ETD: 757 Gross Domestic Pyramid; Philips and IBM Join Forces
in RFID Marketplace; Online Retailers Get Head Start for 2004 Holidays
E-Tailer's Digest
etd_post at gapent.com
Tue Feb 3 13:25:19 GMT 2004
E-Tailer's Digest --- Everything for the Retailer
Issue #0757 February 3, 2004
George Matyjewicz, Moderator mailto:georgem at gapent.com
Published by: GAP Enterprises, Ltd. http://www.etailersdigest.com
==================================================================
CONTENTS
[1] Greetings
[2] Gross Domestic Pyramid
[3] Philips and IBM Join Forces in RFID Marketplace
[4] Online Retailers Get Head Start for 2004 Holidays
==================================================================
[1] Greetings.
==================================================================
Hi All:
First some administrivia. I will be in London on business the week of Feb
16-20 and may not publish ETD. Depends on timing and connections. Of
course, if somebody would be kind enough to send me a special report, we
will publish, 1,500 - 2,500 words. And it will remain for posterity at
our site. http://etailersdigest.com/resources/Specials/index.htm
We have some interesting material today. All retailers look at retail
spending during the past period, which is nice. However, it measures what
has happened, and allows you to celebrate or cry, depending on how you
did. Rather than using that indicator, look at the GDP to see what will be
happening in retail - production and warehousing up or down. What do you
think?
Along those same lines, it's never too early to plan. An interesting piece
on how online retailers are now planning for next Christmas. Are you?
RFID is coming to a store near you and soon. Read what IBM and Philips are
doing in this new market.
Let's hear about your business, which will remain for posterity at
our "Members: Who Are You?" site.
http://etailersdigest.com/resources/members/index.htm And we have a form
there for you to tell us about you. As I said when I first proposed this
idea, we have "known" each other for a long time, yet we often don't know
anything about each other. So, tell us who you are and what you do.
Now, let's get to everything for the retailer.
Sincerely
George Matyjewicz, PhD
Chief Global Strategist, GAP Enterprises, Ltd.
mailto:georgem at gapent.com
http://www.etailersdigest.com
==================================================================
[2] Gross Domestic Pyramid
==================================================================
In 2003 Americans spent more than $1 trillion on food; businesses spent
$181 billion on software. Those numbers make up part of America's $11
trillion economy during 2003.
During 2003 the economy grew 3.1 percent: .61 in private investment; .62 in
Government spending; 2.19 personal spending.
Two very important items are subtracted from the economy's total
production: imports and shrinking inventories. When we import more than we
export (which is what we have been doing for decades), that trade deficit
is subtracted from GDP, i.e, when you buy a Toyota, that money is going to
Japan which helps their economy not ours. During 2003, imports shaved $482
billion from the GDP.
When inventories expand - businesses produce merchandise and warehouse them
- it adds to the GDP. When inventories shrink - people are buying more
than what is being made - that shrinks from GDP. In general, inventories
grow during economic slowdowns, as consumer spending falls.
Why am I discussing this? As a retailer, retail spending is not a true
indicator of the state of the economy. Rather, you need to look at the
Gross Domestic Product and see what will be coming down in the next couple
of months, i.e., what is being produced and warehoused.
Official stats can be found here:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/fsbr/output.html
Explanation of GDP can be found here.
http://ingrimayne.saintjoe.edu/econ/Measuring/GNP1.html
George
==================================================================
[3] Philips and IBM Join Forces in RFID Marketplace
==================================================================
One of the world's biggest electronics companies Royal Philips Electronics
jumpstarts a major initiative with IBM to jointly develop customer systems
for radio frequency identification (RFID) applications. Together, Philips
and IBM will address the growing need for advanced RFID technology in
day-to-day business processes, operations and consumer lifestyles.
The end-application area that the companies plan to address is RFID
solutions for supply chain management, retail and asset management. Their
first joint project is to develop and implement an RFID solution within
Philips' Semiconductors division to improve the business processes within
the manufacturing and distribution supply chain, inventory management and
control, as well as to enhance customer satisfaction. Wafer cases and
carton packages will be tagged at its Kao Hsiung manufacturing site in
Taiwan and the division's distribution center in Hong Kong.
