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This chart shows how much Amazon Prime members spend on Amazon.com compared to regular customers. 
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Internet Retailer - E-Retailers/Top 500 U.S. E-Retailers - Nordstrom invests heavily in e-commerce
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Using Sport Chek as a pilot, marketing successes are not only helping the parent retailer catch up to competitors, but set the pace
Farid Mheir's insight:
Must read short article with great insights on how Canadian Tire bets digital using and internal team and 10 "secret" digital projects. Looking forward to the next few months to see what they are about.
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Forget the delivery drones and TV deals. Jeff Bezos' stealthy foray into the unsexy world of B2B distribution is likely his most disruptive move yet -- and it has an $8 trillion swath of the economy running scared.
Farid Mheir's insight:
Yes, makes perfect sense: is there a difference between B2C and B2B? I guess the answer is "not so much".
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The winners in the ecosystem for retail 2.0 will blend expertise in hardware and software platforms, system integration and consulting, and analytics providing an all-in-one offering.
Farid Mheir's insight:
Very detailed review of the potential for iBeacons for brands, technology providers and retailers. A must read if you are wondering how iBeacons could be used in your stores.
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‘Click and collect’ system will allow consumers to order groceries from its website, have employees pack them and then pick the goods up at the stores
Farid Mheir's insight:
No surprise in this announce by Loblaws 2 things worth highlighting, which represent clear result of the digital transformation of Loblaws:
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Wal-Mart is wasting no time in deploying its latest grocery format — a stand alone pick-up center where shoppers can drive up and retrieve their online orders and never leave their car. It’s a new format concept for Walmart U.S. who continues to up the ante for convenience in the highly competitive grocery sector.
Farid Mheir's insight:
One more sign that retail store transformation is under way and will move from anecdotal to full scale in the next months. With Walmart scale and size of its stores it is not difficult to see them convert part of their existing facilities to host drive-thru area in the back. This way you can order staples (or even benefit from automatic replenishment), then go in store to top-off what you may have missed or want to pick yourself (essential in grocery).
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Amazon Prime members can now have big boxes filled with regular-sized household items delivered at a flat rate. As the big-box retailer of the online world, it's no surprise that Amazon sees a future in big boxes. This week, Amazon launched Prime Pantry, a delivery service that allows customers to fill up a single box of non-perishable household goods and have it shipped to them at a flat rate. In a dig at stores like Costco and Walmart, where customers save by buying in bulk, Pantry users will be able to purchase items like cereal, canned soup, pet food, paper towels and detergent in "everyday sizes," but save by having them shipped in bulk. Customers can order up to 45 pounds of items, but each box, no matter the size of the shipment (it shows the percentage being filled in the shopping cart), will be delivered for $5.99. The service is only available to Amazon Prime subscribers, but the flat rate comes on top of the annual $99 membership fee (up from $79 as of April 17). While Pantry delivers to customers in the contiguous U.S. (not Hawaii or Alaska), the company's other offering in the grocery space, same day service AmazonFresh is currently accessible in three West Coast markets – Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle.
Farid Mheir's insight:
More signs that Amazon is targeting established retailers where it hurst: repeat business of staple products. you know, the stuff in the middle of the store, on shelves, where there is little value in picking the product yourself - a can is a can. Amazon will suck the air out of retailers for these products as its cost structure is much less than that of a retailer - no staff, low cost warehouses, high automation, no need to ship/unwrap/stock shelves. Of course there are the shipping cost and the returns but Amazon is addressing those as well. Related article: Amazon Is Now Accepting Returns Through its Lockers What can established retailers do? Roll over and let Amazon do what it wants. So far, that looks pretty much like it... Also read:
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Amazon also recently published the following job posting on its site: Amazon is growing at a faster speed than UPS and FedEx, who are responsible for shipping the majority of our packages. At this rate Amazon cannot continue to rely solely on the solutions provided through traditional logistics providers. To do so will limit our growth, increase costs and impede innovation in delivery capabilities. Last Mile is the solution to this. It is a program which is going to revolutionize how shipments are delivered to millions of customers.
