Marketing Buzz 07/02 A retail lab to figure out how shoppes shop and saving money after the postal rate hike
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Spy Games
Tina Wilcox knows shoppers--and it's her mission to helpretailers get to know shoppers as well. Wilcox, founder of FAME, aretail brand agency in Minneapolis, has created a retail lab whereshe and her clients watch how consumers shop in a real storesetting. Her laboratory is a home and gift store called Once Famousin downtown Minneapolis equipped with cameras,microphones and anobservation room behind mirrored glass. (Recordings are alwaysannounced to customers.)
Since opening the store in 2001, Wilcox has observed interestingthings about shoppers: They buy blue and green items the most,women gravitate toward the left side of the store while men tend togo to the right, women tend to humanize objects (such as "Icame to visit my painting"), and shoppers will pay more for aproduct in a more upscale environment.
Entrepreneurs can try a similar study in their own stores byputting up some observation windows, suggests Wilcox, or by closelywatching who gravitates toward a particular display or product. Butbe warned: "There's a range of communication fromconsumers-from constructive [criticism] to really meancomments," says Wilcox. "Sometimes, it'sheartbreaking because you hear what they are really thinking-butit's so valuable."
Hey, Mr. Postman!
The postage rate hikes that were implemented on June 30don't have to break your bank if you're a direct marketer.Although mailing costs are increasing 7.5 percent on average withthe new rates, marketers can implement a variety of measures toensure mailings stay within budget.
By presorting mail or working with a presort bureau, you cantake advantage of presort discounts. Also make sure the mail yousend out is automation-compatible and includes bar codes, so itwon't require special handling. Keeping an eye on the size andweight of your mailings will help you avoid manual-handlingsurcharges, as long as you meet the physical standards requirementfor automation compatibility.
The fact that rates won't increase again until 2004 isrelatively good news. And because the new rates went into effect inJune instead of September (the start of the holiday mailingseason), retailers will have time to adjust to the new system."It means we're going to get through two holiday seasonswith a modicum of rate stability, and hopefully it will help theindustry recover," says Ed Gleiman, a consultant for TheDirect Marketing Association and former chairman of the Postal Ratecommission. For more information on rates, visit www.the-dma.org orwww.usps.gov.
