Note: This report has been updated for 2019. The wireless retail industry has reached a tipping point. With wireless penetration at nearly 100% in the U.S., commoditization threatens to further cut product margins and make an already competitive industry even more challenging. Retailers who can successfully differentiate from the market stand to capture the largest gains in this rapidly changing industry. In a 2018 study by Deloitte, more than 80% of all smartphone owners (almost...
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Photo by Malvestida Magazine. Market trends expert Richard van Hooijdonk has shared his predictions for the future of fashion retail. As consumers expect ever-increasing levels of convenience, choice, and rapid service, fashion retailers must adapt in-line with these shifting expectations. The good news is, brick and mortar is not dead. According to eMarketer, a market research body, 92% of US retail sales still happen in brick and mortar stores. For this reason, fashion retailers are...
Photo by rawpixel. This is an edited down and condensed version of a longer resource that will shortly be available for download in PDF form. Margins are a key metric for all high-dollar retailers, and for the furniture retail industry in particular. While all furniture retailers would love to increase their margins, not all are successful in doing so. In a recent Home Furnishings Business (HFB) report, the best performing furniture retailers enjoyed margins of...
Photo by Tyler Nix. Store performance in the jewelry retail industry depends on the ability of sales staff to create an emotional experience for the customer, whether this is achieved through superior product knowledge, spending a little extra time with a customer, making a follow-up phone call, or providing an astute recommendation that leads to a sale. When jewelry staff aren’t putting in the effort required to create great customer experiences, it’s usually due to...
Photo by Alex Block. Furniture retail is a constantly shifting industry, and staying competitive requires keeping up with the shifting demands of customers. These five trends capture the expectations of furniture retail customers in 2019, with convenience, immediacy, technology, and curation at the core of how the industry is changing. 1. Influencer marketing As ad-blockers become more widespread, banner and pay-per-click advertising can no longer reach the same number of people. Advertising via “influencers” (a...
The wireless retail industry has reached a tipping point. With wireless penetration at nearly 100% in the U.S., commoditization threatens to further cut product margins and make an already competitive industry even more challenging. Retailers who can successfully differentiate from the market stand to capture the largest gains in this rapidly changing industry. We’ve spoken to a number of successful wireless retailers over the last year, many of whom are also our customers. The biggest...
The day-to-day routines of successful independent retailers are changing at lightning speed. In particular, independent retailers with brick and mortar stores are preparing for a shift to ‘brick and fiber’, with omni-channel (in-store and online) selling becoming the expected norm for customers. These changes offer incredible opportunities to stand out, expand, and build a nationwide brand without opening additional stores. Let’s explore some of the big opportunities presented by the coming future of independent retail....
A constant feature of retail environments is staff training. Procedures, promotions, product lines, and best practices are constantly shifting in response to changes in the industry. In many organizations, managers travel store-to-store to educate staff about upcoming changes and new products. To solve the challenges associated with doing this at scale, companies are increasingly offering training modules online. According to managers, however, the biggest problem with simply offering online training modules is that staff may...
New research by Gallup has found that your organization’s highest performing retail sales employees are severely impacted by workplace disengagement. High performing employees who are not engaged are just as likely to leave an organization as the least engaged employees with the highest levels of performance issues. This research highlights the importance of workplace engagement, particularly when it comes to your most valuable employees. Gallup found that turnover rates for high talent but disengaged staff...
Dozens of studies have shown that employee engagement is essential for organizations to reach their goals. The common advice for increasing employee engagement may work well in a corporate environment, but doesn’t necessarily translate to the retail sales floor. In this article we’ll share ten achievable steps toward engaging your retail employees, and in doing so, empowering them to love the work they do. 1. Be clear about pathways for career progression The career progression...
Employee recognition is vital to building a high performance culture Recognition is one of the things that makes work rewarding for many people, and a lack of recognition can cause serious problems with staff engagement. Research by Gallup found that employees who don’t feel recognized are 2x more likely to quit within a year. In addition, Gallup found that a majority of employees don’t feel adequately recognized for their work. In particular, it seems that...
The Arcade team is heading to New York City to attend National Retail Federation’s Big Show for the first time - and we couldn’t be more excited! The National Retail Federation has been holding this event annually for more than a century and is attended by thousands of retailers worldwide. The Big Show has been the place where industry leaders go to learn about the most innovative solutions happening in retail. Here are 3 things...
