The Retail Market Is SHIFTING Again - Who Is Winning, Who Is Losing ?

What separates business winners from losers in today’s new e-commerce culture ?

A lot of pundits would say you need to be efficient, cost conscious and manage margins. Others would say you need to be really good (excellent) at something – much better than anyone else. Unfortunately, that sounds good but in our fast-paced, highly competitive world today those platitudes don’t really create winners.  Success has much more to do with the ability to shift.  And to create shift.  Quoted from “Winners Shift, Losers Don't” (see article).

As an example, Amazon’s current annualized sales are now $39 billion, rising 38% annually, of which 40% ($15.6 billion) came from Third Party Sellers in their Marketplace (see "Third Party Sellers” here). 

However, Amazon’s Marketplace of Third Part Sellers didn’t exist 10 years ago, thus demonstrating the undeniable power of e-commerce Market Shifting – taking the lead ahead of anyone else. 

Today, eBay, Walmart, Sears and others are all copying Amazon’s Third Party Seller program for competitive reasons.  However, these copycats are not Market Shifters as they didn’t change anything (other than perhaps their companies into a more competitive position).  The net-net of this Major Market Shift are a few early winners and many late-to-arrive losers.

Another terrific example of Market Shifting is by Walmart, who intends to become the world’s largest online retailer surpassing Amazon, with their “Project Titan’s Next-Day Delivery. (see MOST CURRENT Articles #1  and  #2 ). This improves on Amazon’s 3 to 10 day delivery and at lower delivery costs.  

Tommy Lasorda said: “There are three types of baseball players: those who make it happen, those who watch it happen, and those who wonder what happens.”

You can watch what happens with “The Battle Of The Titans” while trying to expand your market share, same as your competitors are doing (see GREAT article) – OR – make it happen by Market Shifting with new platforms to spike your growth as The Titans are doing.   

You certainly will not take market share from Walmart or Amazon doing the “Same-Old-Thing” – quite the opposite.  Even matching The Titans won’t cut it anymore.

Let Us Help You Create Your “SuperCyberCenter^©” – The Next Major E-Commerce Innovation Shift

For the Top 500 chain retailers, in-store retail sales are marginally up while online sales are now 10% to 30% of total sales.  (see article)

If your current sales are not at least equal to either of the above averages, you need a Market Shift:   maintaining your core business;  while shifting to new platforms with quickly changing consumer preferences.  "Times have changed forever.  Trends are NOT like the shadows of yesterday." (Quote by Robert Taylor)  It’s essential to shift to new platforms quickly with today’s trends or become irrelevant.

And forecasting future online sales over the average growth rate of 11.3% annually (see above article) is downright dangerous without making a significant Market Shift.

Here’s How To Market Shift with Your “SuperCyberCenter”:

ADD 15% to 20% of sales from other LOCAL retailers, restaurants, pharmacies & grocers (Third Party Sellers) to your existing in-store sales (as The Titans are doing) with a SuperCyberCenter = 40% additional sales & 79% added profits including your 15% ROOF (Rapid Online Order Fulfillment) in-store sales – WITH HIGHER PROFITS.

Shift your overall strategy to easier achieved platforms as many of these LOCAL retailers do not yet have e-commerce capability but know they need it.  Why struggle with underperforming e-commerce fulfillment platforms when easier, more profitable trends are right in front of you.

“Too often business leaders spend too much time thinking about what they do.  They think about costs, margins, the “business model” and execution.  But success really has less to do with those things than understanding trends, and capitalizing on those trends by shifting. You don’t have to be the lowest cost, or most efficient or even the most passionate.  What works a lot better is to go where the trends are favorable, and give customers solutions that align with the trends. And if you do this early, before anyone else, you’ll have a lot of time to figure out how to make money before competitors try to cut your margins!”

“Recognize that most “execution” is about preserving what happened in the past.  Trying to do things better, faster and cheaper.  But in a rapidly changing world, new competitors change the basis of competition.” 

