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Last week's Internet Retailer Conference & Exhibition (IRCE) in San Diego had a wealth of vendors and speakers relevant to cross-channel retailers. Here are some of the event's key takeaways:
Ali Wing, CEO of giggle, a cross-channel retailer of baby gear, spoke about the need to “rightsize” your retail and catalog spaces. Multichannel retailing provides huge leverage, therefore you need fewer retail units, less floor space and fewer catalog pages in today's environment. Wing spoke about the need for smaller retailers to compete with fundamentally different tactics. For example, smaller catalog footprints and product assortments than in the past.
In terms of managing all the different technologies that retailers have at their disposal, Wing focuses on keeping giggle on the leading edge, not the bleeding edge of technology. The big challenge is to stay on top of all the third-party integrations the company must manage, she said. “Integration, integration and more integration.”
Doug Mack, CEO of One Kings Lane, spoke about his company's strategy of offering unique merchandise 365 days a year to grow in the daily-deals space. One Kings Lane's private sales model has transformed its customer base from women occasionally hunting for products to daily shoppers. The key is “curated selection” as opposed to the massive breadth of, say Amazon, Mack said.
One Kings Lane aims to be the “world’s most precious store” not the world’s largest store. By offering the best merchandise that’s available, the company is solving the paradox of choice, where too much selection makes it nearly impossible to make a decision. One Kings Lane strives to move beyond the simple convenience of internet shopping to creating a sense of urgency and fun, Mack noted.
Building your number of Facebook fans is a key new metric for marketers to track — and will be a big topic in upcoming months. As evidenced by the exhibit floor at IRCE, lots of discussion is happening right now on how to get Facebook fans to translate into customers. There were several vendors at the show touting their solutions for turning Facebook into a storefront. Building your brand via Facebook requires a different toolkit of strategies; understanding those strategies will be essential for retailers going forward.
Companies Mentioned:
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