Do online stores need a physical presence?

Many online stores have, since their first days, been digital only, without a physical presence on the high street or in the shopping centre.

The obvious example is Amazon, which pioneered online-only retailing and is making a major marketing effort in the UK to sell groceries online. But in the US, Amazon is currently experimenting with book stores in two locations, and planning additional book stores in the future.

Amazon can learn a lot about shoppers by observing how they browse, what catches their attention in the store, what sells well in a store compared with online only, and so forth. It can also experiment with covers, shelf placement, pricing, adjacencies and other details.

In Canada, several online-only retailers are opening physical stores. The goal is to provide a physical space in which to express the brand image and showcase branded products. Indochino, which originally marketed online-only bespoke men's wear, now generates half of its turnover from the physical stores it operates.

Even brands that sell through other retailers are opening their own branded stores. Upmarket outerwear company Canada Goose, well known for its goose-down jackets and other apparel, is opening its own stores in New York and Toronto.

As the global economy improves, will more online-only retailers become multichannel?

Vending machines are selling - what?!

Vending machines are everywhere and sell almost everything. They're self-serve, convenient, often cost-efficient and even when people don't buy, they do notice the machines and the branding--a plus.

At left, the Moet & Chandon Champagne vending machine with mini-bottles of bubbly, shown inside a Selfridges store before Christmas.

In Singapore, a BooksActually vending machine sells, well, books (see photo at right). This machine is installed in the National Museum of Singapore.

One unusual type of vending machine will (if approved) stock medical supplies to be dispensed, as needed, to emergency medical teams and firefighters in Victoria. The idea is to have products available when and where needed, without the cost of someone making daily rounds or having outdated medicines on hand.

In Melbourne, a fresh-food vending machine from FüD will sell healthy meals. The equipment is constructed of recycled materials and any unsold foods will be donated to charitable groups, minimising waste.

In France and America, short-story vending machines spill out tales designed to fit the customer's reading time. Have only 3 minutes? Press that button and the machine prints a long, thin piece of paper with a short story suitable for just 3 minutes, free, courtesy of Short Edition.

Tesco refocuses on core businesses

From: Tesco Core Purpose and Values

UK retail giant Tesco continues to shed non-core businesses so it can refocus resources on its main business strengths.

The company's new mission is: Serving Britain's shoppers a little better every day.

This mission statement defines the company's geographic realm (Britain--no more US convenience stores or South Korean grocery stores). It also emphasises value as a core benefit for shoppers. Finally, it defines customers as shoppers. Shoppers can be bank customers, too, by the way.

Not surprisingly, Tesco just sold its Giraffe restaurants, which it had been both standalone and in-store businesses. The company operates 6,900 stores and bank branches, with yearly revenues of £48.4 billion.

Committing to a mission focused on shoppers also means Tesco is adjusting profit expectations. Grocery retailing is a low-margin business. Price wars (several times a year) often sap profits even further as Tesco fights to defend market share.

What's next for Tesco?

Virtual reality retailing is here

Virtual reality is being tested by a number of retailers, including IKEA. Today, it's a novelty. Tomorrow, maybe mainstream?

This month, the Australian retailer Myers has teamed with eBay to open a new virtual reality department store.

From home, the store can be experienced via a special app and virtual reality headsets (such as Samsung's or the free cardboard headset distributed during this promotion). You can see it action by watching this video about the virtual reality store.

Or--an interesting twist--people were invited to reserve a space in Sydney and be amongst the first to experience virtual reality department store shopping. Since Myers has actual stores in Sydney, this part of the campaign must have been all about buzz-building.

Opinion leaders in the palaces

Opinion leaders are people who are particularly admired or who have special qualities that result in their having influence over what some consumers like or buy.

For some segments, the Duchess of Cambridge is an opinion leader for women's fashion, as an example.

In the UK, the display of a Royal Warrant confirms that the households of royal opinion leaders have used the brand for at least five years. Products apply for and may display the Royal Warrant indicating product use by one of three royal households (HM The Queen, HRM The Duke of Edinburgh or HRM The Prince of Wales).

Among the Royal Warrant holders in food and beverage, for example, are BritVic, Renshaw Baking, Johnnie Walker and Selfridges.

When Unilever's Marmite became a Royal Warrant holder just ahead of the Queen's 90th birthday this year, it celebrated by publicising the warrant and toasting the Queen's special birthday. The brand received extra social media attention on this occasion, as 'Love It' fans were glad that Marmite is enjoyed in the palaces.