“For investors, employees and suppliers you are better off to be with the company that shifts.  It has the ability to grow with the trends.  And the faster you get out of those companies which are stuck, locked-in to their old business model and practices in an effort to defend historical behaviors, the better off you’ll be.  Despite the P/E multiples, or other claims of “value investing,” to succeed you’re a lot better off with the company that’s finding and building on trends than the ones managing costs.”  Quoted from “Winners Shift, Losers Don't” (see article). 

Your new SuperCyberCenter sales are assembled, paid for as we leave the store and delivered by our professional CyberValet^® Shoppers from all your Third Party Sellers usually in less than 1-Hour  24 / 7 / 365 at the same (or less) price than in-store prices.  And delivery can be FREE.  Collectively, these are the reasons why the other LOCAL stores will participate with you, INSTEAD OF THE TITANS, as NONE of The Titans can offer them any of these significant SuperCyberCenter features, making SuperCyberCenters uniquely different than “Marketplaces”.  AND, your high profile nationally-branded stores are the “BEACON” to drive in local online consumers (bringing even more traffic to you from your Third Party Sellers’ myriad and loyal local customers.)

AND it’s 100% turnkey – We do it all.

Let your customers know about your SuperCyberCenter’s 1-Hour In-Store Shopping & Delivery program – they will be delighted to participate because their needs are so great and SuperCyberCenters uniquely offer other important local stores and restaurants “When You Just Can’t Get out, Or Have Better Things To Do ®”  Your LOCAL Third Party Sellers will willingly do the same promotions.

Neither Walmart nor Amazon can match, let alone beat, your SuperCyberCenter.  (It’s patented.)  And it complements & significantly enhances your current Online & In-Store platforms.

Your SuperCyberCenter is the difference between being relevant, or becoming irrelevant, in today’s new e-commerce culture.  However most staff members prefer the “Same-Old-Thing” because it’s job security – no risk – nothing unknown/new.  Only rising star staff members have the chutzpah to recommend such reasonable initiatives as Market Shifting and SuperCyberCenters.

If 40% sales increase with 79% higher profits is of interest, let’s discuss the feasibility of your company adding a SuperCyberCenter (or, in the least, joining one).

Thank you,

Gail

The Battle Of The E-Commerce Titans (Wal-Mart & Amazon) Heats Up Fast - LOOK AT THIS

For several years now, we have been reporting on The Growth Of The Internet as it relates to retail stores and shopping centers.

At first, our reports were met by Out-And-Out skepticism.  “After all, 15% annual growth of not much is still nothing.”  Nobody is saying this  anymore.

Our Online Retail Sales Growth Chart (below) was summarily discarded by most last year – Now it is used by many as reference material.

What also was ignored:   “The Battle Of The Titans”  (Click Here) between Walmart and Amazon for dominance of E-commerce. 

LOOK AT THIS IMPORTANT article about Amazon (Click Here).  Their surging online sales plus Walmart’s “Project Titan” (Click here) with faster delivery (Next-Day instead of 3 to 10 Days) of online orders from their local stores, are heating up E-commerce competition to the boiling point.

These powerful initiatives will raise online retail sales way beyond anything anyone anticipated, thus raising the stakes for all other players WAY beyond the current E-commerce Status Quo (i.e. free delivery in 3 to 10 days).

THE NEXT DIMENSION OF E-COMMERCE BEGINS.

AND, LIKE IT OR NOT, YOUR STORES ARE ALL RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS ENORMOUS NEW BATTLEFIELD.

After all – it is YOUR store sales that the Titans are after.  Neither Walmart nor Amazon is going to let anyone win without giving huge unmatchable consumer incentives way beyond what is sustainable.  As the above reports confirm: It’s going to be a long and bloody battle.  There will be a few winners starting with the consumer (and Walmart) and a lot of losers starting with single-line Bricks & Click stores who rely on 3 to 10 day delivery services.

