Tag Archives: e-commerce
New Technology And Constant Change Making You Dizzy? Take Back Control.
Growing up in Michigan, we had a saying about the climate: “Don’t like the weather? Just wait five minutes.” Constant change, for better and worse, also applies to the business world and technology in particular. In no other industry can one go from laggard to leader (and back to laggard again) with such head-spinning speed. In my […]
Using Beacons, Roximity Helps Brick-And-Mortar Retailers Strike Back
Buying stuff online is many things – convenient, less crowded, sometimes less expensive – but one thing it is not, at least for me, is fun. Rather, it tends to be a hunting expedition. Sites have something I want. I search. I might buy. The experience of wandering the aisles, on the other hand, can be […]
Yahoo’s Drive Vs. Amazon’s Drift: A Contrast In Managing The Migration To Mobile
Last week, both Yahoo and Amazon reported quarterly earnings. Just like a golfer studying how a competitor tees off, their results can help other companies facing similar challenges make better decisions about their mobile businesses. What these two companies had to say indicates very different mobile game plans. Yahoo has a clear-eyed and optimistic view of the […]
Apple Pay Won’t Change Everything, But Smartphone Payments Are The Start Of Something Bigger
As large as e-commerce has become, it still represents only a small portion – about 6 percent – of total US retail spending. That makes brick and mortar a much more attractive target for companies looking to revolutionize the way we shop. Of all its announcements last week, Apple Pay was the company’s most significant headline because […]
Where The Big Money Will Be Made In Mobile (And How You Can Get Your Share)
Shortly after Nokia announced its intention to build smartphones running Windows Phone, Microsoft invited me and a few of my colleagues to a private meeting with three Windows Phone developers who were among the first to build apps for the platform. We could ask them anything; no topics would be off-limits. What stood out to me about that […]
How Walt Disney World Might Save Brick And Mortar Retail
If your company operates physical stores, you face all sorts of challenges. In addition to the same ones facing anyone in the real estate business, you also must confront the threat and opportunity presented by mobile devices. That means you must: Set a pricing strategy in an era dominated by customers using your floor inventory […]
Wal-Mart Takes on Amazon
In my very first blog post, I recommended things brick-and-mortar stores could do to take on the rise of e-commerce companies like Amazon. I suggested that they press their advantages, including immediacy and the ablity to provide store visitors with digital experiences that enhance their shopping. You can find that post here. Well, it looks […]
Is “showroom” shopping really such a threat?
Best Buy’s stock price erosion, which you can see in this stock chart covering the last three years, has been the subject of a lot of business press lately. Typically, no one reason can account for a company’s slump, but in this case, one problem crops up time and again: “showrooming,” or the consumer practice […]
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