"Our relationship with IBM will mean stronger time-to-market, improved
customer confidence levels and the opportunity to leverage each others'
brands and expertise," says Scott McGregor, president and chief executive
officer, Philips Semiconductors. "The RFID system in East Asia being built
by IBM is a good illustration of Philips adopting the very technology it is
driving into the marketplace."
http://www.imakenews.com/edgellcgt/e_article000222021.cfm?x=a2wYlcj,a1C5PD6s
==================================================================
[4] Online Retailers Get Head Start for 2004 Holidays
==================================================================
"Sporting goods vendor REI has found that people who buy from two channels,
like in-store and online, buy 118 percent more than they do if they use
just one," Bart Lautenbach, director for WebSphere Commerce at IBM, told
the E-Commerce Times. "When they use all three, including ... kiosks, they
buy 48 percent more than if they use two."
Now that e-tailers have a few strong holiday seasons behind them, many have
learned it is never too early to start planning for next year.
Increasing levels of Internet use and greater comfort with online shopping
among the overall population should make next year's critical
November-December stretch rosy, despite continued fear of identity theft,
and some e-tailers already are readying their strategies.
E-tailers long ago realized the holidays require extra planning, but it
seems that as each year passes, the ramping-up process becomes a little
more in-depth and takes place a little earlier. Also, there is now
widespread recognition that, for many businesses, the Internet is not just
an isolated branch of operations, but rather a key part of overall strategy.
Customer Is Always Right
Also, although e-tailers have learned how to expand their technological
infrastructure for peak seasons by paying attention to server capacity
and doing plenty of load testing, another area of focus for many companies
has nothing to do with refresh rates or usability: customer service .
"We've learned that you can never be too in tune with your users," Kris
Chronister, vice president of marketing at Jewelry.com, told the E-Commerce
Times. Last year, Jewelry.com began creating surveys that appeared on the
site about every month, asking users to rate their interest in various
parts of the site.
Examining a combination of those survey results and site use reports about
the holiday season led Chronister to understand that some changes must be
made in 2004.
That theory was not shared by most customers, Jewelry.com found. Its users
showed strong interest in seeing more options, even if those choices were
redundant. They also wanted more variations of jewelry basics.
Chronister noted that the company's findings will lead to presentation of a
broader range of jewelry in 2004 -- plus more surveys to make sure the
company is headed in the right direction.
"This year, we saw that people were much more ready to buy," he said. "I
think this is indicative of the economic climate. In 2002, it was more of a
browsing market, and people were slower to make a purchase. So, we'll also
be keeping the economic turnaround in mind this year when doing our planning."
Going More Digital
Established retailer Lillian Vernon may have one of the most interesting
years ahead in the e-business arena, considering that the company just
hired a Web-savvy new president. Already, the retailer's online channel
accounts for 35 percent of sales, but Lillian Vernon spokesperson David
Hochberg told the E-Commerce Times that the company is preparing for its
own Internet revolution.
"We want to drive 50 percent of our sales to the Web site in the next two
years," he said. "That's very ambitious, but with the new president, I
think it can be done."
In terms of what the company learned during the 2003 holiday season,
Hochberg noted that a major challenge actually arose because of Lillian
Vernon's own marketing acumen. A surge of e-mail marketing by the company
resulted in a deluge of e-mail inquiries that the company had trouble
handling. Even though there were many call-center reps, not enough of them
were trained in how to answer customer e-mail. In 2004, Hochberg noted,
beefing up customer service will be a major initiative.
"Not only will we put in the right resources for handling e-mail," he said,
"but we're also putting in a 'proactive live chat' service, where a window
pops up on the site asking if they need help, with a customer-service
person right there to help them."
Armed with their new strategies, e-tailers seem poised to keep online sales
rising by leaps and bounds in 2004. Their ultimate goal: to keep the streak
alive by making the next holiday season another record-breaker.
http://www.ecommercetimes.com/perl/story/32740.html
==================================================================
Links to follow
==================================================================
GAP Enterprises, Ltd. http://www.gapent.com/
Sarbanes-Oxley 2002 http://www.sarbanes-oxley2002.com
E-Tailer's Digest http://www.etailersdigest.com
ETD Archives: http://topica.com/lists/etailer/read
Prior to 29 Dec
1999 http://etailersdigest.com/archives/index.htm
Marketing Your Web http://www.gapent.com/myweb/
Automated Press Releases http://www.automatedpr.com
More information about the ETD
mailing list