ETD: 983 Compare Retail Point of Sale Software; Selling to the
chains; U.S. Luxury Market Continues to Boom
E-Tailer's Digest
etd_post at gapent.com
Thu Jun 1 13:03:11 GMT 2006
E-Tailer's Digest --- Everything for the Retailer
Issue #0983 June 1, 2006
George Matyjewicz, Moderator mailto:georgem at gapent.com
Published by: GAP Enterprises, Ltd. http://www.etailersdigest.com
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CONTENTS
[1] Greetings
[2] Compare Retail Point of Sale Software
[3] Selling to the chains
[4] U.S. Luxury Market Continues to Boom
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[1] Greetings.
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Hi All:
June already. My how time flies. Today we are
at digest 983 - 17 to go before we hit that magic
1,000 number. I'm debating what to do for that
issue and beyond? Do we do a party like we did
with 100? (everybody loved the photo
http://www.etailersdigest.com/celebrate/photos.htm).
And do we stop after 1,000? What do you think?
Today, list member Jeff Haefner has an update on
their PosSoftwareGuide.com, a great way to
compare POS software products. And we expect more from him soon.
If you sell to the retail chains, or if you want
to increase your sales to consumers, you may want
to read the piece on selling to the chains. I
read an article in the WSJ, and gleaned from it
interesting tidbits that apply to anybody who sells.
Pam Danziger has some interesting news about the
U.S. Luxury Market - it's still booming. Time to get on board.
Now, let's get to everything for the retailer.
Sincerely
George Matyjewicz, PhD
Chief Global Strategist, GAP Enterprises, LLC
mailto:georgem at gapent.com
http://www.etailersdigest.com
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[2] Compare Retail Point of Sale Software
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It's been a while but could you remove the price from this page?
http://www.etailersdigest.com/resources/members/POS_Software_Guide.htm
I raised the price to $39, and I will work on
some type of write up for you. In the meantime,
you might be interested in this press release. I
really had a great response for this new product
(even better than I thought I would get). It's been a pleasant surprise.
I'll be in touch.
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Announcing a Quick and Easy New Way to Compare Retail Point of Sale Software
PosSoftwareGuide.com has just made it easier for
retailers who are serious about purchasing the
best point of sale software available for their
business with the release of its new POS Software
Comparison Chart. The chart is equipped with a
side-by-side comparison of 18 highly recognized
POS systems and lists their criteria based on 459
common software features. Its purpose is to help
provide a solution for retailers to determine
what features are most important to their
business growth and calculates how well each POS system meets their needs.
Marion, IA (PRWEB) May 18, 2006
PosSoftwareGuide.com is pleased to announce the
release of its new “POS Software Comparison
Chart.” The chart is a unique resource tool
designed to help retailers choose the best and
most compatible point of sale software for their
business by comparing 459 common features of 18 top retail POS systems.
“Over the last couple years I’ve received
hundreds of emails from my subscribers wanting a
solution that allows them to compare major POS
software companies without having to do countless
hours of research and recording all of the
information on their own,” said Jeff Haefner,
creator and manager of PosSoftwareGuide.com. “By
having access to this chart, retailers who are
serious about finding industry specific POS for
their business can evaluate 18 of the top retail
POS systems in as little as 45 minutes.”
The POS Comparison Chart, written in Excel
format, can easily be downloaded in seconds.
Retailers are first encouraged to determine which
features are most important to their business.
Next, they go through the chart and designate the
importance of each feature as “Must have,
Important, Nice to have and No need.” Once
completed, they have a completely personalized
comparison chart for their business.
Retailers can then select the appropriate
Priority drop-down for the features that they
listed of highest importance and easily view
which systems best meet their needs. This helps
pinpoint which systems are most compatible and
automatically eliminates the systems that don’t fit their criteria.
The personalized chart then tabulates the
software systems using a built-in formula and
calculates the information, so retailers can view
helpful summaries and move forward with their
decision to purchase the most compatible POS software for their business.
“Choosing the right POS software for your
business is not something that should be taken
lightly,” added Haefner. “You can literally make
thousands of dollars or lose thousands depending
on what software you choose to run your business.
It takes a lot of research and you must do your
homework. This chart is not designed to be the
end-all solution that will choose your software
for you. It’s intended for retailers to save time
and frustration by determining which features are
essential to their business growth and then
evaluate how these POS systems meet their needs.”
