one or the other, mostly though in favor of Coke.
This is not new; what is new, however, is that progress made in brain imaging techniques (such as, functional brain
scanning- fMRI), have begun to offer insights into functioning of human brain in relation to brand preference behavior of consumers as they find two different systems of brain being involved in generating such brand preferences. Based on such studies, neuro-scientists are able to offer explanations for success or otherwise of a brand or a campaign. This has led to increase in clamor of marketers for the new field of Neuromarketing (a field of study created from combining the knowledge of marketing with that of neuroscience). The new field is of particular significance to understand consumer perceptions on store A vs. store B even though both of which may be offering same products at comparable prices.
In a path breaking study, comprising 67 subjects, conducted at Baylor College of Medicine, scientists attempted to put to rest that age-old question: Which one you prefer, Coke or Pepsi? The experiment tried to seek behavior patterns of consumers when only sensory information (color, taste, etc) was provided to them vis a vis when cultural information (brand cues) were provided to them. Results and methodology of this study can be viewed in Neuron- a prestigeous science journal.
The verdict of the study: Brand knowledge biases consumers’ preference decisions and two separate systems in the brain are involved in generating these preferences. In the case of Coke and Pepsi, sensory information plays only a part in determining consumers’ behavior. Indeed, brand knowledge (at least in the case of Coke in the study) biased preference decisions (more…)
Tweens and Teens: Do You Know the Difference? October 4, 2006
Posted by kk in Retail Consumer/ Behavior, Retail Research, Retail Trends.add a comment
Children between the ages of 8 and 14 – tweens and young teens – are a powerful demographic group. They control billions in purchasing power and make up 60% of Internet users under age 18, and as tweens become teens, their online activities change dramatically.
They may be small in stature, but they have a huge influence.”Teens ages 12 to 14 go online more frequently than children who are 8 to 11, spend more time online and engage in a variety of online social and communication activities, such as instant messaging and social networking, that kids slightly younger have yet to grasp.”
No marketer should make the mistake of thinking that there is no difference between tweens and teens. The transition from childhood to adolescence is a big turning point — socially, mentally, physically and emotionally. Just ask any parent with children between the ages of 8 and 14.
“It also marks a turning point in online behavior,” says Debra Aho Williamson, eMarketer senior analyst and the author of the new report, Tweens and Teens Online: From Mario to MySpace.
Biometrics to bring relationship centerstage October 3, 2006
Posted by kk in Retail Consumer/ Behavior, Retail Tech.add a comment
“Mass marketing is evolving into one-to-one relationship marketing, where brands seek ways to isolate their most valuable customers”, says John Costello, president of consumer and retail at Pay By Touch, a privately held biometric payment company in San Francisco.
According to Costello, his company’s 3 million members eventually could, with a touch of a finger at a kiosk in a grocery store, receive offers tailored specifically to their needs and shopping history.
Although promising, the field of biometric technology and the prospects of Pay By Touch have many hurdles to overcome before mainstream adoption including a battle with privacy advocates predicts a recent report in Advertising Age.
Costello has earlier held high-level marketing positions at Yahoo, Sears Roebuck & Co. and, most recently, Home Depot
Combating retail shrinkage with RFID September 28, 2006
Posted by kk in Retail Consumer/ Behavior, Retail India, Retail Knowledge, Retail Software, Retail Tech, Retail Views.1 comment so far
Retail shrinkage is the difference between book stock and actual stock. It is the unaccounted loss of retail goods. Its main causes are theft by employees, administrative errors, shoplifting by customers or vendor fraud.
Rakesh Biyani, Director, Pantaloon feels that as India enforces the MRP (Maximum Retail Price) system, the retailer has very little profit margin. Large retail outlets such as Big Bazaar and Pantaloon have investments in RFID, CCTV and antennas to reduce retail shrinkage reports Network Magazine. RFIDs in particular are being adopted widely by these retail majors. “If somebody steals goods without paying, it is the public who ends up paying for it. We identify compulsive shoplifters and often catch them three or more times in the same month. We try not to involve the police especially when teenagers are involved. This is where RFIDs are useful in protection of goods,” explains Biyani.
Dharmesh Lamba, Country Head, Checkpoint echoes the sentiments. He points out that India’s organised retail is only 3 percent while 97 percent is unorganised. “India is the second largest growing economy in retail, after China. Around 300 plus shopping malls are coming up in 2006 alone. New products launched globally are now launched simultaneously in India as well,” says Lamba. (more…)
Smart shelves heading your way September 18, 2006
Posted by kk in Retail Consumer/ Behavior, Retail Display, Retail News, Retail Tech.add a comment
An RFID enabled technology, under development, is soon to begin gathering information on buying behavior of customers.Thanks to deployment of RFID enabled smart shelves, retailers will be able to collect data on questions like:
- How many of customers considered buying an item?
- How many of them really bought it?
- Which of the other items were bought together?
- Which of the items on display received attention of the customers?
In short, it would now be possible for retailers and marketers to collect information on popularity or otherwise of any item, according to a report published in Engadget.
