Retail Business Advice: Marlene's Blog

Valentine's Day Sales Predictions

2012-02-07T18:36:30Z

The Allure of Valentine's Day

While watching television last night, I saw an advertisement for huge (4 feet tall) teddy bears being offered for sale as Valentine Day gifts. The price was nearly $100 dollars each. They were cute, but I couldn’t help wondering if costly items like this one could be sold in the still shaky economy that we’re seeing today. Apparently this is a real possibility, according to National Retail Federation’s 2012 Valentine’s Day Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, conducted by BIGinsight. Their prediction that “Americans To Pull Out All The Stops This Valentine’s Day” is music to the ears of many retailers.

According to the survey, the average person celebrating the Valentine’s Day holiday will spend $126.03. That’s an increase of 8.5 percent from last year’s $116.21, and the highest in the survey’s 10-year history!

Consumers’ willingness to spend this much on discretionary gift items seems to be a strong indication that the economy is moving in a positive direction. Retailers are gearing up to take advantage of this trend by stocking up on inventories, and offering great deals on everything from teddy bears to chocolates.

Men are expected to spend more than women, an average of $168.74 (more than twice that of women). Not surprisingly, pet owners are expected to spend an average of $4.52 on their beloved furry friends.

The survey also revealed that smartphone owners (40.4%) and tablet owners (53.8%) will be researching products, comparing prices, redeeming coupons, finding retailer information and purchasing gifts using their mobile devices.

Are you prepared to take advantage of great sales possibilities for this upcoming holiday? CounterPoint POS Software can help you with your inventory, and CPMobile will allow you to rake in those “on the go” sales.

Call us at 800-672-4806 for more information or email us!

Charging Your iPhone In A New Way?

2012-01-30T20:54:00Z

SolMate SmartPhone Charging System

On Saturday, I was listening to GeekWire on News Talk 97.3 KIRO FM radio. A new product called SolMate, now under development, was being discussed. Though the subject was interesting, my time was limited, so I didn’t hear the entire show. Later, I checked out the GeekWire website, and found the details about the new product in an article by John Cook titled “Meet The SolMate: This Case Charges Your iPhone In The Sun (And Shade)”

It turns out that the product being developed by co-founders Adam Benzion and Jamie Wocik is an iPhone case with a razor-thin solar panel and a 16-bit microcontroller circuit board that will provide a charge directly to a mobile device, completely doing away with grid charging. The problem is that, so far, it will only be useful in Florida or California, since the phone has to be in sunlight or in non-direct sunlight about four to five hours a day.

Similar solar chargers have been developed in the past, but have had only limited success since they can charge only in the sun. The co-founders think that this new product will be better because it can charge in the shade, also. It may even be used, eventually, to charge iPads. Just think—you could be out at a show with your NCR CPMobile POS device, conducting business without ever having to charge your phone!

Buying and selling “on the go” is here to stay. For more information about NCR CounterPoint CPMobile Mobile POS, we’re here to answer your questions at 800-672-4806, or email us!

Connecting With Your Customers

2012-01-26T17:46:11Z

Do You Track Your Customers?

A few days ago, I visited a local discount store that I like and just happened to find a great discount on walking shoes, a product I buy a lot. Satisfied with my great buy, I shared the information with others at work, and one person actually went to the store and bought a pair of the shoes for herself.

Thinking back on that purchase, I am wondering what other great buys I may have missed out on because I didn’t know about them. Also, since I referred another customer to this business, I felt that I should be rewarded in some small way for having done this, like getting a coupon for a future purchase. My friend would probably like to receive information on future sale items as well.

Obviously, this company is not set up with a great Point of Sale software feature for keeping track of who its customers are, what they buy, and when they buy. CounterPoint’s CustomerConnect is one such feature that allows a business to collect the data needed to effectively track and connect with customers, drive sales, and increase customer loyalty. Email marketing functionality enables emails to be automatically sent to welcome new customers or to send promotional information to current customers. In addition, CustomerConnect can show which campaigns generate the most revenue.

Don’t miss out on possible sales revenue! Connect and engage with your customers with CounterPoint’s CustomerConnect and make email marketing simple. For more information, call us at 800-672-4806 or email us!

Mobile Technologies - A Good Thing?

2012-01-24T22:53:34Z

Mobile Technology – Is It Working In Retail Stores?