UK tobacco packaging goes plain

In February, I wrote about the latest controversies surrounding tobacco packaging that must carry large and explicit health warnings--and minimal marketing content.

The UK High Court just ruled in a lawsuit filed by the major tobacco manufacturers. The marketers argued that the government was effectively taking away their trademarked intellectual property rights, leaving them unable to display marketing and branding symbols they've invested in and protected legally against competitive use for many decades.

The judge ruled against the tobacco marketers, saying:

'The essence of the case is about whether it is lawful for states to prevent the tobacco industry from continuing to make profits by using their trade marks and other rights to further what the World Health Organisation describes as a health crisis of epidemic proportions and which imposes an immense clean-up cost on the public purse . . . In my judgment the regulations are valid and lawful in all respects'.

In his decision, the judge noted that marketing symbols and brand designs exert 'a causal effect upon consumer behaviour and encouraged smoking'. In addition to requiring plain packaging on cigarettes sold in the UK, certain types of packaging (such as 'lipstick' packs targeting female smokers) will be banned. Retailers are allowed to continue selling current inventory of branded packaging until stocks are depleted. After that, packs such as the one shown above will be the standard, with branding allowed but only within strict guidelines.

The Art of the Trench in Its 7th Year

Burberry launched its crowdsourced Art of the Trench microsite in 2009. Anyone can submit a photo, as the above 'upload' detail indicates. The photos not only celebrate the trench, they also celebrate the art of personal style and the brand's heritage.

With the company investing heavily to build a new Leeds factory, 'Made in Britain' is both fashionable and a big boost to the local economy.

Trench coats remain in style decade after decade, with fashion updates. The Burberry trench is distinctive because of the careful hand-crafting of each detail, sewn in company factories by skilled workers who require as little as 6.5 hours to complete one trench, aided by tech extras.

Harrods, one of Burberry's channel partners, posted a style history of the trench last year. Focusing on the heritage and the craftsmanship supports the brand's upmarket image and reinforces the 'Made in Britain' message.

And the winner is . . . not Boaty McBoatface

RSS Sir David Attenborough

A new cutting-edge polar research ship is being built in the UK, and the public was asked to vote for a name (#NameOurShip).

Overwhelmingly, people voted for Boaty McBoatface but officials instead chose RRS Sir David Attenborough, which received far fewer votes but had strong backing from many. Yes, this is a dignified choice and quite appropriate.

Boaty McBoatface the sub

But Boaty will live on, as the name of a remotely operated yellow submarine carried aboard the new polar ship. Cheeky tweets about #BoatyMcBoatface suggested that the sub might be called Subby McSubface.

To see more about this unexpected ending to a highly public social media contest, just search for 'Boaty' on the Web or in Twitter.

The Science and Technology Committee will look into the contest results next week. The marketing lesson: Crowdsourcing doesn't always work the way you think. I still believe Boaty McBoatface should be licensed for children's toys, but Subby McSubface would work almost as well.

Disney targets adult brand fans

Of course Disney markets T-shirts for adults. But it's also looking to market diverse new product lines for adults, and inviting fashion designers to consider the possibilities.

'We did a lot of consumer research and discovered there was huge demand for adult product from Disney', says the head of Disney consumer products for Europe, Middle East and Asia.

For example, Kate Spade New York has just launched a line of fashion accessory products based on Minnie Mouse, including the tote bag shown here (from Disney's media images).

Kenzo released a fashion line for adults based on Disney's new movie, Jungle Book. These are upmarket fashions, available exclusively through posh Bergdorf Goodman in New York City and from the designer, Kenzo.

With so many valuable brand franchises (not just traditional Disney characters but also Star Wars and Marvel characters, to name just two), Disney has numerous opportunities for licensing its pop-culture icons, aiming for the target market of adult fans.

Why Instagram is 'top priority' for some marketers

Not just photos...Instagram is a very important marketing tool for marketers like Fossil (watches) and Leon's (furniture).

Fossil has more than 500k Instagram followers, attracted in less then one year. Its digital brand manager says Instagram is 'top priority' because of its popularity amongst Millennials, a key target audience.

Also, Fossil can post images for all occasions, all product categories and all promotions--and all followers will see them. Finally, the Like2Buy link is actually contributing to sales of pictured products.

Leon's, a Canadian retailer, is using Instagram to reposition itself and emphasise its fashion furniture.

The social media manager says that Instagram is an important marketing medium because the images visually reinforce the retailer's updated fashion image. 'All we did was highlight a style a lot of people didn’t know we had', she explains.

So think visual and think about how your marketing plan can make best use out of Instagram.