ETD: 995 Self-Checkout Slashes Sales of Impulse Items; New Web
Patent; GenXers Consumer Insights Study
E-Tailer's Digest
etd_post at gapent.com
Thu Jul 27 13:41:08 GMT 2006
E-Tailer's Digest --- Everything for the Retailer
Issue #0995 July 27, 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] Self-Checkout Slashes Sales of Impulse Items
[3] New Web Patent
[4] GenXers Consumer Insights Study
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[1] Greetings.
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Hi All:
I read an interesting article on how self
checkout lanes are reducing the sales of impulse
items. No surprise to me. I personally don't
like these lanes, mainly because people don't
know how to use them. I think they will be
successful when retailers use more intelligence
in their shopping carts (like the special report
"Retailing in 2023" I wrote in 2003
http://etailersdigest.com/resources/Specials/Retail-2023.htm
) What do you think?
A new patent was awarded to Friendster, Inc which
will have some far-reaching effects to
competitors like MySpace and FaceBook. It's
going to be interesting to see what happens.
Pam Danziger is conducting a new study on the
GenX market, who now spend more than the Baby
Boomers. May be another good market for us.
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] Self-Checkout Slashes Sales of Impulse Items
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I'm not excited about those self-checkout lanes
in stores, especially stores like Home Depot
where people come through with huge items. Well,
a recent survey found that shoppers who use these
lanes are less likely to purchase impulse items,
which we all know are high profit items.
In an article in RIS News, it was reported that
according to IHL Consulting Group’s market study,
“2006 North American Self-Checkout Systems”
shoppers are 45.4 percent less likely to purchase
impulse items when they use self-checkout. In
2005, consumers spent $110.9 billion on
self-checkout transactions, up 35 percent from
the previous year. However, sales of impulse
items, including gum and mints, chocolates and
other candy, soda and water, and magazines, have dropped significantly.
“Retailers are being forced to rethink their
merchandising at the front end as they deploy
self-checkout systems,” says Greg Buzek,
president of IHL. “The impulse displays have not
caught up with this new technology.” One way some
retailers are combating the problem is by
attempting to appeal to consumers’ other senses,
says Buzek. “Retailers such as Meijer and Kroger
are offering items such as rotisserie chickens
and fresh-baked breads (in the checkout area) to
rely more on the sense of smell to drive sales
rather than simply visuals when trapped in a staffed lane.”
What do you think? Are self checkout lanes a
blessing or a bust for retailers? Personally I
believe they will become successful when all
items in your cart are scanned when you put them
in and you just plug in your cart and pay.
George
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[3] New Web Patent
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Last month, Friendster Inc. was awarded a patent
related to searching for people online based on
their relationships, and it expects another
patent to come through soon. This can hurt
companies like MySpace.com and Facebook.com the
leaders in the making friends space.
Now, company executives are weighing their
options, including whether to sue rivals.
Patent controversies have become a familiar
hazard on the Web as companies seek protection
for emulating real-world concepts in virtual
environments. For Friendster, patents could be an
important new asset as it tries to reinvent
itself. Many Web users have ditched it in favor
of trendier rivals like Facebook Inc. and News
Corp.'s MySpace. In June, the number of monthly
U.S. visitors at MySpace tripled from a year
earlier to 45.8 million, and visitors at Facebook
doubled to 7.9 million, according to
Nielsen/NetRatings, which tracks Web traffic. The
number of visitors to Friendster is still under one million.
Back in 2002, Friendster pioneered social
networking via Web sites. Founded by entrepreneur
Jonathan Abrams, it struck a nerve among the
young and Web savvy, who flocked to the site to
track down old friends and meet new people.
Early on, while Friendster was grappling with
competition and other issues, it filed about a
dozen patent applications covering various
aspects of social networking. The patent
Friendster was granted last month covers "a
method and apparatus for calculating, displaying
and acting upon relationships in a social
network" -- in short, acting as a hub to connect
Web users with common acquaintances.
The company says it also received a "notice of
allowance" from the U.S. Patent and Trademark
Office this week indicating that the company is
likely to soon be granted a patent that covers
technology that lets users upload their own
content, like photos, onto a friend's page.
Friendster won't say which rivals it would
potentially target, though MySpace and Facebook,
as well as a spate of smaller upstarts, offer
services similar to Friendster's.
Details at...
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB115395913827318514.html
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[4] GenXers Consumer Insights Study
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In 2005 luxury consumers of the GenX generation,
born from 1965 to 1976, spent 6.3 percent more
buying luxuries than their affluent Baby Boomer
counterparts. GenXer households averaged $52,781
as compared with Boomers average of $49,672. The
biggest spending gap was in the home luxury goods
category, where GenXers spent 28 percent more than Boomers on average.
While Boomers still spend lots of money on
luxuries, luxury goods marketers are going to
find the younger GenXer affluent consumers a more
important part of their target market in the coming years.
After years of catering to the Boomers’ luxury
appetites, luxury goods marketers need to tap the
tremendous spending potential of GenXers. In
order to do that, they need new insights into the
drives and passions of GenXer generation luxury consumers.
Generations of Affluence Consumer Insights Study
Today’s affluent market is dominated by two
generations at two different life stages. These
two generations represent the core target market
for luxury marketers. Some 55 percent of the
affluent consumer households are headed by Baby
Boomers, ages 42-to-60, who are approaching or
already in their empty-nesting
lifestage. About 25 percent of the affluent
market are GenXers, aged 30-to-41, who are in the
family-formation and young children at home lifestage.
Given their different lifestages, these two
generations demonstrate different luxury shopping
behavior, with the GenXer affluent households
spending more money on average buying luxuries
than the typical Baby Boomer. As a result,
luxury marketers must understand the two
different generations in order to target their
marketing communications, advertising and product
development efforts effectively.
Unity Marketing is undertaking an intensive
investigation of the mindset and consumer
psychology of these two distinctive generations
of luxury consumers. Through a series of focus
groups among luxury consumers (household incomes
of $150,000 and above) Unity will examine their
differing attitudes toward luxury and how that
impacts their buying and shopping for luxury
goods and services. Subscribers to Unity
Marketing’s Luxury Tracking Study can participate
in this special investigation of the generations of luxury.
To learn more about this study and participating
in Unity’s luxury generations research, complete
the request form
http://www.unitymarketingonline.com/reports2/luxury/affluence_reg.html
for more information
Pam Danzige
president of Unity Marketing
author of Let Them Eat Cake: Marketing Luxury to
the Masses — as well as the Classes.
Tel: 717-336-1600
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