Happy holidays from Foreword Online.
Everyone is talking about it. The “Amazon Effect” is scattered across retail news. The most recent companies to feel the impact are Ralph Lauren and J. Crew, but large department stores like Macy’s have been feeling the effect for a while. When Amazon has the seeming ability to line up these large corporations, regardless of what they sell, and systematically watch them fall, what hope does any brick-and-mortar store have?
Geofencing can be used for anything from increasing foot traffic in stores to parents keeping track of their children — even human resource departments can utilize this technology to monitor employees who work in the field or from home. These virtual fences allow marketers to hone their advertising efforts to a selected group of people, often based on various factors of online behaviors, within an established distance from a store’s location using their mobile GPS. An Orwellian advancement in technology to some, but to others, geofencing gives brick-and-mortar businesses a way to compete in a growing eCommerce market.
Earlier this fall, Kate Weinand with the University of Mary Bookstore came to Columbia, Missouri, to attend the MBS Systems Training Fall Forums event. Over the course of a few days, attendees are able to network with individuals from other stores and learn more about the capabilities of their MBS system. We sat down with Ms. Weinand to hear more about the University of Mary Bookstore and its new location.
Open Educational Resources are a hot topic in education. Students need ways to lower costs. Naturally, they look to schools to provide them with better solutions. In turn, many schools look to OER to help accomplish that goal. However, these no-cost options are just a piece of the course materials puzzle.
December is to shopping what Halloween is to candy. While it is a busy season for college stores, it is also the perfect time to take advantage of the shopping spirit and run a holiday sale. That’s why we have compiled some last-minute holiday promotion ideas to increase foot traffic in your store.
Customer service can be tricky. You want to do everything in your power to make the customer’s experience with your business pleasant, but inevitably there will be times when someone has a bad encounter. If they tell you the issue, it can be resolved. Often, though, customers don’t give voice to the complaints. Unless there has been an egregious error, most customers will just walk away disappointed or angry, which leads to a loss of customers and revenue to the store.
It’s the time of year where goals start creeping into consciousness. We are evaluating the goals we fell short on this past year and establishing new benchmarks for next year. It is also around this time that the onslaught of articles come out about whether or not goal setting is even worthwhile. On one hand, goals can inspire employees to reach higher, but on the other, they can also become a hinderance and waste precious time.
Social media can serve many functions. It is a great tool to network with peers, it can strengthen your store’s brand, and it makes conversing with your customers easier. But, merely having a presence on social media isn’t enough to garner results. Finding new and creative ways to engage with your audience is an essential part of establishing a robust online presence.
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