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!