Friday 3 February 2012

New Words In Retailing

It seems that every new trend needs to have a new word or catchphrase and while we can have bets on which ones are likely to survive the test of time we thought we should look at some of them.
-          “Bricks & Mortar” – physical shops rather than online.
-          “Mashops” – a mash-up of bricks & mortar and interactivity.
-          “Digitail” – the convergence of digital and retail.
-          “Click ‘n’ Collect” – click online but collect in-store.
-          “So/Lo/Mo” – mobile services that connect shoppers socially and locally.
-          “One Line Strategy” – rather than online v offline, integrate the two.
-          “SEO” – search engine optimisation.
-          “Showrooming” – viewing goods in store but then going online to buy.
-          “Gamification” – the idea that you can engage shoppers better by introducing elements of healthy competition.
-          “Omnichannel” – directing your retail message through all available methods.
And finally, here is one that caught our eye – “Ramen Profitable” - A business that makes just enough money to cover basic living expenses, such as toilet paper, running water and instant ramen. Sound familiar?