Milo Hopes To Move Online Sales To Stores

By Steve Smith On Mar 26 2012 - 4:01am

ORLANDO, FLA. – E-Commerce 3.0 arrived at the Nationwide Marketing Group Prime- Time! convention here in February with the appearance of Milo Local Shopping, an eBay company.

But Milo’s Mike Blais, local marketing senior manager, noted, “We are commerce 3.0 — you take the ‘e’ out of it — since Milo is the blurring of stores and online.”

 

Mobile Shopping Becoming Commonplace For Consumers

By Alan Wolf On Mar 26 2012 - 4:01am

NEW YORK – M-commerce is well on its way to becoming a routine method of shopping, separate studies by Nielsen and PriceGrabber suggest.

Nielsen, which metered the smartphones of 5,000 U.S. volunteers, said the majority of owners used their devices for shopping this past holiday season, and that consumers are increasingly using smartphones to compare prices, research products and reviews, find retail locations and redeem coupons.

Distributors Discern The Top Growth Categories For 2012

By TWICE Staff On Mar 12 2012 - 4:01am

TWICE: Which categories will provide growth and profit opportunities for retailers in the first half and why?

Warren Chaiken, Almo: I believe the best opportunity for profit and sales growth in the first half will be in appliances. Instead of buying new homes, consumers are remodeling and upgrading. The replacement market right now is quite strong, particularly for higher-end appliances, which provide a better profit opportunity for dealers.

Distributors Take 'Wait And See' View Of Apple TV And Its Effects

By TWICE Staff On Mar 12 2012 - 4:01am

TWICE: Do you think speculation about an Apple TV introduction will curb sales or spur interest in smart TVs for the industry this year?

Distributors Preparing For Differentiated Product Lines

By TWICE Staff On Mar 12 2012 - 4:01am

TWICE: Are you seeing attempts by suppliers to differentiate their lines and push commodity products to mass channels and more high-end products to specialists?

Nationwide Points Dealers Toward High-Profit Categories

By Alan Wolf On Mar 12 2012 - 4:01am

ORLANDO, FLA. – Ancillary categories like lighting control, gaming, digital imaging and telecommunications can provide new profit opportunities for TV and appliance dealers, Nationwide Marketing Group executives said.

TWICE On The Scene: Nationwide Holds Upbeat Meeting In Orlando

By Steve Smith On Mar 12 2012 - 4:01am

ORLANDO, FLA. – The Nationwide Marketing Group held its PrimeTime! convention at the Gaylord Palms Resort, here, Feb. 26-29 which drew a record 3,400 attendees for its annual Winter meeting. The mood of the event was upbeat as members discussed opportunities for growth with CE, major appliances and other categories such as bedding and furniture. Members and vendors of the $12 billion group, of which $6.5 billion, consists of major appliance sales, were in a good mood about 2012.

Dealers Devising Formats To Demonstrate Connected Devices

By TWICE Staff On Feb 28 2012 - 8:45pm

TWICE: Mobile and connectivity seem to be moving the industry away from a single-product focus.

Michael Vitelli, Best Buy: People want their content wherever they want it and as simply as possible. It’s a big part of what Best Buy is trying to do, and it’s incumbent on all of us to show, as Dave has said, the art of the possible.

Retailers Investing In Online And Mobile To Better Engage Customers: Report

By Alan Wolf On Feb 28 2012 - 10:21pm

WASHINGTON — Retailers in 2012 will focus on a number of customercentric functions including IT and e-commerce investments, enhancing customer service initiatives, and building on their mobile platforms, a new study shows.

The efforts are designed to build customer engagement, capture wallet share and accelerate sales growth, according to the report by the NRF Foundation and KPMG.

Nationwide Group Sees CE Opportunities

By Steve Smith On Mar 12 2012 - 4:01am

ORLANDO, FLA. – Unilateral pricing programs, improved channel management by vendors, new TV technology, and opportunities with tablets and other categories and a weakened Sears all provide Nationwide Marketing Group members with hope for its CE fortunes in 2012.