Increasing use of mobile technology in retail stores is obvious to most people. Whenever I enter a retail store, I notice many people using their mobile devices to compare prices, features and availability of products before making a purchase. Often, mobile devices are used by retailers to complete the sale, eliminating the need for customers to stand in a long checkout lane. Is this new technology helping retailers and adding to customer shopping satisfaction? Answers to these questions were addressed by Marianne Wilson in an article for Retailing Today titled Survey: Mobile Technology Leads to Better In-Store Experience.

According to the article, a survey conducted by Motorola Solutions reported that 75% of surveyed retail associates and managers felt that the latest mobile technologies provided their customers better in-store experiences. Shoppers, (67%), also reported greater satisfaction doing business with stores where mobile technologies were utilized to assist them. Price checkers, self-checkout payment lanes, and information kiosks were mentioned frequently as positives. More than 43% of shoppers would like to see a store application on their smartphones that creates a map from a shopping list that could guide them through a store more efficiently.

Retailers will still need to curb out-of-stock occurrences, inefficient payment processes, and provide an adequate selection in order to improve revenue from mobile sales, but use of mobile technologies is clearly the way to go!

Break away from the counter and sell your products anywhere! CCS CPMobile POS and Inventory Management can make this happen in your business. For more information, call us at 800-762-4806 or email us.

Password Woes

2012-01-09T20:59:43Z

Secure Passwords Are Critical

The importance of using strong passwords is often ignored, sometimes by even top-level executives from some of the world’s largest corporations. Fox News reported in an article published by TechMediaNetwork that the Austin think-tank Strategic Forecasting Inc. (Stratfor) was hacked into by Anonymous on December 24, 2011. Thousands of private email addresses and credit card details from the firm’s clients and recipients of the company’s emailed newsletters were stolen.

Hashcat, a computer-automated password-cracking tool, was used to determine the types of passwords that were being used by Stratfor’s clients and subscribers to keep their accounts secure. As expected, the passwords were easy to guess and easy to crack by hackers.

Some of the worst passwords found include the following

123456, 11111111, and 123123

111222333444,12345678901, administration,123456789abc,12345stratfor, hello123, lawenforcement, and intelligence
Passwords played off of the word “password” itself, like password1234, password101, password123, password122, and password999.

Of the thousands of leaked Stratfor passwords, only 1,411 had 11-characters, 627 had 12-characters, and only 165 had 13-characters. Security experts recommend creating passwords that are long, complex, case-sensitive, and have multiple characters.

How safe are your passwords?

We can answer questions about this and other important aspects of keeping your CounterPoint POS Software safe and secure. Call us now at 800-672-4806 or email us for more information.

Marketing for Repeat Business

2011-12-20T20:59:35Z

Clever Marketing

Sometime an occasional “freebie” can bring in surprising profits for your business. Here is a good example for you to ponder.

I was finishing up my last-minute holiday shopping yesterday, when it occurred to me that a gift card would be appropriate for a friend of mine who is trying to “eat healthier” even though his busy schedule necessitates eating out frequently. I stopped at a local deli-type restaurant and bought the gift card, using my credit card for payment. Before the transaction was complete, I was asked what kind of a free sandwich I would like! The freebie came with the purchase of an “X Amount” gift certificate.

I wondered how they could make a profit from giving away free sandwiches. After thinking it through, I realized that l) I liked the sandwich and will probably return for more later, 2) my friend will also like the sandwiches he will buy and will probably return for more later, 3) the store was able to set the amount of future gift card purchases, and 4) the store’s database will have customer information that can be used to send out advertisements of sales that will bring both of us back for more purchases.

Keeping a track record of who your customers are and what they buy is a tremendous advantage when it comes to repeat business. Does your POS Software allow you to do this? CounterPoint’s CustomerConnect feature allows you to send targeted emails using purchase history and other customer data. In addition, it allows you to see which campaigns generate the most revenue, and much more!

If you’d like to hear more about CustomerConnect, we’re here to answer your questions. Call us at 800-672-4806 or email us for more information.

Holiday Sales Forecast

2011-12-19T21:05:56Z

Holiday Sales Forecast Even Better Than Expected

The National Retail Federation recently revised its holiday sales forecast to 3.8 percent, up from the initial October 6 prediction of 2.8 percent. A record $469.1 billion in retail sales is anticipated, above the 10-year average, but lower than the 5.2 percent increase seen last year.

Two factors were cited that influenced the change: (1) unusually strong sales in October and November (including Black Friday), and (2) the results of the most recent NRF survey indicating that the average shopper has completed far less holiday shopping in that time period than usual. This means that the increase during those two months probably came from personal shopping, rather that shopping for gift-giving. Plenty of holiday shopping is still left to do!

