The world around us

Continuing on from my last post on how consumers are not wanting to spend too much on clothing now, retailers who specialize in quality products that are priced lower than average are doing very well. Everything from hiking boots to cheap lingerie can be found at a lower price, if you’re willing to look. When buying lower priced clothes, it is also important to check them for quality before buying, so check the seams, buttons, hems and make sure it is cut straight before buying, since a lot of stores don’t entertain too many returns and exchanges, something that ups the price in higher priced stores. The important thing here is to remember that cheap doesn’t mean poor quality, you just have to check before buying.

Many upscale retailers are moving away from creating new lines of luxury clothing after several months of cutting back by consumers who no longer want to pay full price for garments, let alone by luxury apparel. Companies such as Banana Republic and Ann Taylor launched luxury lines last year, when retailers, consumers and especially marketers were buzzing about “accessible luxury”, a trend that has fallen flat, leaving retailers to roll back prices from these collections. Consumer spending is at an all time low in the US and luxury goods aimed at middle class consumers have been the worst hit.

Companies such as Cache Inc. closed two stores and will be shutting down another two this year. Coldwater Creek’s new Spirit line is being dropped after it was tested in 50 stores. Ann Taylor launched its Collection line in September and the response has not been good so far. Banana Republic’s BR Monogram line which is available at only 30 of its 555 stores in the US and Canada, is being tested and company officials say that it will be doing fine. The company also opened the first store stocking only the BR Monogram line in Manhattan, although company officials say that this is just a test store.

Targeting middle-class shoppers who aspired to buy ever more upscale products once seemed like a no-brainer. The strategy had been successful for everyone from Starbucks Corp. to Coach Inc., which pioneered the approach in the fashion world by pitching its high-margin $400-and-up handbags as “accessible” luxuries.

“The aspirational buyer is pulling back and not buying, or shopping at the outlet malls to a greater extent,” says Craig Johnson, president of Customer Growth Partners LLC. Shoppers with annual incomes of up to $250,000 have trimmed luxury purchases in the past year, he adds.

The higher-priced concepts may work out in the long run, once the economy recovers. And if they are done well, in a limited way, they can create a halo effect for moderately priced brands that can help in the near term, analysts say.

There are some who cannot resist clothes, some who cannot resist shoes, and those who cannot resist Lange watches! I am one who cannot resist books and artwork, especially something local and personalized. I used to be addicted to buying things like sunglasses, watches, earrings and necklaces, but now I have toned it down quite a bit and only splurge on them once in a while. Part of the thrill really is in just the buying instead of the wearing, so that’s when you have to take a step back and figure out why you’re buying things. I have to admit, though that watches really do make a person look more complete, adding a nice touch to even an ordinary jeans and tee.

The number one job for marketers is to predict what people will want and then convince them to purchase them. Retailers such as Amazon and Netflix have been using a technique called targeted upselling, which is a system of recommending products or services to their customers. These options are given using collaborative filtering and use suggestions based on a customer’s previous purchase. This is no simple task, as consumers are always changing their minds, on what they like, or if they are buying something for themselves or a gift, which could mean a completely different selection.

The search for a better recommendation continues with numerous companies selling algorithms that promise a retailer more of an edge. For instance, Barneys New York, the upscale clothing store chain, says it got at least a 10 percent increase in online revenue by using data mining software that finds links between certain online behavior and a greater propensity to buy.

Using a system developed by Proclivity Systems, Barneys used data about where and when a customer visited its site and other demographic information to determine on whom it should focus its e-mail messages.

For instance, an e-mail message announcing sales might go to those Web site visitors who had purchased certain products or types of products in the past, but who had done so only when the items were on sale. In the simplest terms, if someone buys only when something is on sale, but never buys anything in December, then the e-mail sale flier might not be sent to that customer in December. “There is a digital trail of interest left by customers,” said Sheldon Gilbert, Proclivity’s chief executive and founder.

Living in the desert means that you have to do a lot of cleaning in the home for dust that somehow finds its way in. The best way I have found is to call a company who uses a steam cleaner that sucks all the dirt out and leaves my curtains and sofas looking like new. I’m not asthmatic but hate the smell of dust and dirt in the air, and since I wear contacts it often bothers my eyes. Most of these services are done on a large scale, for offices and conference centers, so it’s not always easy to get hold of an appointment, so I try and make my bookings well in advance.

A self-checkout counter at Home Depot recently irritated a customer to the point that she left her purchases and exited the store. The machine at the self checkout counter insisted to asking several personal questions, that could not be bypassed. Questions such as the residential zip code, whether the purchases were for home or business use and so on. Home Depot officials confirmed the error occurred but put it down to a computer glitch. They added that consumer feedback was usually taken once a year, but not normally in the spring when it was the busy season for the store. The fact is that no one wants to go through a survey right before purchasing their items, unless you going to offer a 20% discount for 10 minutes of their time. Think about it Home Depot, you’re sure to get lots of feedback this way!

I’ve been noticing a lot of interest lately in health and wellness trends. There are so many more massage therapy places to go to, one can even qualify for medical insurance for some of them and there has been an increase in these massage therapy schools as well. As the bulk of the Baby Boomer generation is getting older, the focus on their health and wellness is taking center stage and leading to many trends and segments that did not exist earlier on. This one looks like it will stay a while and merge with the spa industry, since these massage technicians or therapists will all be professionally qualified.

For all things to do with cuteness, head on to FredFlare.com, the place where you are sure to see lots of amazing and fun stuff. Even though I have never bought anything from the site, I love going to it time and again to see what is new and keep an eye on the kind of trends that we’re likely to see in the future. Trendwatching is one of my favorite pastimes and writing about trends as well, so this is a nice site to find out what the latest things are. They also have lots of Japan inspired trends which are getting very popular in the United States.

I’m always amazing at the number and kind of diet products and diet pills that are aimed at women consumers. They are of course the most susceptible consumers, but also the ones who are most interested in finding a solution. Maybe it is because of the media focus on celebrities that the average consumer feels pressurized into looking good at all times, maybe it’s because of the clothing sizes that seem to be getting smaller and smaller. The fact is that there are also lots of lifestyle factors that are making it harder for women to lose weight now that it was a generation ago. Women today are getting ill with new kinds of diseases and are having more complex medication, so a lot of time losing weight is a medical concern.

Shoes never go out of fashion, and everyone loves to buy shoes in the spring and summer, but this year might be harder than normal with the rapidly rising prices. Shoe prices have been falling for the past ten years or so, but sadly that scenario is now over. Low cost leader Payless recently increased it’s prices, and the Brown Shoe Co, makers of Buster Brown and Via Spiga, have also announced a 5-12% price increase for the fall of 2008. Nine West will be increasing prices by 15% in 2009.

The main reason for price increases is the higher costs of production in China, where 85% of shoes that are sold in US stores are manufactured. Other reasons are increasing fuel costs and the falling US dollar. After shoes, it might just be handbags and other accessories made in China that will face a price increase.

The prospect of higher prices “is causing a good deal of apoplexy” among retailers, says John Shanley, an analyst at Susquehanna International Group, who estimates that shoe makers will raise prices by an average of 10% to 15% in the next year, which would be the largest single-year increase in more than 50 years, according to the BLS.

Some makers figure they have room to maneuver now because the weak dollar has pushed up the price of high-end shoes made by European labels. At Jones Apparel Group Inc., maker of Nine West shoes, Chief Executive Wes Card says that, even if the price of a $65 shoe rises to $75, consumers are likely to view it as a good value compared with European luxury brands. “The gap between a Nine West shoe … and a Jimmy Choo” has gotten wider, he says.