Stephen Crooks Experience Economy Blog » Retail

Stock the Shelves when the Store is Quiet!

Stephen Crooks — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 04:26:42 +0000

: Image via Wikipedia

A local grocery store of my is notorious for having it’s employees stock the shelves at what seems to be it’s busiest time. This results in clogged isles and frustrated customers. Clearly busy periods of the day are cyclical, so it shouldn’t come of any surprise that the store is busy at x hour. The store manager must alter the duties of his staff to mirror the influx of customers (especially at evening rush-hour).

Have the shelves ready to go, and staff out making sure their guests are finding the products they want. Have the staff monitoring areas that get picked over often – and pull the merchandise out to the front so the customer doesn’t have to.

It’s the little things that can help make for a better shopping experience.

Is Regular Price the new Regular Strength?

Stephen Crooks — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 04:42:14 +0000

There’s a great comedy skit by Jerry Seinfeld who asks the question what happened to regular strength? All medication comes in Extra Strength – or has he said: “I want the maximum amount allowed — get out enough medicine to kill me and then give me a little bit less than that”. Well heading through the mall a month out, you see pre-Christmas sales already strong.

It makes you wonder is “Sale” the Extra Strength of the retail world? At what point do retailers make regular price redundant? Obviously its against the law to set prices for the product to be sold exclusively at sale price.

Coke-Cola’s Mass Customization Machine

Stephen Crooks — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 04:29:36 +0000

Still in beta testing, Coke-Cola’s new fountain drink machine is sure to be an industry changer. In someways it’s a solution to a problem that you didn’t know existed – that being when you visit a fast food joint you are severely limited by the standard selection of fountain drinks available. Definitely not something I’ve ever complained about (as I’m stickler to my old standby – Classic Coke – so I can’t tell you any of the other choices are). That being said, I can only image being a kid and having over a 120 flavours available to choose from.

The machine is unique and pioneering in many ways starting with it having only one nozzle and consumers make their drink selection by pressing on the video touch screen display, which they can pick the drink concoction of their choice. Gone are the days of one tap, one flavour. Now flavours will be mixed and matched from over 120 flavours. Similar to print cartridges, flavours will come in hyper contrentrated packages that the machine will pick from. Each cartridge is 1.35 L and will (I presume) inject the carbinated water stream with extreme precision, with the same carbonated water flushing the system of flavours after each use.

The cartridges will incorporate RFID tags, so loading the machines will be extremely easy to operate. The technology will also ensure that every order is automatically recorded and sent back to Coke-Cola’s Atlanta head office. These real-time consumer insights will greatly impact on their marketing decisions, in addition will help the company see emerging trends.

What’s really intriguing about this device is it really plays into the concept of the Long Tail. The vast majority of drinks sold will always be their top sellers, but as a Coke representative pointed out in a flowchart of daily sales – there is no one flavour that ever goes unsold any day in their test markets. But even if 80% of sales comes from only 10% of the machines product line-up, will still be a success. Coke will be better positioned to people who would have skipped on making a purchase from the traditional fountain line-up – or better yet develop customized flavours that only can be produced by a Coke machine.

By having a machine that can generate unique, customer inspired flavours – locks those consumers in for life to Coke only machines. With North American fountain drink sales in continuous decline for over a decade now, anything that can help revive and hopefully boost sales will surely be welcomed by shareholders.

Tim Horton’s Express

Stephen Crooks — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 04:07:53 +0000

Ok, people who know me, know that one of my big pet peeves is waiting line at coffee shop in a rush to get to work on time – only to be slowed down by all the people ordering complex coffee concoctions or worse yet: food. Oh, how the line can drag on forever, people wavering on their decisions, not sure of all the options, asking for help, wallets not out ready to pay. Time goes backwards.

Well for years I’ve been telling people what Tim Horton’s needed was an in-store express line. A line for people that will ONLY order coffee or tea during the peak morning rush. Well a friend of mine has snapped a pick of a Tim Horton’s in Toronto (Sheppard and the 404) showing proof that Tim’s has listened!! Now lets hope this is a success and spreads to other outlets.

Why is this good? It speeds up turn-over. I’m sure the major part of the test roll-out is to see how instore sales are impacted. Would people opt out of a food purchase if they see the express line moving faster? How will customers react to being told that they can’t order certain items.

But I would contend sales and satisfaction would increase because people will be able to predict waiting times every morning. As it stands, and I think a great frustration to any customer is not knowing how long it will take to be served. Therefore instead of getting stuck in a unpredictable line-up they opt to not go to a particular location, or defer to later in the day. A loss of a sale, is a loss of a sale.

And sorry for the blurry picture! (Not my hands).

Tim Horton's Express

Microsoft Retail Strategy Might Come Back to Haunt Them

Stephen Crooks — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 05:21:55 +0000

Microsoft's Retail Experience Centre in Redmond Washington

Microsoft has decided to take their not so secret anti-Apple stance one step further by deciding to opening a series of retail outlets that directly compete with the now iconic and very popular Apple stores. Microsoft has escalated this ‘threat’ to new levels by publicly stating that they will open their outlets next to or near existing, well established Apple stores.

From a retailing standpoint, it makes sense to capitalize on your competition by feeding off of their audience. But Microsoft might run into problems with the looming Google OS (Chrome), other retailers like BestBuy and of course their OEM’s like Dell and HP.

First – the retail outlets will surly emphasis 3rd party devices like HP laptops and the like, but Microsoft will be exposing these manufactures to closer scrutiny from consumers – putting their equipment in direct competition with Apple products. But unlike Apple machines, HP, Dell, Gateway products are at the direct mercy of how well Microsoft develops it software and the operating systems features. Head-to-Head comparisons of PC based products always results in higher grades going to Apple products. I don’t know how manufacturers feel about being forced to compete with the crowd favorite, when all they can compete on is price and hardware design/features.

Prediction – Hardware companies tired of dealing with MS will be more open to adopting the Google Chrome OS

Second – Microsoft risks pissing off it’s major retailers – like Future Shop and Best Buy. Do you think other retailers want to see the Microsoft Stores syphon off their hardware sales? Do you think retailers want to loose sales of USB cables and power bars to Microsoft? Do you think these retailers are going to push Microsoft products and related hardware in their stores? My impression is this leaves a big opening for Google OS. And ironically Microsoft could find it in the same boat that Apple toiled in for years, with the lack of major National retailers even wanting to carry their products. Apple had to fight to get into Best Buy and other chains. So Apple and Google can now go back to major chains and offer them incentives to push their products. I think Google will have the best chance in forming a wedge and getting better access to consumers. And all they have to do is point to the MS store down in the mall taking away their money.

Prediction – Retailers will push Google OS and Apple products

Apple Store Interior

Third and finally – Microsoft will become directly compared to Apple. Microsoft due to the nature of their more open system risks putting this on display in a retail setting. I can’t imagine how Microsoft hopes to show it’s as equally simplistic in a retail setting. Photos of their prototype store show the more chaotic feel to their store. The experience will be more along the lines of visiting the Sony Store – and we all know how Sony has lost it’s edge. I really think a side by side comparison with Apple will be to Microsoft’s detriment. Will Microsoft have a Genius Bar, where consumers can get their computers fixed – free under warranty? I don’t think so. The direct comparisons between companies will become very tangible.

Prediction – Microsoft’s retail outlets will grow into chaotic, bad experience outlets, with the feel of a Radio Shack – a whole lot of junk.

So Microsoft will have to put all it’s resources in ensuring that these outlets don’t become a nightmare. If they don’t get it right – this will become a PR and Business disaster.