Farid Mheir's insight:
It was clear when amazon started rolling out Amazon Fresh. See this post from Jan 2013: AmazonFresh set to expand? http://sco.lt/59o9Td and others on same-day delivery http://www.scoop.it/t/digital-transformation-of-businesses?q=same+day+delivery
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Shoppers spend more online after browsing through lavish print spreads.
Farid Mheir's insight:
That is why "Marketers mailed 11.9 billion catalogs in 2013". Amazing read and reminder: most people still use printed catalogs - even I do and enjoy them - and go in store to shop and view products. What's important is to make online experience seamless.
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Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has been vocal about its intention to aggressively build its online business, but there's one thing it needs to change first: Getting its own in-store shoppers to shop at Walmart.com. Just 19% of Walmart in-store shoppers shop at Walmart.com, compared to 53% of those who also buy at Amazon.com, according to a UBS report, citing Kantar Retail data.
Farid Mheir's insight:
Read the stats and ask yourself the same question in your business: how many of your customers shop online on Amazon.com? Is that percentage higher or lower than those using your own eCommerce site? If the answer is lower, then you are loosing money. If you do not have an ecommerce website, the answer is even easier to get.
André Bélanger's curator insight,
April 16, 2014 8:54 AM
Walmart n'a pas encore réussi à offrir une grande valeur ajoutée à ses clients pour sa boutique en ligne. Amazon, qui n'a pas de présence physique, reste le leader incontesté du magasin en ligne des clients de Walmart.
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Le Québec perdrait 95 millions de dollars par année en raison du commerce en ligne transfrontalier, estime le Conseil québécois du commerce de
Farid Mheir's insight:
On se plaint ici des pertes de revenus de taxes (15% sur 1B$ = 150M$ quand même). Mais il faudrait aussi souligner que c'est 1B$ de ventes perdues par nos marchands...
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From
qz
Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro has a new idea for how to fight his country's shortages of basic goods: keep electronic records of what everyone is buying. Maduro announced plans to launch what he's calling a secure supply card (link in Spanish), which will allow Venezuelans to sign up and receive benefits, such as discounted prices, at...
Farid Mheir's insight:
We will see more of this for sure: good technology hijacked for bad intent. But never thought that loyalty card programs could be turned into digital food ration cards. !Viva la technologia!
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Farid Mheir's insight:
No surprise here: Canadian retailers online lag compared to US counterpart. Nevertheless very good list that opens eye as to what is working and what is not.
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Les pluies et inondations de février ont incité les Britanniques à se tourner plus que jamais vers l'achat en ligne. Dans l'ameublement, le tiers des ventes se fait désormais sur Internet.
Farid Mheir's insight:
Britain is ahead of the maturity curve in its use of the Internet, eCommerce in particular. They have embraced online grocery shopping more than any other country. The eCommerce spike in Feb due to climate conditions may provide a good view into the future: when eCommerce is available, then it really does become an option when it is difficult to go to the physical store. We see this every year at christmas where people now prefer to shop online rather than go and wait in overcrowded stores...
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Increasingly, customers are playing an active role in defining and determining the assortment. Consumers are no longer just passive recipients of what a retailer “thinks” they might want; they are ...
Farid Mheir's insight:
I recommend reading the Retail Innovation document for anyone looking for great examples of retailers that are innovating in the digital space. I was especially impressed with Hointer apparel retailer...
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Farid Mheir's insight:
The BestBuy omni-channel strategy document was made public in Nov 2012 and is available online. Sheds light into the company current state versus competitors and the strategy to regain its position.
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Electronics retail giant Best Buy Canada is cutting 950 jobs at its namesake and Future Shop stores as it streamlines its business to take on tougher competition. The job cuts underscore the increasingly competitive retail landscape as U.S. discount giants Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Target Corp. expand in this country, other new foreign merchants arrive and online players steal away business from incumbents, leaving them scrambling to keep up. Best Buy’s same-store sales, a key measure of revenue at locations open for at least 12 months, fell by 0.9 per cent during the crucial holiday period. And margins were worse than expected The retailer enjoyed more than 50-per-cent sales growth in its e-commerce business in the past year while its new in-store “reserve and pick-up” service more than doubled in that period, Mr. Wilson said.
