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According to Ypulse research, teens and college age men spend more per shopping trip than young women ($94 vs. $81)? That’s because guys want to get in and out of stores fast, and avoid shopping for awhile.
More As the global economy continues to be stressed and prices for all kinds of raw materials continue to rise, manufacturers are looking for ways to preserve profits. Although manufacturers are substituting materials where they can and locking in long-term contracts to protect themselves from price hikes, they may ultimately face the conundrum of passing along rising costs in the form of price increases to their customers. Will it work? Mixed results.
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If the price fits, then the suit fits! If my Brand is getting bigger, why are my profits getting smaller? Coupon day!…
More At the beginning of the Great Recession, Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) had a clear policy against price promotions. By the end of the Great Recession, price promotions were clearly part of Abercrombie & Fitch’s retail strategy. What changed? Was Abercrombie & Fitch’s price promotion policy shift simply another shoot-from-the-hip shotgun response to declining sales, or was it a needed change to improve growth and profits?
More While the GROUPON model — the idea of getting a $50 meal for $15 — is clearly compelling to consumers, does it work for the retailer?
More As health care spending consumes a greater and greater share of the nation’s economic output in the future, Americans will be faced with increasingly difficult choices between health care and other priorities. However, a number of opportunities exist to constrain health care costs without adverse health consequences.
More Summer time! Shoeless and barefoot in the grass. Starbucks who, gotta get my Dunkin on! Vacation time…definitely fly Southwest Airlines, Or definitely…
More The May 16 issue of Harvard Business School’s “Working Knowledge” carried an intriguing article entitled “What Loyalty? High-End Customers are First to Flee.” The article goes on to discuss the work of Prof. Francis X. Frie and doctoral student Ryan W. Buell. The premise of the research simple states that customers that businesses believe to be their best and most loyal are likely to be the first to cast you aside when presented with a challenger of a firm’s heretofore superior service. It’s a real kick in the groin to those companies who believe they have invested heavily in high levels of service for their best customers.
More It’s once again that time of year where the kids are out of school, the stress of work is weighing us down and the thought of a relaxing getaway is on our minds. As we begin to investigate the options there are many factors we need to consider including costs, time constraints and of course destination. Unfortunately, a large majority of us don’t live in Hawaii, next to a four star resort or a world-class golf course. That means we have to get into a car, board a plane, find a train, ship or some other form of transportation to get to where we are going. After you consider all of the options – even with the inconveniences of security, over crowded flights and additional fees – you may find yourself with one viable alternative – air travel.
More As a customer of the Amazon online marketplace and self proclaimed elastic demander of new books in all forms and genres, I find myself intrigued by the pricing segmentation strategies employed. Forcing the consumer to self-identify their willingness to pay using tactical segmentation hedges circumvents the blind online interface between the customer and firm. The consumer’s marginal benefit is indirectly discovered by the time of purchase and method of delivery. Essentially, Amazon has captured a significant array of customers at different pricing points for the same desired good, resulting in revenue outcomes more consistent with quasi-complete price segmentation.
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