J.C. Penney shows the danger of the discount
Before Ron Johnson joined department store giant J.C. Penney as CEO in 2011, he was the SVP of Retail Operations at Apple Inc., where he was responsible for developing the Apple Store and its Genius Bar.
Apple's retail strategy was a major contributor to Appl'e's mind-bending success over the past decade, and for his seven-plus years of work, Johnson was handsomly rewarded.
Needless to say, given Johnson's accomplishments at Apple, J.C. Penney shareholders had high hopes for what he might do for the century-old retailer.
Earlier this year, Johnson unveiled his bold vision: radically alter J.C. Penney's pricing strategy.
Instead of using coupons and discounts, something the department store had done extensively for years, J.C. Penney would offer "Every Day", "Monthly Value" and "Best Price" prices on its merchandise. And instead of selling items for $x.99, it would use round numbers.
Foursquare looks to merge check-ins with coupons
Thanks to supportive venture capitalists with deep pockets, some of the most prominent startups in recent years have been able to put off the 'making money' part of creating a new business.
But no business can survive forever without a revenue model, and for Foursquare, it looks like it's time to make money.
Consumers respond to social media symbols on TV: report
It's well-established that the second screen phenomenon is real, and there's plenty of reason to believe that social media and television are a perfect match.
But just how well do social media-oriented calls to action on television actually work? According to consulting firm Accenture, they work pretty well.
Smart phones, tablets were a big part of holiday shopping: report
Marketers know that smart phones and tablets are increasingly part of the "path to purchase" for many consumers, but how big a role did they play in purchasing decisions this past holiday season?
According to Google, a big one.
Five big ideas about discounting
Q: Why have there been so many cataclysmic stories over the past year about digital discounts-gone-haywire?
A: Because too many people had no idea what they were doing.
Marketers are almost guaranteed to get discounting campaigns wrong if they don’t understand a few underlying strategic concepts about what a discount is – and isn’t. Aiming to forestall any repetition of this maladaptive behavior, Econsultancy is pleased to share a few points from our latest Smart Pack, The Fundamentals of Digital Discounting.
Is mobile the future of discounts?
Businesses may be tiring of services like Groupon, and overaggressive retailers may have bargained themselves into a less profitable holiday shopping season, but one thing is for sure: consumers love discounts.
Who can blame them? The global economy nearly collapsed in 2008, and it's been tough since then. Companies eager to separate consumers from their hard-earned dollars have often had little choice but to lure customers in with prices too hard to pass up.
Beauty companies embrace social, but love traditional channels too
Is the future of marketing social? Few today would argue that social media marketing is going away any time soon, and the most bullish suggest that social is going to increasingly displace traditional marketing spend.
But are the bulls right? If a new study is any indication, not exactly.
Discounts and loyalty: a bad match?
Quick: what are some of the best way to acquire loyal customers? If you look around online, you might draw the conclusion that providing discounts makes the list.
Billions upon billions of dollars worth of coupons are distributed by brands each year, and increasingly couponing is moving to the web, where bargain-loving consumers have more power than ever to seek out the very best deals available.
Should your order form include a coupon code field?
If you've ever purchased something online, you've probably come across an almost ubiquitous feature on many order forms: the coupon code field.
Online sellers, of course, use coupon codes in an effort to boost sales, increase AOVs and reward loyal customers. But according to web consultant Rachel Baker, these innocuous fields may be doing more harm than good.
Is real-time the future of group buying?
Thanks to companies like Groupon and LivingSocial, group buying has rapidly grown into a multi-billion dollar market in just a few short years.
The reason: group buying offers both consumers and businesses a deal that's too good to pass up. For consumers, there are steep, limited-time-only discounts on products and services. For businesses, there's the promise of a flood of new customers.