About PosSoftwareGuide.com:
PosSoftwareGuide.com, based out of Marion, IA, is
a website that is dedicated to helping retailers
find easier and more effective POS software
solutions so they can develop and grow their
business. Jeff Haefner works with retailers and
educates them through his publications including
“The POS Software Buyers Guide,” numerous
articles, and weekly newsletters. For further
information on the “POS Comparison Chart,” you
can visit www.possoftwareguide.com/new-chart.html.
# # #
Contact Information
Jeff Haefner
PosSoftwareGuide.com
http://www.possoftwareguide.com/new-chart.html
319-360-0314
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[3] Selling to the chains
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There was an article in the Wall Street Journal
about two entrepreneurs who were fortunate enough
to be able to sell a new product (PenAgain) to
Wal Mart. While that in itself, was quite an
accomplishment, I noted some other useful
information that applies to selling period.
1. You have a short period of time to get the
product known. In PenAgain's case, the had 30
days, for the stores need to sell close to 85% of
the 48,000 pens Wal-Mart ordered if the product
is to be considered for wider distribution throughout the chain.
2. There are about 10,000 suppliers hawking
their goods in Wal-Marts world-wide and an equal
number of newcomers trying to get in each year.
Of those applicants, only about 200, or 2%, make
it to the trial-run stage. While roughly 75% of
those test products stay on past the trial period
in at least some stores, they won't move into new
locations unless sales are robust.
3. Seeing a product through this critical phase
requires suppliers to shift from sales-pitch mode
to marketing backup. "A lot of times, what will
hurt suppliers more than anything is that they
may not monitor the product very well" during the
trial period, says Excell La Fayette Jr.,
Wal-Mart's director of supplier development.
"They are busy still trying to sell the
[Wal-Mart] buyer on that item. You've sold them.
Now, just make sure that the information is out
there, and drive customers to the product."
4. Other customers. You sell to Wal Mart, or
any other big chain, now what happens to your
bread and butter customers? - those who sell
this item for $6.49 when Wal Mar will sell it for
$3.76. In PenAgain's case the company is
creating exclusive offerings for small stores: It
plans to offer an ergonomic sample set, including
a basic pen, a black marker, two highlighters and
refills, for $15 to $20, and a brushed-metal pen
for $20 to $30. Some small players say they'd
welcome such efforts: Fred Ebert, an owner of
Edwards Luggage Inc., San Francisco, has been
selling the same PenAgain model going into
Wal-Mart, but for $9.95. He says Wal-Mart's $3.76
price "worries" him and at some point he'll
probably stop ordering from PenAgain until it
comes out with a higher-end model. "I don't want
to be way out of line on pricing anything because
it sends a bad message," Mr. Ebert says.
5. The supplier must provide the marketing to
support their product's at Wal-Mart's or any
other customer's debut. Don't expect to sell to the retailer and walk away.
6. Track daily sales at Wal-Mart's (or any other
chain's) 500 stores closely. With Wal Mart, you
can do that over the Internet, via the chain's
Retail Link software system. The system tracks
sales data, telling vendors where their items
are, and aren't, selling. Should a product do
well in say, Salt Lake City, but not in
Indianapolis, Wal-Mart can shift merchandise between stores.
7. A common mistake of neophyte suppliers to
expect Wal-Mart buyers to do the tracking for
them, says Wal-Mart's Mr. La Fayette. "When you
have a buyer with 10 to 20 different categories,
they cannot monitor everyone's pieces, and they
depend on the supplier to inform them of what is going on," he says.
8. Timing is tricky, too. There are no
guarantees for suppliers until Wal-Mart issues an
official purchase order. When it comes down, the
window for getting products into stores isn't
open long. If your lead time for manufacturing is
long, you may have to gamble on ramping up production before you get the P.O.
9. For those who sell to the chains, you know
that shipping labels must specify a litany of
data, including purchase-order numbers and
distribution-center details. And they must be in
a specific place on the boxes.
So, consider these items when you sell to anybody.