Farid Mheir's insight:
I wrote about the digital cliff a while back ("Survivrez-vous au précipice numérique?"), the concept that says digital transformations do not happen slowly over time. Digital transformation usually transform whole industries within a few years, rapidly, with established players disappearing overnight for the benefit of relative newcomers. It happened in the book industry, the music industry, the travel industry, the yellow pages industry and now is happening in the retail industry. What is challenging for digital natives is that the signs have been there for years, decades in fact, that retail will have to change due to the introduction of digital technology. It was the Internet at first, then came the mobile devices and soon, the revolution in order delivery and shipping. We are not sure yet what the retail store of the future will look like but we can assume it will look more like an Apple store than a Best Buy store:
Also read those recent posts:
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Starting in the second quarter of 2013, Best Buy, No. 10 in Internet Retailer’s 2013 Top 500 Guide, began fulfilling web orders from 50 of its more than 1,500 U.S. stores. At first, Best Buy was much slower in delivering orders to customers than Amazon. But that changed over the holidays. During the summer, Best Buy took nearly seven days to deliver an order on average. That compared to four days for orders made with Amazon.com, StellaService says. By October the gap had narrowed, to about two days and seven hours for Best Buy orders compared with about three days and 12 hours for Amazon orders. Best Buy lost ground in November. But on Dec. 13 the chain could claim victory, if only barely. Its orders were in the hands of customers in just under three days, while Amazon’s orders needed a few more hours.
Farid Mheir's insight:
Looks like having real estate (read: stores) may not be as much as a liability as expected when it comes to eCommerce. This post breaks down the number of warehouses that online pure plays have but also makes the case that smart brick-n-mortar retailers can turn their stores into mini warehouses. Great idea if you think about it since stores are already close to where people live. I leveraged this concept back in the dotcom era to fulfill grocery orders from local stores instead of warehouses. Unfortunately, grocery may have been one of the worst product to implement this concept with, given the high SKU count, different planograms and inventory levels in each store, fresh products, large order size, etc. etc. But in the case of Best Buy, it may make sense if they can make 2 things work: real estate cost and delivery. Stores typically are in areas where rental rates are high compared to locations where warehouses are typically located. But that may actually be turned into an advantage if you leverage the location for customer pick-ups, which solves the high cost of delivery. Best Buy and other established retailer thus may have the upper hand here over Amazon that needs to build out its warehousing infrastructure. At least for a few years...
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Walmart To Go, the retailer's on-demand shopping service offering home delivery of general merchandise, including in some cases, groceries, is expanding its..
Farid Mheir's insight:
Some interesting pictures and stats regarding walmart ToGo.
André Bélanger's curator insight,
February 4, 2014 4:58 PM
Un magasin roulant sans avoir à payer d'impôts fonciers et de loyers. Brillant!
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One in four online clothing purchases are returned, often due to poor fit. And obviously, the only way to solve the problem is with shape-shifting robots.
Farid Mheir's insight:
For a while here in Montreal we had "le mannequin virtuel", a 3D computer model to help sell clothes online. Now this new robot provides a more natural option to determine how well a shirt, skirt or pant will fit. Look at this video to see the robot in action. It appears to really do a great job at showing if a garment fits well or not. Of course, retailers will be interested in the technology to reduce the high return rate the apparel industry has been experiencing. Not sure how the robots would be integrated into the online shopping experience? I also wonder if they could also help with in-store, where you would not have to try the clothes on but rather would let the robot do the work for you... Would bring a new tool to personal shopper, that could literally go "shop for now" and return only with the products that suit you perfectly. Of course, designers and others will benefit from having this new tool at their disposal. Read this for more details on the matter: As much as 33% of Internet sales gets returned? good reason why digital transformations require planning via @wsj http://sco.lt/5eALiL
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Behind the uptick in e-commerce is a little known secret: As much as a third of all Internet sales gets returned, in part because of easy policies on free shipping. Retailers are trying some new tactics to address the problem.
