Wednesday’s Eye-on-Retail Tipsheet: Sears Can. calls in U.S. Marine | Amazon’s ‘mayday’ button | achoo Tool

 

 

“Wal-Mart ‘Made in America’ drive follows suppliers’ lead” by Jessica Wohl at Reuters.  “An examination of the company’s “Made in America” campaign suggests Wal-Mart’s caught on to a reshoring phenomenon that was already underway.  In many cases, Wal-Mart’s suppliers had already decided to produce in the United States, as rising wages in China and other emerging economies, along with increased labor productivity and flexibility back home, eroded the allure of offshore production.  Though wrapped in the stars and stripes, the world’s largest retailer’s push to bring jobs back to the United States also makes business sense both for suppliers and retailers.”  Read more

 

“Sears Canada puts former U.S. Marine in charge as CEO Calvin McDonald resigns” by Hollie Shaw at Financial Post.  “Struggling department store operator Sears Canada Inc. shocked the market Tuesday when it put a decorated former U.S. Marine pilot who fought in the Iraq war at its helm to replace Calvin McDonald, a savvy merchant who revamped the chain’s look and retail brands.”  Read more

 

“Hispanic Home Improvement Spending Tops $19B in 2012” at Digital Journal.  “In 2012, Hispanics’ estimated share of Home Improvement spending topped $19B or 9% of sales.  Hispanics’ internet adoption has accelerated and is similar to the overall US population in terms of online shopping (37%) and online buying (11%) for Outdoor Power Equipment.  Sears and Home Depot are the leading Outdoor Power Equipment retailers for Hispanics.”  Read more

 

“Why Most Online Shoppers Don’t Make it Past the First Step of Checkout” at KISSmetrics.  “We’ve identified four UX (user experience) fixes that will reduce the number of visitors who abandon their cart before they really even get started. We’ve seen improvements of up to 5% in overall conversion rates as a result.”  Read more

 

“Dunnhumby Launches Venture Fund for Retail Data, Marketing Startups” by Jack Neff at Ad Age.  “Dunnhumby, the analytics and direct-marketing firm behind loyalty programs at Tesco and Kroger among others, is launching a venture fund to back startups in retail data, analytics and marketing technology — including some that potentially challenge its own business or that of its clients.”  Read more

 

“eBay and U.K.’s Argos strike ‘click and collect’ deal” by Arjun Karpahl at CNBC.  “Online retail giant eBay has announced a “click and collect” tie-up with British retailer Argos as the U.K.’s stores look to increase their online business and e-retailers try to gain a foothold on main street.  Shoppers will be able to buy items from at least 50 merchants on eBay and pick them up from 150 Argos stores across the UK.”  Read more

 

“Bezos goes for ‘wow’ factor in new Kindle Fire ‘mayday’ button” by Jay Greene at Seattle Times.  “Customers who can’t figure out how to set up an email account on the device, or ones looking for a recommendation for a game to buy, can tap the button and get on-demand, on-device tech support in a postage stamp-sized video window that pops up on the new tablets. There, a live tech-support representative will walk customers through fixing whatever digital snafu they encounter.”  Read more

 

“Kleenex Brand Launches Break-Through Tool that Predicts Where the Cold and Flu Will Hit Next”  “The achoo by Kleenex tool utilizes CDC data and a proprietary forecasting model developed by a global network of professors, top business leaders and highly trained analysts. The result is a one-of-a-kind cold and flu tool that predicts where it will hit next up to three weeks in advance with an average accuracy rate of more than 90 percent.”  Read more

 

“Advertisers Struggle to See the ROI on Branded Content” by Jack Neff at Ad Age.  “Marketers are finding content is far from cheap, and that “owned” and “earned” media don’t mean you don’t pay handsomely. A Gartner survey earlier this year found marketers now spend almost as much on content creation and management as they do on paid online display.”  Read more

 

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