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Retailers Dread Phone-Wielding Shoppers
Ponca City writes "The WSJ reports that until recently, retailers could reasonably assume that if they just lured shoppers into stores with enticing specials, the customers could be coaxed into buying more profitable stuff too. But now, marketers must contend with shoppers who can use their smartphones inside stores to check whether the specials are really so special. 'The retailer's advantage has been eroded,' says analyst Greg Girard, adding that roughly 45% of customers with smartphones had used them to perform due diligence on a store's prices. 'The four walls of the store have become porous.' Although store executives publicly welcome a price-transparent world, retail experts don't expect all chains to measure up to the harsh judgment of mobile price comparisons, and some will need to find new ways to survive. 'Only a couple of retailers can play the lowest-price game,' says Noam Paransky. 'This is going to accelerate the demise of retailers who do not have either competitive pricing or a standout store experience.'"
I used my phone to find the best prices when I was buying various white goods (fridge/freezer, washing machine, dishwasher) upon moving house, from a certain UK big-box electrical retailer.
Of course, the salesperson said "Oh no, we can't match internet prices" but it turns out that given a choice between a discounted sale and no sale, they can
Protip: You haven't got the best price until the salesperson has sheepishly had to ask the manager for authority twice.
This is a substitute for a clever sig that fits within the maximum number of characters.
I'm in the market for a new TV, but haven't done any research. I see a TV in BestBuy that is on sale, compare the price to other stores, see it actually is a good price, then buy it. If I didn't have my smart phone, I would've gone home and did some research first, rather than buy it right there. That means I'm out of the store, and that most likely means a lost sale for them.
Similarly, I was at a (plant) nursery this last spring. I had the impulse to buy some plants for my house, but since I have a cat, I wanted to make sure I didn't buy a plant that was poisonous to cats. I whipped out my phone, went on the web, and researched the plants I liked, one-by-one, to find the ones that were cat safe. In the end I bought $100 worth of plants. If I didn't have my smart phone, then I wouldn't have bought anything.
Harleys have a market that is entirely separate from the rest of the motorcycle market. There are generally no reasons to explain why someone who bought a Harley did so. They just do it because they think HD is "the real thing". It's hilarious to hear a group of them talk about how they much they spent on a big, slow, unreliable bike. The purchases all rest on "the tradition", "the feel", "the prestige", etc... nothing with any basis in reality.
Now, you'll hear them retort today about how reliability is much better than it used to be, and it has gotten better, but it's still nowhere near that of basically any other brand. They are intentionally using an antiquated engine design with 1950s tech and marketing like anything more advanced "ain't shit". I mean, they are still air cooled for goodness sake...
HD is the greatest case of drone marketing in world history. They have a militant user base willing to pay a premium price for a product that is inferior in every quantifiable way. Not only this, but they spend trillions on cheap chinese trinkets just because they carry the logo.
It's not like the premium clothing outlets where the product is better, but not in proportion to the price. It's even greater than that.
Anecdotes are great and all, but we're supposed to be nerds. Here are some studies:
http://www.newrules.org/retail/key-studies-walmart-and-bigbox-retail#4
Interesting findings from these studies show that most retail purchases at a Walmart (85%) have corresponding losses from local business, within two years there is significant loss of local businesses in general when a Walmart opens, Tax revenues generally do not go up, Retail employee wages and benefits drop as the result of a Walmart opening. Walmarts funnel nearly twice as much of the money running through them out of the local economy (out of the state) as local retail businesses do. One study found that for every job created by a particular Walmart studied, the local community lost 1.4 jobs as local businesses closed. Counties with one or more Walmart have higher poverty rates and poverty rates that increase faster than other counties in the same state and/or area, over a 10 year period.