Farid Mheir's insight:
Very interesting insight from WSJ, the 33% figure appears to be very high and probably only applies to certain retailers or industries - apparel is the one feature in the article. One interesting figure from the article says "Rue La La said dealing with returns cost the company $5 million last year", which stresses the importance of the "transformation" component in your digital transformation plan. In fact, things like returns may come and bite you in the rear if they are not planned for and addressed properly early on. Poster child for this was Zappos (now Amazon) that built returns as part of the normal ordering process, making certain that returns were fast, easy and profitable. This was an essential component of the digital transformation because buying shoes online has a very negative aspect for the customer compared to in-store: they can't try the shoes before they buy. So Zappos *had* to make return a part of its process. Any digital transformation carries similar issues that must be accounted for early in the plan to make sure they do not kill your digital business model.
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Experts think it’s inevitable that sales of many non-perishable grocery categories will eventually take place online. Retailers need to meet that demand, but also the creative challenge of what to do with the space that it will open up in stores. Thom Blischok of Booz & Co. shared his ideas about “Tomorrow’s Trends Delivered Today: Store Design Trends — The Path to 2025” at a recent Food Marketing Institute conference, and then in an interview for this section. Today, 80% of the store is in merchandise, while 20% is accounted for by services, he said. Meanwhile 75% of capital investment dollars go to the store perimeter, while 15% is spent on center store, and 10% goes to the front of the store. “Recognizing that there is a movement to the Internet, becoming world-class at what you do on the perimeter and with services is critical,” Blischok said in an interview after he presented his concepts at the recent Food Marketing Institute Energy & Store Development Conference in Baltimore. Future store designs will have to account for certain center store categories moving online, which will result in much more available space in the store; decisions will have to be made about what to do with that space.
Farid Mheir's insight:
I am a technology expert, not a retailer or a store designer. I've posted blog posts regarding this trend for a while now and find this article to provide some of the background information to indicate that store designs are changing as some of the purchase for commodity items move to online. Retailers must thus act to prepare for this.
See also
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Anticipate Customer Needs In some locations, the home goods retailers set up pop-up stores on or near select college campuses. It also created a “Shop Here, Pick Up There” option, allowing students to choose what they wanted at a store close to home and pick up the packages at the location nearest their campus. Online, BB&B offered checklists and informational videos as well as a shopping option that allowed customers to choose the ship date. It was a smart strategy that paid off well. While NRF anticipated that back-to-college shopping would be down year-to-year in 2013, Bed Bath & Beyond closed out its second quarter ending August 31 with a 3.7 percent increase in same-store sales.
Farid Mheir's insight:
20 different examples of companies that have leverage digital to transform the way they do business. Nothing earth shatering always good to have examples in mind when trying to convince a executive... ;-)
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Amazon was granted a patent for what it calls “anticipatory shipping,” a method to start delivering packages even before customers have clicked “buy.”
Farid Mheir's insight:
Retailers have been doing forecasting for a long time, predicting from previous sales and market conditions (and their best judgement), what to order for each one of their stores. When you have hundreds of stores, this is not a simple tasks, and it often requires years of experience - if you want to do it well. Because forecasting errors are very costly, resulting in lost sales or products that stay on shelves or racks and must be transferred to others stores, or worse, discounted at the end of the season. I've worked on systems - from simple excel spreadsheets to more complex applications - that automate the predictive aspect and provide tools to facilitate the forecasting process. But never were the tools using invidual client profiles to make the prediction. They always used global store-level or regional sales numbers. So, at least in theory, established retailers can have a leg up. But Amazon may (again) shock retailers into a digital transformation, bringing their individual client sales data into account when doing the forecast. This will require retailers to include individual customer transactions and possibly their "wish lists" and online search information, to include in your forecasts. Data is there but few reatilers have the systems or the integration to bring this data in a timely manner to the "forecasting team" desk. Amazon has been doing this with "replesnishment" options where they send you products on a regular schedule, so you don't have to "shop" for them: they come at your door at a predefined interval you control. And they give you rebates for sticking to your schedude (predictability is invaluable in a supply chain!). If you do, then your forecast will undeniably be better. If you don't companies like amazon, with lower overhead, will send your clients products before they even consider going to store to see what's on the shelves!
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Curated by Farid Mheir
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When Amazon goes into grocery eCommerce and charges 299$ per year for Prime, what will be the impact on traditional retailers - Walmart, Target, Loblaws?