It appears at this point that holiday spending has surpassed expectations, even though many shoppers are sticking to their budgets. The debt crisis in Europe and political wrangling in the US could still have an impact on spending, but the season should still turn out better than expected earlier.

Are you using all of the available tools in your POS Software to reap in those holiday sales? CounterPoint has many features, like CPMobile and CustomerConnect that will help you increase your bottom line! Call us at 800-672-4806 or email us for more information.

'Tis the Season to be Wary

2011-12-13T21:22:44Z

Avoiding Seasonal Scams

For most people, the holiday season is a time for good will and giving. For some, however, it’s a season for illegally collecting credit card numbers or selling stolen goods. In the current AARP Bulletin, Sid Kirchheimer, in his article called Holiday Hoaxes, has five suggestions for protecting your money and your identify during this critical time period.

Don’t purchase gift cards from store display racks. Thieves can easily copy or use portable scanners to read the codes under the scratch-off strips. After replacing the cards, they later use toll-free numbers to check to see if the cards were activated and for how much, then spend your money before you can use it. To be safe, purchase those cards from a store’s customer service counter or from their website.

Delete any email purporting to announce a greeting from an unnamed “friend,” “admirer” or “webmaster.” It could contain a malware link or attachment. If you receive one of these greetings, go to the card company’s website and check the confirmation code that should appear on the email. Legitimate notifications include this confirmation code.

Don’t click on emails about an “undeliverable” package. Instead, locate the phone number of the delivery service and call it directly to inquire. Otherwise, you may be tricked into making an expensive overseas call that lets the scammer get a part of what you pay!

Ignore email solicitations and be suspicious of fundraising phone calls. Check out a charity’s legitimacy with an online search or phone call, and ask for printed material. Never give out your credit card number to someone who calls you.

When buying gifts online, never provide a credit card number before you carefully read the web address. A secure address begins with “https” instead of “http.” The “s” stands for security. Remember that there are many copycat websites out there that will try to trick you into believing that they are the “real thing.”

How secure is your POS System? If you have questions about this extremely important aspect of your business, we are here to help. Call us at 800-672-4806 or email us.

Boosting Retail Sales for the Holidays

2011-12-08T20:03:36Z

Holiday Sales Strategies

The holiday season, for most retailers, is “make-or break” time. This is especially true when the economy is floundering and consumers are tightening their belts to keep from financial disaster! So what plan of action can be used by retailers to make sure that they receive their fair share of the nearly $877 billion in sales expected this year from holiday spending?

According to Michael Koplov, ERP Analyst for Software Advice, there are five strategies to increase traffic, revenue and conversions this holiday season.

1. Use social media, like Facebook, to gain followers and instill urgency.

2. Partner with mobile shopping app vendors to build loyalty.

3. Present easy in-store item pickup options.

4. Extend return policies to encourage gift purchases.

5. Offer reduced or free shipping to entice online purchasing.

The list is not complete, of course, but implementing these ideas will drive more traffic, reduce customers’ resistance to purchase, and encourage spending, including impulse buying.

Making sure that your software features, like CounterPoint’s CustomerConnect and CPOnline, are being fully utilized is another important part of the equation. We’re here to answer any questions you may have. Give us a call at 800-672-4806 or email us.

Concerning Retail Fraud

2011-12-01T21:01:25Z

Retail Fraud – Still a Tremendous Problem

A recent survey by the National Retail Federation shows that although retailers are not expecting fraud rates to go up considerably this holiday season, it is still a tremendous problem. The cost to retailers this season may be as high as $3.48 billion, down from $3.73 billion from last year. Part of this reduction comes from enhanced return policies and required identification when receipts are not presented for returns.

Still, such fraudulent returns as the following will be problems that retailers will need to address to avoid great losses this season:

The return of stolen merchandise
Employee return fraud/collusion with external sources
Wardrobing (the return of used, non-defective merchandise like special occasion apparel and certain electronics)
The return of merchandise purchased on fraudulent or stolen tender
The use of counterfeit receipts to return merchandise

Will the new return policies affect the honest shopper? Probably not. According to the survey conducted last year by NRF, 88.4% of Americans feel that store return policies are fair.

If you want changes to the receipts you give to your customers, we can do those modifications for you. Call us at 800-672-4806 or email us for more information.