Previously; Bricks & Clicks retailers could hide behind the fact that Walmart & Amazon did not sell their BRANDS as well as the major segment of consumers who did not want to go to Walmart’s large and crowded stores.

THIS ONLINE BATTLE HAS 100% CHANGED ALL THAT. They now both have significant Online “Marketplaces” – participating retailers filling in their blind spots including all independent brand names.

SCARY STUFF:  Look at the tremendous firepower these two are pouring into this long term, fiercely fought battle.  Nobody else in their right mind can even think of matching this as the Titans extend their powerful reach with much lower prices, much wider selection, and now much faster delivery right past your stores into your customers’ living rooms. 

Stores with flat in-store sales can no longer count on increasing their e-commerce sales to make up the difference.  Pick-Up in-store and 3 to 10 day delivery – even if it is free, won’t cut it now.  Of course, you could try in-house delivery as Webvan did and Sears is struggling to do with MyGofer !

BUT HERE IS THE SCARIEST THING

Inertia & Apathy:  Everyone is afraid of losing their job – their focus is not their customers, company or market cap – so nothing original or daring is done – except by Wal-Mart and Amazon;  who now have an open field to play in – virtually uncontested.  Without immediate, innovative and aggressive competitive leadership, the future growth engine of retail will be permanently lost to these two Titans.

SUMMARY:  The Only Proven Solution Against The Titans is ROOF (Rapid Online Order Fulfillment – 24 / 7 / 365 – In-Store Shopping & Delivery usually in less than 1-Hour)

The only risk you have is in doing nothing. 

The fact is:  improving your e-commerce service level (and surpassing theirs) is easy, cost effective and clearly the future.  ROOF is also 100% turnkey.  However, as ROOF is relatively new, its implementation will take leadership from the top of your corporation.

Our brief, but comprehensive, online slide presentation including options and FAQs can be viewed here.   (NOTE:  Our ROOF website is ‘live’ in zip 33180 for demonstration purposes and can be reconfigured to meet your requirements.)

P.S.  For even greater increased revenue and sales, ask about creating, or joining, a ROOF Branded SuperCyberCenter^© to out-distance Walmart and Amazon’s Online “Marketplaces”.

 

Thank You,

Gail

Walmart Just Beat Everyone Out Of The Gate AGAIN

IMPORTANT E-COMMERCE NEWS UPDATE

In our last blog post dated April 19 (below), Wal-Mart said their Next-Day Delivery Program was not yet approved, so we felt you had a 90+ day window to become prepared.  Well, thanks to their purposeful misinformation, we were wrong !

On Saturday, April 24, Wal-Mart opened “Walmart To Go” (see Article) starting with NEXT-DAY delivery of groceries in San Jose, California as part of their “Project Titan” (see Article); same as they have been doing in the UK, Mexico and Japan.

This is Super Bad News for Amazon, Safeway, Peapod and your local grocers.  BUT THAT’S JUST THE START OF THIS E-COMMERCE RETAIL REVOLUTION.  After all, Wal-Mart now needs to grow $14 BILLION every year just to stay relevant.  And their new market share has to come from someone else…. like you. 

Can you foresee when everything is delivered by Walmart from their local retail complex with no other local competing stores existing ?  Well, they can.

Wal-Mart has repeatedly stated that “Project Titan” is the beginning of Wal-Mart’s push to become the lead e-commerce retailer worldwide (see Article).  But when you look at the retail landscape objectively, Wal-Mart’s  “Pick Up Today”  and  “Walmart To Go”  offer high consumer convenience that not only increases Wal-Mart’s ONLINE business but takes customers away from competing local stores with Wal-Mart’s significantly lower prices and much higher service levels.  

Wal-Mart just eliminated the consumer’s need to navigate traffic, long cashier line-ups and miles of walking in stores: when they could be golfing, at the ball game or enjoying their family !  Smart People – Wal-Mart recognized and acted upon the obvious consumer needs and wants as well as offset the various problems people experience in shopping at Walmart stores.  And, Wal-Mart’s low in-store prices apply for delivery – approximately 27% less than regular supermarket prices.

