If you have read my columns for any duration of time, you know that my columns deal with ecommerce and emerging technologies. My perspective is slanted as I work with the largest ecommerce accounts in the industry. I gain the insight on to where they are focusing their efforts and where they believe their customer is going.
We can all agree that technology is changing the way that we approach business.
There is another emerging trend—specifically with new companies targeting millennial buyers: the role of old fashioned, brick and mortar shopping experiences.

Recently published in daily retail newsletter Casper, the hottest mattress startup, is looking to add 15 “Pop-up” store fronts in the USA. The reason for the pop up stores: for customers to see, feel and experience the product. This will allow them to build loyalty, reduce returns and further drive online sales.
I recently attended a conference where companies in other industries are reporting similar findings. Millennial customers are wanting great experiences—both physical/live in person and digitally. It seems that Millennials are very infatuated with vintage. What is old is new and what is new is old.

From a marketing point it was discussed that millennial customers are really responding to targeted, well crafted, direct mail pieces. This traditional marketing experience is coming back in vogue and generating results for “New Age”, digitally focused companies.
Quick Side Note: An interesting point that was mentioned at that conference was ecommerce only brands will not exist in five years. The customer wants both the physical experience blended with the digital experience.
One last point for you to consider—it’s your job as a retailer (or even a manufacturer) to meet the customer where the customer is. It’s not the customer’s job to meet you. Figure out how to speak their language and you win!

My uncle Bill Fitzgerald died last week after a three year struggle with cancer. He was a mentor, an inspiration, a family man, and a role model. He was my mom’s younger brother, my dad’s best friend and everyone’s favorite uncle. Over his years he showed us how to live a good and fruitful life in service of God and others.

Bill was highly successful personally and financially. He started out in a family run savings and loan only to grow it beyond most dreamers wildest expectations. Over the years, he held leadership roles in more than 28 nonprofit organizations, leading fundraising efforts benefiting religious organizations, health care, elementary and secondary education, the arts, and social services agencies.

The President of Creighton University for which he served on their Board for over 40 years said this about him: “He was equally as successful in the professional sphere as the philanthropic one, was a compassionate leader in the workplace and at home, and gave selflessly of time and talent, be it in service to an employer, family, or the community at large.” The Head of the Chamber of Commerce summed it up perfectly when he said “Omaha is a better place because he was here”.

What I appreciated most about Bill is he always stayed grounded on guiding principles of his faith, doing good for his family and community, and integrity in everything he did. He went out and lived his life to the fullest. Along the way he never grew tired of helping people achieve their dreams.
As I reflected on his life’s work there are three things I would like to share with you about Bill that you may find useful either personally or professionally.

First, Bill was inducted into both the Nebraska Business Hall of Fame and the Omaha Business Hall of Fame in the early 2000’s. He had several other accolades throughout his long career from all kinds of organizations. And yet, two weeks before he passed away when he looked at all the family members around he told me in no uncertain terms that all the fame and financial success didn’t mean anything in comparison to that mo-ment when all his family was together. His subtle message was don’t get so caught up in work or community endeavors or whatever else steals your time at the expense of spending time cultivating relationships to those most important. As he was in hospice with just days left to live he was at peace. If you have just a week to live it is a very clarifying vision of how unimportant money or fame in this world are. But if you make difference in other people’s lives, that lasts an eternity.

Second, Bill followed in his father’s footsteps at the Bank they built from a small savings and loan into a publicly traded Multi-billion dollar asset financial institution that was acquired 10 years ago. It was not easy & there were lots of ups and downs throughout the years like in any growing business. But the guiding principal for both men was reputation. They lived it in their lives and cultivated in their business. This reputation allowed their bank to grow to be the biggest in the region until they were acquired. Over their history, the bank occasionally got into business dealings with suppliers or customers that were not as concerned about reputation. A builder cutting corners, a fly by night borrower, and others who you didn’t know until it was too late. Those relation-ships did not last the test of time. In this era of social media some of these things can be checked out before-hand because it is even more critical that companies do business with credible resources.

The reputation of the company as determined by it’s partners relates to the furniture supply chain as well. A retailer may look online and try and manage their reviews which is smart. But in many cases a consumer will go online and research the product you are advertising. Online reviews, give the consumer information good or bad about the product and by extension your company advertising the product. Put some of your advertised brands or vendors into a search engine with word “reviews” behind it and see what customer’s say online about the product you are advertising. Is it what you want your store to be known for since you are now connecting your reputation online to your supplier’s reputation? My uncle told me I was a product of the people I hung around with. In today’s social media and online review world the same can be said about your store’s suppliers.

Third, there is no doubt that my uncle Bill sacrificed a lot to help make his community better. If he believed in something he would always lend a helping hand. He could have had a lot more free time, but he absolutely loved helping. His funeral had an outpouring of priests and lay people, family and friends, former employees from ten or more years back as well as waitresses from the country club. So as you live your life, as you work your business, don’t get so caught up in the minutia of the daily grind. Look around and see what’s really important, to make a difference in the world and for your fellow man.

Sorry to be on a soapbox this month, but reflecting on Bill’s example made me try to apply it to our biz. Hopefully through our time working together you perceive doing business with us enhances the value you bring to your customers. We work hard for our customers and factories to do right by them. If you ever feel that is not the case I want to hear about it immediately. Helping you personally / professionally meet your goals is how we have survived in business over 50 years. The next 50 years is only as good as our reputation we build serving you and others.

