De Koopman

De Amerikaanse kledingketen J.C. Penney investeert weer meer in de ontwikkeling van zijn digitale kanalen. Zogeheten social media en de mobiele telefoon spelen daarin een belangrijke rol.

De Wall Street Journal schrijft vandaag:

“(…) This year the retailer is adding mobile and interactive features to its e-commerce site, such as product review tie-ins to services like Twitter and Facebook and delivering targeted promotions to shoppers with smartphones. (…)

The 108-year-old retailer isn’t just being trendy. The company’s online growth has slowed in recent years and it’s counting on Internet sales, now just 9% of its $17.5 billion in annual revenue, to deliver $1 billion in sales growth over the next five years. (…)

Within the next 18 months, Penney shoppers will be able to receive location-specific promotions on their mobile devices when they walk into a store. They’ll also be able to get deals and see product reviews in stores by taking pictures of bar codes with their phones.

In 1993, Penney became the first large bricks and mortar retailer to start selling online, a natural extension for its long-established catalog business. (…)

One problem is until 18 months ago the Web and store divisions operated separately, so they emphasized different goods. But retailers have learned consumers who approach the company through more than one channel spend more money and visit stores more often than single-channel customers, so showcasing a consistent assortment across channels is a priority. (…)”

In Engeland kiest ‘online keten’ Asos een ietwat andere route. Die winkel (levert ook naar NL) opent een handelssite waar reatilers en designers (!) hun tweedehands kleding weer kunnen verkopen.

Uit de Financial Times (of doorzoek Google News op ‘Asos to recycle fashion online‘):

“(…) Mr Robertson said Asos would not allow individual customers to re-sell luxury goods, which could be counterfeit. It will also employ security checks to protect customers and prices will be fixed, rather than determined by the online auction process.

The market-place will also be open to independent retailers and designers, who may be finding life tough in the current climate. Boutiques will go through a thorough vetting process, which will include Asos staff visiting the stores to check their credibility, and examining their trading history, before they are granted access. (…)”