The bloodbath that was holiday retail 2008 confirms that the consumer-spending spree is officially over. We the people are finally being forced to learn to save, stop living on credit, and rein in our conspicuous consumption.
While that may eventually be good news for the economy, it’s not great for anyone in the retail — or wholesale — business. Consumers may never return to their former reckless spending, and merchants will have to reset their businesses accordingly. But multichannel marketers have a distinct advantage.
Take catalogers. They know they can’t compete on price with most store retailers, so they don’t. And with the cost of producing and mailing a catalog, there’s no point in filling it with items shoppers can find elsewhere. Unique merchandise is the name of the game.
Just ask Urban Outfitters, one of the few retail stars these days. When we talked to its CFO John Kyees for our cover story “Hellish holiday,” he said part of the merchant’s success lies in its willingness to experiment with new products and styles.
What’s more, the Web makes it much easier for customers to find your unique merchandise — search is your friend. Consumers today spend more time researching and comparing products. Make sure yours is unique, a good value for the money, and that it ranks highly in Web searches.
Looking for a great deal is and will remain a big part of the online shopping process, but it’s not always just about the price — or about discounts, coupons and free shipping.
For example, I was recently looking for a boot tray to contain our wet, muddy shoes. A Google search brought up several; the two contenders were a boot rack available at a local Target store and a boot stand from Plow & Hearth.
Plow & Hearth’s piece was three times that of the Target item, plus, I would have to wait for it to be delivered. But it was more attractive, seemed sturdier and it fit the space better.
I sprang for the better boot rack, with no sale price, no shipping-and-handling incentive and no online coupon (yeah, I did look for one). It arrived three days later, and it’s perfect.