NOW THAT’S TOUGH TO BEAT – And of course they planned it this way and are looking for as much lead time as they can get by telling you it’s only a test and only groceries.  BUT THEY ARE ALREADY DELIVERING THEIR ENTIRE RETAIL PRODUCT RANGE IN THE UK, MEXICO AND JAPAN.  So, Walmart To Go is no test and it’s not just groceries in the long run.

HERE’S THE GOOD NEWS – While we had hoped you might beat Wal-Mart “Out-Of-The-Gate” and take the lead position with our patented Rapid Online Order Fulfillment (ROOF) program;  Wal-Mart has demonstrated the future of retail clearly is in Rapid Home Delivery as they did in the UK, Mexico, Japan and now the U.S. 

This Leads You To Two New Opportunities:

1.     Visionary retail leaders will seize the opportunity to improve on Project Titan’s initiatives and become the industry leaders by eclipsing Walmart’s Same-Day Pick Up and Next-Day Delivery with ROOF 1-Hour In-Store Shopping and Delivery, which even Wal-Mart cannot beat. And Wal-Mart probably won’t try to match ROOF for some time to come, thus allowing you to grasp the lead time they were counting on to establish market dominance.

Before Wal-mart opened the Rapid Home Delivery program door thus trouncing the current 3 – 10 day e-commerce common practice, retailers were content with the status quo.  And, as Wal-Mart hopes and expects, these retailers will ignore Walmart To-Go and Wal-Mart's Project Titan initiatives once again, until it is too late. 

2.      Implement a ROOF SuperCyberCenter^© (i.e. Virtual SuperCenter = Walmart and Virtual Marketplaces = Amazon and others).  This is a huge new way to leverage ALL your current assets – tangible and intangible - and earn additional profit from participating stores.  

For example, most local and regional grocery stores have completely ignored Home Delivery as Wal-Mart Supercenters began significantly stealing their in-store sales in the late 90’s.  Now, with “Walmart To Go”, they have a major incentive to join your ROOF SuperCyberCenter© – a competitive Rapid Online Order Fulfillment (ROOF) local area consortium in a SuperCyberCenter format, thereby further increasing your sales and profits both in your stores and through their online sales in your ROOF SuperCyberCenters, which are greater in consumer scope than Walmart’s Project Titan.

Due to the now proven importance to Wal-Mart’s future growth of their “Project Titan”, we hope we can start ROOF with you ASAP so as to steal Project Titan’s thunder in the Media.

Thank you,

Gail

Internet Titans Are Changing E-Commerce Rules

Wal-Mart, in order to become the world’s largest ONLINE retailer has started The Internet “Battle Of The Titans” against Amazon, eBay, Target and others. (See Article)

To do this quickly, Wal-Mart is changing the rules of the e-commerce industry by stepping up speed of delivery from 3 to 10 business days to “Same-Day and Next-Day” that none of Amazon, eBay nor Target (nor anyone else) can realistically match in order to gain overall market share. 

This leaves Bricks-N-Clicks retailers in a fight they can’t win if they continue to use their current, more expensive, e-commerce 3 to 10 Business-Day delivery, thus creating a new wave of “The Living Dead” similar to Borders, Circuit City, Blockbuster, Linens-n-Things  and Office Depot.

Wal-Mart plans to have their online “Pick Up Today” program in all their Supercenters nationwide within 90 days. (See Article)  Next, they “are considering” entering the “ONLINE Next-Day Delivery” arena with their “Project Titan” as they are already doing in the U.K., Mexico and Japan, (See Article) thus setting new industry standards everyone else must follow (if they can) or die. 

Competing with “Project Titan’s” massive number of local Wal-Mart stores, huge local inventories and purchasing power will require Bricks-N-Clicks retailers to immediately adopt a new Space Age strategy.

Unfortunately, their current e-commerce distribution systems cannot help Bricks-N-Clicks retailers in the “Same-Day and Next-Day” Battle of the Titans for control of the now powerful retail e-commerce industry, leaving them as the net loser, as these Titans have done many times before. 

