WHAT’S IN THIS WEEK’S EDITION, YOU ASK?:
Game-changers: A number of DC improvements that will make your team perform better than ever.
Thinking outside the box: How did retailers get customers into their stores in 2020?
Barstool fund: Small businesses get much needed financial support during the lockdown from an uncommon source.
Much much more…
And, here’s what’s in next week’s edition:
December in review: How did December shopping compare to last year?
FOOT TRAFFIC INDEX
WHAT’S NEW IN DOORCOUNTS THIS WEEK?
Heres some enhancements we’ve made to Doorcounts that you will want to know about — to get a full list Click Here:
- Now you have two company configuration options for how to collect a Podium review.
- Assign any and all salespeople who have been involved with a particular customer.
- See email responses from customers displayed in the email Popup.
WHAT’S IN STORE FOR THE FUTURE OF DOORCOUNTS?
Reward your salespeople: How would you like to know your sales team is inspired to perform at their best. Currently in beta, we are testing a program that allows salespeople to earn points for prizes and incentives by achieving the metrics that matter the most.
DC FEATURE OF THE WEEK
Sales Conversion: Once a period is selected, Doorcounts will display the sales conversion at a company level, showing the sales conversion for each store.
To take a deep dive into a specific store, simply click the store name on the graph and it will show the sales conversion for all of the employees in that store. To take things even further, you can click an individual salesperson and see their sales conversion for each day in the selected time period.
By clicking the Salesperson rank button, you will be able to see the ranking of your salespeople by sales conversion.
FOOT TRAFFIC TRENDS
This week we are taking a look at retailers who thought outside of the box to get people into their stores. This year was a year wherein most cases, a BOGO deal was not going to cut it.
Window decorating contest
In a time where most people would rather get things off amazon than go to a brick-and-mortar store, the Roscoe Village Chamber of Commerce decided they needed to do something. All through December, the village competed in a “window decorating” contest to drive people into their stores.
From hanging wine bottles to extravagant trees, the entire block was filled with eye dropping displays. The uptick in traffic from the displays has resulted in some store owners choosing to keep their displays up past the holiday season.
Virtual Checkout
We restrained from putting amazon in the title as we knew it was probably the last thing most retailers want to hear about.
Although most would consider Amazon the killer of retail, their new “Go” stores are something for retailers to keep their eyes on.
The Amazon Go stores allow people to pay by simply walking out of the store. No checkout required. No human interaction required.
Amazon has made this possible by ensuring you have the Go app downloaded before entering the store– you cannot enter without the app.
The app can figure out which items you have picked up, and you instantly get charged after leaving the store.
Click Here to learn more about the virtual checkout.
In-store Beacons
One of the major shopping trends of 2020 was people going into stores knowing exactly what they want. Most people would choose to have a shopping trip be as quick as possible instead of shopping around.
Retailers have begun using in-store beacons so that customers can make sure the product is at the store.
Beacons allow a message to be sent to the customer to help them find the product they are looking for.
Making products easier to find helps customers feel they are not being exposed for longer than they need to be.
Learn More about other technologies being used to help customers navigate through stores.
Barstool Fund
Barstool sports is here for small businesses. The fund will choose businesses that need help and will financially support them until the pandemic is over.
In the last 7 days, Barstool has raised over 7 million dollars to support small businesses in need.
If you are a small business that is struggling to make ends meet during the pandemic, send your story to the Barstool fund.
If you would like to donate and support small business, Donate Here.
To read more about the small businesses being supported through the Barstool fund, Click Here.
Small businesses, we are all rooting for you!
How much money are you losing because of traffic blindness?
Here’s a “mockumentary” style video on traffic blindness and how YOU can recognize the early signs of this silent killer of sales. Watch, enjoy a good laugh, and learn what you can do to cure your traffic blindness and convert your foot traffic into more sales.
A MUST READ — Come Back To Bed
The minds behinds the Dos Marcos Podcast have released their new book.
In COME BACK TO BED, Mark Kinsley and Mark Quinn offer strategies and principles that retailers can use to forge lasting customer relationships that will weather any storm.
NOTEWORTHY NEWS
Virtual Joy: Up until recently, the joy of shopping in stores and physically touching products was unmatched. New technology has made the in-store experience possible from home.
Toilet paper takes the win: The annual Forbes Retail Awards takes a look back at the products that made 2020.
Retail Predictions: This year has resulted in many new tactics for retail stores. See which retail trends will stay with us through the years.
Gift cards save the day: Gift cards were the go-to gift for many shoppers this year compared to previous years. See how gift cards may hurt retailers this year, but be their saving grace in 2021.
RANDOM IRRELEVANCE
Snowflame: Who needs a snow shovel when you have a flamethrower? Watch the video of a Kentucky man using a flamethrower to get the snow off of his driveway.
KFCstation: The fast-food giant has released a chicken-warming game console to compete against Xbox and Playstation. Yes. We will be pre-ordering.
Ping pong X martial arts: A man has made it in the Guinness book of world records for hitting 34 ping pongs with a numb chuck. To make things even weirder, he was playing against a robot. Side note: this was to beat his own world record.
Space ashes: A star trek actor had his ashes secretly sent to space. See how the ashes were hidden on the International Space Station for 12 years.