George
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[4] U.S. Luxury Market Continues to Boom
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The international luxury market continues to
generate dynamic revenue growth for the leading
marketers. The aggregate results of the 25+
leading global luxury marketers in 2005 show
average revenue growth of 10.9 percent. This
follows average growth of 14.5 percent in 2004,
according to a new study on the luxury market
from Unity Marketing. The fastest growing luxury
companies in Unity’s longitudinal study of the
luxury market include Orient Express Hotels,
Compagnie Financière Richemont, Coach and Polo
Ralph Lauren, all reporting growth of 18 percent or higher in 2005.
U.S. luxury market reaches $1 trillion in 2005
The luxury market in the U.S. was equally strong
last year. Unity Marketing estimates the total
luxury market to have reached $1,002.2 billion in
2005, up 11.6 percent from $898 billion in
2004. This includes luxury purchases by affluent
consumers in the four luxury categories Unity
tracks — home luxuries; personal luxuries, like
fashion, jewelry, wine and spirits, pets;
automobiles and luxury experiences, such as travel, dining, entertainment.
The key metric Unity Marketing uses to track the
U.S. luxury consumer market is the average amount
spent by affluent households buying what they
perceive of as ‘luxuries. In 2005 the typical
luxury consumer spent $52,588 buying luxuries, up
3.8 percent over the average amount spent in 2004 of $50,640.
But that is only one value that we use to measure
of the total size of the luxury market. We also
factor in the overall percentage of affluent
households buying luxuries and the total number
of affluent households which numbers 30.2
million, including the near-affluent consumers
(incomes $75,000-$99,999) who occasionally trade up to luxury.
Key trend in luxury — Shift to experiences
In 2005 the dominant trend in the luxury market
was a shift in spending more significantly more
on experiential luxuries; in other words, the
things people do rather than material goods one
has or one owns. The typical luxury consumer
spent $22,746 on experiences in 2005, that is
nearly double what they spent in 2004. Luxury
consumers also spent nearly 20 percent more
buying luxury automobiles, a highly experiential luxury good.
While spending on experiences and automobiles
went up, luxury consumers spent less overall on
home luxuries, down 4.6 percent to $19,990. Out
of the nine product categories classified under
home luxuries, only three posted an increase in
average spending. They were luxury kitchen
appliances and kitchen and bathroom fixtures;
kitchenware, cookware and cook’s tools; and
garden and outdoor luxuries. In keeping with the
experiential trend in luxury, the only home
categories where luxury consumers are spending
more are the ones that are experiential in that
they function and are used in the home, not the
purely decorative home categories.
Spending on personal luxuries like luxury
apparel, fashion accessories, jewelry and
watches, wine and spirits, pet luxuries and pens
and desk accessories, rose 5.6 percent to $10,007
in 2005. A moderating factor in the growth of
personal luxuries is that the super-affluent
households (incomes $150,000 and above) didn't
hold up their high 2004 spending levels, while
spending on personal luxuries among the
near-affluent ($75,000 to $99,999) and the
affluent ($100,000 to $149,999) increased at a significant rate.
Luxury goods hold less allure to the affluent
Life-changing experiences is what they crave
Unity predicts the trend toward experiences will
continue to grow as luxury consumers spend more
on life-changing experiences, while their need
for more luxury goods wanes. Today’s luxury
market is less about ostentation and materialism
and more about a search for meaning and emotional
fulfillment. While luxury consumers live a very
comfortable and materially enriched life, they
are well aware that buying more stuff isn't going
to give them the real fulfillment they desire.
This is particularly prominent among the baby
boom generation (which makes up 57 percent of all
households with incomes of $100,000 or more), the
leading edge of which turns 60 this year. At
that life stage, they have already acquired the
material trappings of luxury, so buying another
mink coat, diamond necklace or designer handbag
just doesn't have the same appeal. But even the
GenXer luxury consumers, who are at a more
materialistic life stage and who spend
proportionately more on luxury goods than
boomers, also exhibit an equally strong passion for experiences.
When we ask luxury consumers about the source of
their greatest luxury satisfaction, consistently
the majority says that experiences give them the
most pleasure. Luxury goods just don’t provide
the same luxurious feelings. And the more
affluent you are, the more value you place on
experiences. Luxury marketers, especially those
grounded in the traditional luxury goods
business, need to understand this experiential
shift and develop strategies to turn their luxury
goods into a real experience for their customers.
Pam Danziger, President
Unity Marketing
author of "Let Them Eat Cake: Marketing Luxury
to the Masses — as well as the Classes"
717-336-1600.
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