Why do we not have WiFi available in more retail locations?

We live in the information age where people can find an answer to almost any question by connecting to the Internet. Internet has, in a way, become a drug. As a society, we are addicted to the spoils of the Internet, be it in the field of entertainment, news, business, arts. We depend on the ability to go online to check email from our clients, friends and family; connect to a database with the information for work; search for a location of a place we need to visit; we watch television and our favorite shows online; we check the status of our flight online as well as book a hotel, buy a watch, order a book, etc., etc., etc.
We can perform an ever-growing array of activities online. Hence, we have become so accustomed to this reality that we now expect Internet to be available everywhere.
Some businesses like coffee shops and large fast food restaurant chains depend on this technology. Universities and shopping centers have Wi-Fi for free.
Since people use mobile apps when they shop, they want Wi-Fi to be available in grocery stores, drug and department stores, etc.
I expect it to be available in more places. For example, after returning from the trip to Kiev where cellular and Wi-Fi networks can be accessed in the subway - keep in mind that the subway in Kiev is buried deep in the ground beneath the city - I get thefeeling that we are being short changed here in Toronto with no such convenient services available in the TTC.
After reading the article "Overcoming the Challenges of Retail Wi-Fi" in Wall Street Journal this week, I have a clearer picture why Wi-Fi is not available 'everywhere', certainly not at every retail chain.
Here are some hurdles to making Wi-Fi ubiquitous:
 1. rolling out Wi-Fi to a network of stores is among the most capital intensive and complex projects IT departments will tackle this decade
2. Optimizing the bandwidth/speed and ensuring its compatibility with receiving devices
3.  Complexity involved in gauging real costs of installing: most in-house IT departments lack expertise here.
4. Real costs include but not limited to hardware and connectivity, managing different building and electrical codes, varying regional labor laws and the full impact of business disruption in stores
5. Putting Wi-Fi into a large commercial environment involves a series of complex design decisions


Some benefits for retailers: improve employee productivity and customer satisfaction


http://blogs.wsj.com/cio/2013/01/28/overcoming-the-challenges-of-retail-wi-fi/?mod=dist_smartbrief



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How Target creates differentiation

In today's cluttered and over-saturated marketplace it is increasing difficult for mainstream retailers to find a source of differentiation in their product offerings. For example, only a couple years ago it was challenging to immediately tell the difference between the merchandise carried at The Bay and Sears. Presently, The Bay has advanced far ahead its competitor in this regard, all thanks to the leadership of the charismatic Bonny Brooks. Now that Target is entering the market in about a month's time, the retailers will be summoned to the proverbial carpet of consumer scrutiny to explain why the consumer should by their product.
And it's not going to be easy to do. Not having entered the market yet, Target made some serious moves to ensure that its venture north of the border will not flop.
First, the past week was marked by the announcement that the iconic home turf brand Roots will be collaborating with Target on their affordable line of casual wear with the signature looks.
Second, Target established the Target Emerging Designer Award last year that is about to produce the first crop of talented winners. The award offers up-and-coming fashion designers the chance to win a $25,000 grant, a full page profile in ELLE Québec, and create an exclusive collection that will be sold at Target stores across Québec in 2014.

What a strong start for Target. That's the way to go!


http://www.newswire.ca/en/story/1105251/target-announces-finalists-of-the-target-emerging-designer-award

Terry Lundgren - the father of the year!

Terry Lundgren, CEO of Macy's, is one of my favorite leaders in retail. In the future, I will definately dedicate a separate blog post about him.

This week, he was awarded the "Father of the Year" Award by the National Father’s Day Committee. Remarkably, he shares this award with Bill Clinton.

“Mr. Lundgren is recognized for his role as an inspirational and dedicated father, as well as his outstanding philanthropic efforts and distinguished career. He embodies the passion, leadership and true devotion to both his family and career that is celebrated by this award", said Dan Orwig, chairman of the National Father’s Day Committee

What do you think it means to him? Is it the ultimate recognition?

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/blog/2013/01/and-the-father-of-the-year-award.html?ana=lnk

WalMart Way of Leading

In his autobiography, Sam Walton Made in America, Mr. Walton clearly described his attitude toward sharing his wealth. He said, "we have never been inclined to give any undeserving stranger a free ride".  Clearly, Mr. Walton was a man whose aim was to give with a purpose.
The Green Student Challenge initiative of WalMart Canada is an excellent example of this philosophy. It is a team business competition for Canadian post-secondary students. The goal of the competition is twofold: first, to create the most compelling breakthrough idea in sustainable business practices that can change the way companies run their business; second, to convince the panel of jury comprised of some of Canada's most successful business leaders of two things: the feasibility and the sustainable value of the idea. The monetary incentive for the wining team is $25, 000 as well as another $25,000 to the their school.
I believe that this initiative is the best investment a company can make. Hence, I was surprised to find out though quick internet research that no other major retailer in Canada has any similar initiatives in place. WalMart Canada is the true leader of the industry in terms of innovative ways of sharing wealth and giving back to the community. I encourage other companies like Loblaw and Canadian Tire to create their own business competitions of this kind. Here are a few examples of a slew of benefits for all the stakeholders of the Green Student Challenge:

• all participating students receive an invaluable experience of practicing innovative thinking and acquainting themselves with the ways businesses are managed
• they get a unique chance to network with Canada’s top CEO’s to increase their employability and possibly jump-start their careers
• the winning university receives funds to further expand resources that encourage students’ innovative thinking
• the students' ideas have a potential to make the planet a safer place to live for generations to come
• the businesses benefit from the students’ ideas in becoming more sustainable whilst improving their bottom line

WalMart way of leading really works. The best thing about it is that there are no loosers in this competition by design as every stakeholder wins regardless of the outcome of the competition.
What ideas can we, Retail Management students of TRSM, think of that could put us on the winning stage next year?
What can we do to cut down packaging waste? Can we eliminate paper receipts with a digital app for the smart phones to save trees, save on paper costs, and make shopping a friendlier experience? Is there a better way to power all the lights in the retail stores?
I encourage everyone of you to share your ideas here on this blog. Do you think we could come up with the winning idea for the 2013 competition?
Here is the link to the official registration page for all of you with brilliant minds: http://greenstudentchallenge.ca/

A little bit of pride for Lululemon

As you may know, last week /Jan 13-19/ was marked by the annual super bowl of the North American retail, the Big Show. As I was skimming through noteworthy articles from the show, I clicked on the article titled "A retail store trends trip around the world". It was about Wendy Liebmann's report on her global safari in search of innovation in retail store operations. Wendy Liebmann is a CEO, Founder and Chief Shopper of WSL Strategic Retail.
To my disappointment, I did not read anything new in the summary of her report. It mentioned a few well known trends, such as the fusion of high and low end retail. Collaboration between the Dover Street Market and Uniqlo was a supporting example of that trend. I remember reading an article in one of the major fashion magazines as far back as 3 years ago about the Dover Street Market. That article praised Rei Kawakubo's unique approach to running her store, merchandising being the vital part of that innovation.
What I took away from the summary of Wendy Liebmann's talk was the pride for Lululemon and the Canadian retail by association as it was mentioned as one of the most innovative retailers in the world, along side with Burbury, Dover Street Market, Uniqlo and Walgreen's. It’s not just a nice, clean or cool store shoppers want; they are looking for an experience.

Here's a short excerpt from the article:

"While Toronto’s Lululemon is a traditional brick-and-mortar, their stores are anything but traditional. It’s more than a fabulous fitness clothing store it’s a lifestyle store. lululemon is known for moving aside the clothing racks for yoga classes, building community with their shoppers"

The full article can be found at

http://blog.nrf.com/2013/01/16/retail-store-trends-trip-around-the-world/

How about we create our own deals!!!

This morning I want to share with you the blog post by Doug Stephens on the future of global retail. Doug's thoughts and ideas are, as always, super forward-thinking and innovative. In What If Retail Was Wrong, he talks about the future where the consumers are well-organized, group-conscious. They 'overthrow' the dictatorship of retailers and manufacturers by thinking up their own specific, measured and well-calculated deals and pitching them to the retailers and manufacturers. Group buying power organized with help of social networks is the enabler in this model. Consumer's desire to get the best deal is the driver.

It is without doubt that the traditional relationship between retailers and customers will change in the next 20 years. In the past, supply was the king. In the future, demand will take its place. We will not only be able to tell manufacturers what we want and at what price but also manufacture products in our homes, by-passing manufacturers altogether.

I'm excited about the future! Are you?


http://www.retailprophet.com/blog/social-media/what-if-retail-is-wrong/

New way to manage customer service experience: social CEM and video analytics

It the past, mystery shoppers and telephone surveys were the only means to discover opportunities for improving customer service experience. Presently, digital technologies open doors to new ways of evaluating CEM and discovering actionable insights into consumer shopping needs and wants. For example, a company can create a process to loop the client's brand/shopping experience data found on company's FB, Twitter, or other social media outlets with the corresponding department within the company that will act on this input to improve CE and turn unhappy customers into brand advocates. The challenge here is to link operations to marketing through "social CEM" and create a dialogue between all parties involved, i.e. company front and back office management, front-line employees and customers.
This is a short summary of an article found on HBR, titled Using Social Network to Improve Operations by Gary Edwards and Mike Amos.
One of the ideas that interested me in this article was that the retailers are not in full control of what's going on in their business on the store level. Historically, mystery shopper practice was designed to solve this issue. What was missing in the past is the technology to allow retailers to know exactly what happens on the sales floor. Such technology is already here, it is called video analytics.

This article talks about the multi-faceted capabilities of video analytics:
http://www.sdmmag.com/articles/87984-in-retail-elsewhere-analytics-ease-shrinkage-perk-up-profits