With the summer doldrums a little more pronounced, I had more time to spend with my grand kids at Lake Okoboji for a long weekend as well as I got to peruse industry publications. A couple of articles caught my attention, as they were in-depth studies on retail advertising and customer survey results.
The first article , by a couple of retail furniture consultants in Furniture World, discussed the plusses and minuses of digital vs. other standard media. Author talks about Ad Blocker and other ways digital is thwarted. Also, the number of people who block ads on Facebook, and blame the retailer are mam-moth. His pitch on direct mail is that in surveys over 90% of consumers (mainly women) want to peruse direct mail. 77% of people sort through their mail as soon as they get it! A little personal experience Fran gets out of her car and rushes to PO Box to gather 40 pieces of mail: 22 are political causes, 16 are charities and 2 are of interest!!

One thing that sticks in my mind is what used to be. The best sale twice a year was the preferred customer event by direct mail. In my days of selling, the promoters doing G.O.B’s their opening letter to customers of the store, going out of business sometimes did as much in 2 weeks of mailing that the account did the previous year!! Now I seldom see any retailer mining the rich ore of old, satisfied customers.

Print is still one of the main influencers when it comes to consumer purchase decisions. None of us really know how effective retail advertising is. Every moment of every working day, executives of major furniture companies strive to bring the best values to their customers. By circulars, direct mail, TV spots or social media, they are touting the benefits of shopping with them.
There is no silver bullet so a mix of all of the above will continue to be the blueprint of major furniture stores.

My second article was featured in HFN. An article about the millennials preferences in shopping for furniture. When I saw the opening page showing young buyers choice of favorite retailers in each region, I was immediately hooked! In all 4 regions: West, south, Midwest, and Northeast, IKEA was #1 and Target was #2 in 3 of the regions. Only in the South was a real furniture retailer ranked at #3, Ashley! Most millennials said they wanted to touch, feel, and see the furniture “before” buying, yet the internet is still the first choice of most buyers under 35.
One of the statistics which caught my attention about purchases of this group was the amount they spent last year: $600 and plans for next year $500. WOW, maybe you need to spend more effort on the baby boomers who actually have money! The Millennials will spend more on a new Apple IPhone in fourth quarter than they will spend the whole year on furniture.

Events that make it more likely, for millennials, are sales and special promotions! Next in their preference were delivery and carrying affordable products. All other fluff like celebrity appearances, design workshops, and open houses are only listed in 10th percentile. Interestingly in store sales, by millennials, for both men and women are 2/3 in store to 1/3 online. The survey indicates that only about a half of the younger buyers use store apps or websites.

The last bit of trivia from the survey is that overwhelmingly most young couples host dinner parties or cocktails as op-posed to brunch, lunch, or parties. I’m not sure how that sells furniture!
I only bore you with this survey to show that young buyers are POTENTIAL customers, but maybe your effort needs to be up the line where there is more disposable income, life changes, and multiple housing opportunities. What do I know! There isn’t even a category old enough to cover me!

Last month I was talking to a cousin who has raised the ranks in the banking world. He’s very engaged with the technology behind retail experience (specifically retail banking experience). I asked him what his thoughts are on brick and mortar banks going forward. His candid response was, “There is no need for brick and mortar. Every aspect of banking can be done via online, mobile and a phone conversation.”

Two weeks after that conversation I was riding with dad and he needed to deposit a check. He was in a hurry and needed to get that done quickly. The experience was anything but expeditious. At least two separate people had to handle the check and it took close to 10 minutes to deposit a check. A fundamental banking procedure.
I might also include, checks can be deposited via mobile uploads. Take two pictures (front and back of check), enter the amount the check is for and voila! In under three minutes—and with no transportation required—the check can be deposited.
You may wonder why I’m talking about banking when we’re focused on the furniture industry…

The customer experience is the same for any brick and mortar experience. The customer has to identify what their need is, determine where they can find the product they want, leave their home and arrive at the establishment, interact with a sales person that (hopefully) will help them find what they want, and finally wait in line to check out. There are a number of steps in that process in which the customer can easily say “This is a miserable process.”

That’s really the battle brick and mortar faces—convenience. How can you make the service the customer receives much better than if the customer inter-acted with no one and bought online? How can you make it worth the customer’s effort to physically go to your store? How can you make their life more convenient?

Unless it’s a market issue I don’t spend a lot of time talking about specific products. But since summer business has been a little less than robust I thought it would be good to share the Top Five items across all our vendors. This may inspire you to look a little harder for something new and exciting. Please give us a call if we can help.

1. Cozzia QiSE chair. By far the most expensive chair we have sold in large quantities and by far the chair that captures the imaginations of every-one that sits in it. Is it worth $5999 retail? The customer seems to think so as we have sold out on one or two colors already awaiting new shipments. Four colors available. This category sells best in fourth and first quarters so you should be looking at bringing in a program now for best results.

2. Woodcrest MW (Metal & wood) series. Right out of the gate this item has taken off for retailers that have floored the beds. Shown here is an out-standing floor display of the MW1000TF by astute Colorado retailer HW Home. Having a bunk bed on their sophisticated floor shows how diverse Woodcrest is in their offerings.

1. Hughes Furniture DBA Serta Upholstery continues to grow as a terrific cost effective supplier of stationary and motion upholstery. At the April High Point market introduction was a new 6800 sofa, love, chair combo frame that comes with a great color story. Here’s a look at the chairs. Call for a complete look at the group

2. Progressive Furniture new Tijuana Mexico entertainment. The success story for years with Progressive has been their solid pine offerings in bedroom and entertainment. To expand the offerings beyond pine, Progressive now works with another Mexico factory just down the road from our original factory. Their first entertainment offerings were a big success. These will ship direct from the factory or FOB our NC warehouse. This is the time of year you should be looking at your entertainment lineup to make sure you have the fresh looks for Fall.

3. I would be remiss if I didn’t talk about our strongest category Mexico bedroom from Progressive Furniture. Introduced at market was an updated version of one of our best all time sellers in the history of the company—Torreon. B648 Fordham Gray Bedroom is a strong seller.