New York SBDC Research Network

By Lucy Koch From eMarketer A couple weeks ago, headline after headline heralded the moment when US e-commerce (“clicks”) finally surpassed in-store sales (“bricks”), per slightly misconstrued data from the US Census Bureau. This seemed to confirm what many perceive as reality: Brick-and-mortar stores struggle as e-commerce continues to grow at double-digit rates every year. But the headlines didn’t tell the full story, and many people got the wrong impression as a result. What the stories should have clarified was that online sales across all categories accounted for 11.813% of retail spending in February, while sales from general merchandise retailers via their brick-and-mortar stores accounted for 11.807%. (And while “general merchandise” sounds like it could account for everything, it actually represents a more specific segment of retail that excludes auto, food, beverage, apparel, and accessory sales.) We forecast that retail e-commerce will account for 10.9% of total U

From MarketingProfs : Male holiday shoppers are more likely than female holiday shoppers to be drawn into brick-and-mortar stores by online ads and deals displayed in windows, according to recent research from Euclid. The report was based on data from a survey conducted in September 2017 among 1,500 US shoppers who own smartphones. Younger consumers are more likely than older consumers to say they would chose one retailer over another during the holidays because of the store experience.

From eMarketer : Brick-and-mortar retailers may be able to wow shoppers with wonderful touch-and-feel experiences and in-person customer service, but they are still at a big disadvantage when it comes to price—a key purchase factor for many consumers. From apparel and furniture to televisions and sporting goods, prices of goods are declining. But online prices are dropping at a much faster rate than in-store price tags, according to Adobe’s Digital Price Index study, which compares the prices of baskets of comparable goods online against those in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) measured by the US Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. The study, which looks at a total of 18 product and service categories, suggests that price deflation can be seen in most categories, whether online or in physical stores, but the declines are more distinct online... For instance, online apparel prices in June fell 4.1% from a year earlier, compared with a 0.6% decline in-store during the

From eMarketing : A new study adds another data point to the pile of evidence: The most frustrating thing about shopping in-store is waiting in line to check out. But the study from Mood Media did underscore that there are still aspects of the in-store experience that shoppers value. Nearly three-quarters (72%) of US internet users surveyed said it was important to be able to touch and feel products—women (77%) even more so than men (67%). Almost as many, 66%, said they liked the “instant gratification” of shopping, and 48% said they liked to be able to browse and discover items while shopping in a store. A significant number of shoppers also said they liked to be able to speak to a shop assistant.

Carmen Sognonvi, owner and general manager of Urban Martial Arts in Brooklyn, NY, had the pleasure of hosting a workshop with Ramon Ray and InfusionSoft a few months back on how bricks-and-mortar businesses can combine old-school marketing tactics like flyers and signage with new technology like marketing automation. She finally had a chance to edit the darn thing! So check out this video with some clips from her workshop.