Smaller players need to beware.  This is a new industry, with new rules of pricing and customer convenience, way outside the scope and experience of in-house experts or normal retail consultants. 

Single-line Bricks-N-Clicks retailers competing against these multi-line Supercenters and “Marketplace” Titans will no longer attract the traffic needed for significant future growth when consumer demands for further improved selection and convenience are considered.

Inevitably, the ranks of “The Living Dead” will increase for those who cannot adapt quickly.

BUT…There Is A Solution These Titans Cannot Match

ROOF (Rapid Online Order Fulfillment):  In-Store shopping and delivery usually in less than 1-Hour, 24 / 7 / 365 AT DELIVERED PRICES LESS THAN IN-STORE PRICES.  And, it’s 100% turnkey.  ROOF provides a much higher level of service than FedEx, UPS and USPS and is easier to use and at less cost WITH A FULL ARRAY OF TOP LOCAL RETAIL STORES, RESTAURANTS, PHARMACIES & GROCERS, thus outmaneuvering any Supercenter or Marketplace.

ROOF implementation is less costly, easier and more profitable than regular e-commerce methods.  PLUS, ROOF drives more retail sales through your local stores’ cash registers while increasing customer loyalty with Space Age Delivered In A Flash^® service.

Simply stated: As in-store sales across the board continue to falter and online sales sky-rocket, doing the “Same-Old-Thing” against “Project Titan” will lead to further decreasing online sales, more store closings and significant job losses.

There can be no question what the consumer wants and where “Project Titan” is trying to go. (See chart below)

None of these Titans have ROOF’s powerful and patented system and marketing tools.  Be there first to capture the consumers’ hearts and minds  – install your ROOF system now to prevent the Internet Titans from luring away your In-Store and Online customers with “Same-Day and Next-Day” service as they intend to do within the next few months. 

The only risk you have is in doing nothing.

Our brief online slide presentation can be viewed here.   (NOTE:  Our ROOF website is ‘live’ in zip 33180 for demonstration purposes and can be reconfigured to meet your requirements.)

Please let me know a convenient time to discuss your participation.

P.S.  For even greater increased revenue and sales, ask about joining our SuperCyberCenters^©.

Thank you,

Gail

Gail W. Nichols  - Vice Chair

The ONLY Way Retailers Can Compete With Amazon and EBay

As Jack Welch once said: “If You Don’t Have A Competitive Edge, Don’t Compete.”

Amazon’s phenomenal web-only growth could exceed $80 billion by 2020..…exceeding Sears’ current sales by 2013, Target’s by 2017 and Kroger’s by 2020.

You don’t stop juggernauts like this by playing their game.

Rather, you need to change the playing field to your game, with your rules, that they simply can’t match.

HERE’S HOW:

The Achilles Heel of all web-only retailers, no matter how big they are, is TIME – that translates into consumer convenience.

3 to 10 day order fulfillment is simply not convenient when compared to 1-Hour fulfillment from stores.

Store-based 1-Hour fulfillment with effectively 0% returns is less costly than web-only programs with 30% return rates.

The truly amazing thing about this is: It’s very easy for retailers to change these rules of competition and impossible for web-only retailers to get into this new game.

Amazon’s game started with the Internet’s new e-commerce facility starting in 1999 that caused the biggest retailing change of the last decade.

Retailers can change that game to Rapid Online Order Fulfillment (ROOF) in 2011 and direct new online orders to their stores while using their web facilities to round out their retail sales channel.

Implementation is easy: Retailers already have the key assets in play – their local stores and their e-commerce program.

Our Rapid Online Order Fulfillment (ROOF) program provides 100% turnkey 1-Hour personal shopping and delivery – store staff doesn’t do anything other than ring orders through their cash registers.

Retailers can be operational as quickly as they like.

We invite you to call us to take the lead now while it is still available.

Thank You,

Gail