#monetatesummit Lauren Freedman , Owner, the e-tailing group Merchandising on Your Terms Put the right products in front of the right people at the right time
Jun 26, 2015
#monetatesummit
Lauren Freedman, Owner, the e-tailing group
Merchandising on Your Terms
Put the right products in front of the right people at the right time
the e-tailing group
• 20 years e-commerce consulting • Author, It’s Just Shopping • 50+ years traditional retail and catalog
experience • Fortune 500 client projects ranging from
strategic planning, merchandising, marketing, to technology development and messaging
• Cross-category and international projects spanning specialty retail to department stores
• Proprietary research studies on mystery shopping, merchandising, mobile and consumer behavior
The Voice of Cross-Channel MerchandisingStraight talk from “in-the-trenches” online merchandising experts
the e-tailing group
State of Merchandising• KPIs are flat • Merchandising is cookie-cutter where little differentiation exists from one retailer to the next
• Amazon is ever-present • Not all shopping is surgical so onsite search doesn’t always solve shopper problems
• Visualizing the assortment can be challenging
• Analyzing the data to impact future marketing and merchandising can be overwhelming
• Mobile forces retailers to reevaluate merchandising strategies and deliver a “responsive” approach
the e-tailing group
Conversion rates fixed in the 1-3% range
Q15
e-tailing group 2013 Merchant Survey
the e-tailing group
For half of shoppers most/all of their holiday purchases included a promotion
Q16
Gender*Note Women*significantly*more*likely*to*have*all*or*most*of*their*purchases*include*promo>ons
e"tailing)group)Holiday)‘13)Survey
the e-tailing group
Amazon is larger than the next dozen largest e-tailers
Holiday Hit Parade • Amazon customers order more than 36.8 million items on
Cyber Monday selling 426 items per second during its best ever holiday season
• More than 1 million customers around the world became new Prime members in the third week of December
• Amazon shipped to 185 countries during Holiday ’13 • Amazon customers purchased enough Rainbow looms
from third-party sellers that the bands can stretch around the circumference of the earth
• Amazon customers purchased enough winter boots to keep everyone living in three of the coldest cities in America-Duluth, MN, Butte, MT, Watertown, SD (warm for the winter)
the e-tailing group
Important brand factors start with price and promotion and are quickly followed by the website experience
Q21e"tailing)group)Personaliza9on)Survey;)2014
the e-tailing group
Most features are important to shoppers and expectations are high for ecommerce experiences in general
Q24 e"tailing)group)Holiday)‘13)Survey
1"in"3&desire&efficiencies&in&finding&product&and&checking&out&quickly&&
33% 33%
27% 27%
24% 18% 18% 18%
15% 14%
12% 10%
A simple, streamlined shopping cart that makes
Being able to find what I want on a retailer's site by
Seeing product on web pages that are
Seeing web pages that include robust photography
More accessible and responsive customer service
User-generated content and tools (e.g., reviews,
A frequent buyer or brand loyalty program
One-click checkout
Seeing web pages that include product videos that
Live chat (ability to message with customer service
Product recommendations that are tailored to me
Access to a creative gift center that includes ideas,
Q. How important are each of these areas when selecting a retailer?
Extremely Important
the e-tailing group
Mobile matters• Mobile e-commerce grew 50% year-over-year to account for 29% of holiday e-commerce sales
• More than one in four US e-commerce orders this holiday season came from mobile devices
• iOS devices made up 83% of mobile e-commerce sales
• 65% of marketing emails were opened on mobile devices during Q4’13
the e-tailing group
Challenges, Trends & Visualization Tools
Merchandising
the e-tailing group
The Challenges
• Weak visual display not in keeping with the brand
• Insufficient product information
• Only able to truly show limited assortment • Focus on the surgical and not the discovery
• Presence of features but poor execution
• Retailers may know what needs to be done but inadequate tools to accomplish the task at hand in a timely fashion
• Inability to direct the customer experience due to inadequate data
the e-tailing group
Top merchandising tactics that deliver from an ROI perspective
Q4A11e-tailing group 2013 Merchant Survey
the e-tailing group
EG100 Retailers1A800*Flowers Crutchfield J.Crew Overstock Target
Abt*Electronics Dean*&*Deluca JCPenney Party*City The*Body*Shop
Amazon Dell Jos.*A.*Bank Patagonia The*Children’s*Place
American*Eagle*OuUiVers Dick’s*Spor>ng*Goods King*Arthur*Flour Petco The*Home*Depot
Ann*Taylor Discovery*Channel L.L.Bean PetSmart The*Men’s*Wearhouse
Apple DSW*Shoes Lands’*End PoVery*Barn Things*Remembered
Aveda eBags Lane*Bryant Puma Tiffany*&*Co.
B&H*Photo Foot*Locker Lego QVC Title*9
Ballard*Designs Frontgate Lenovo Ralph*Lauren Toys*‘R*Us
Bare*Escentuals GameStop Lowe’s REI Tumi
Barnes*&*Noble Gap Macy’s Room*&*Board Ulta
Belk Garnet*Hill Michael*Kors RossASimons Under*Armour
Best*Buy Giggle Moosejaw Saks*Fich*Avenue Urban*OuUiVers
Bloomingdale’s GNC Neiman*Marcus Sears Victoria’s*Secret
Blue*Nile Godiva Newegg Sephora Volcom
Chico’s Golfsmith Nike Shop*PBS Walgreens
Clinique Gucci Nordstrom Staples WalAMart
Coach Harry*&*David Northern*Tool*+*Equipment Steve*Madden WilliamsASonoma
Cooking.com Hayneedle Office*Depot Sundance Wine.com
Crate*&*Barrel HSN Orvis Sunglass*Hut Zappos
#monetatesummit
Faceted Navigation EG100: 75%
Respect the role of search
#monetatesummit
Merchandised drop down EG100: 90%*
• Visual search • EG100: 29%
But foster discovery through navigation
#monetatesummit
Discover by trend
#monetatesummit
Embrace seasons & holidays
#monetatesummit
Gift Center EG100: 80% Score: 2.03/3.00 where 3 is best
Showcase the power of gifting
#monetatesummit
Educate to excite
#monetatesummit
Runway
Street Style
Imagery brings brands to life
#monetatesummit
Alternative Views EG100: 89%
But the devil is in the details
#monetatesummit
Video Gallery EG100: 42%*
Category Page EG100: 39%*
Video vaults in importance
#monetatesummit
Must-Haves Best Sellers EG100: 64%
Tactical merchandising tools set the tone for selling
#monetatesummit
Pinterest/Customer favorites EG100: 70%
Retailers embrace social dynamics
#monetatesummit
Lauren [email protected]
www.e-tailing.com
Remember, merchandising is both an art and a science