Multichannel Retailers Face The Future at IRCE New York
May 19, 2014: This week I headed over to the Javits Center to take the temper of IRCE — the Internet Retailer Conference and Expo. Although I could only spend a few hours there, I did get a chance to hear three interesting presenters: Robert D’Loren, Chairman and CEO of Xcel Brands, Larry Promisel, Senior Vice President, E-commerce, at Vince Camuto, and Mark Friedman, President, E-commerce, at Steve Madden. Each had much to say about the challenges facing electronic retailers today.
Multichannel Retailers Face a Training and Technology Gap
Training and technology issues still pose big hurdles for many multichannel retailers. “In-store associates shouldn’t have to be told by a customer what’s going on online,” observed Steve Madden’s Mark Friedman. Retailers, in other words, have to invest more to make sure that everyone in the organization is “in synch” when it comes to store promotions, stock status, new products, and other fast-changing information. “What’s in your window should be on your home page,” he said.
And while all multichannel retailers have improved their tech infrastructure, many still face the problem of maintaining disparate databases (for example, in-store customers, web customers, catalog customers, etc.) that prevent a “single view of the customer” from emerging. Even if POS and e-commerce data are integrated into a single system, this data will only yield management-actionable intelligence if it’s analyzed; the problem is that many e-tailers don’t have this kind of talent available in-house.
E-tailers Need to Build “A Social Culture”
Xcel Brand’sRobert D’Loren began his talk not from the front of the audience, but from the middle of it, demonstrating one of his main points: brands need to “create a social culture” and “speak with customers, not at them” (D’Loren doesn’t even call people who buy his products “customers,” but “followers”). Brands that force customers to behave in a particular will fail in today’s social media-centric world. “They will showroom you. Let them,” he said.
D’Loren sees tremendous opportunity for e-tailers in a medium often considered outmoded: television. “Interactive TV and digital will soon be one and the same,” he observed, referring to AT&T’s bid to merge with DirectTV. “And QVC is the #2 mobile commerce retailer in the world, right after Amazon. It’s a massive social media engine.”
Creative Tactics For E-Tailers
Vince Camuto’s Larry Promisel outlined some creative tactics used by his company when opening a new outlet in New York City. “During construction we had an actual barrier over the store so we created a geo-fenced mobile environment.” People entering this limited geographical Wi-Fi area could avail themselves of free giveaways and special promotions. The result was more social media excitement for the store’s actual opening.
Another creative tactic used by Vince Camuto to reach millenials is in recruiting on-campus “fashionistas” and brand ambassadors. “We send them schwag and they’ve done some great stuff for us, including an on-campus fashion show, and even a flash mob around the brand. We actually graduate with them — we give them an interview suit and sometimes they wind up working for us.”
On the website side, Steve Madden employs a number of social features that have been getting online traction, including site login through Facebook, integration of Instagram images into product pages via moderated queue, and a feature called “Find In Store” that lets online shoppers immediately locate items they view online in a physical Steve Madden store. Although actual usage of these features is below management’s expectations, those who use them convert at much higher rates than those that don’t.
Going Mobile, Going Social
Steve Madden’s Friedman noted that “50 percent of our customers come from the desktop, with the other 50 coming from mobile. Next year I expect it to be 60/40 in mobile’s favor.” Obviously, this rapidly shifting tide means retailers will have to invest in their sites (or “feed the machine,” as Friedman puts it) so that they’re truly mobile-friendly as well as social-friendly. “We must move toward where things are going,” observed Robert D’Loren. “Everything ties back to Social Media.”
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