Nov 12, 2018

Retail experts weigh in on retail landscape before holiday sales

Black Friday marks the unofficial start to the holiday shopping season. As companies begin to entice shoppers with deals and free shipping, University of Minnesota experts Ahmed Maamoun and Hyunjoo Im explain how the retail landscape is constantly being redefined by both companies and technology.

Ahmed Maamoun, Ph.D.:

“On Black Friday, retailers typically offer deals on products to lure customers to shop. They feature a few ‘doorbuster deals’ in limited quantities that are deeply discounted or sold below cost to help create this treasure-hunt atmosphere. This classic and stereotypical Black Friday is changing though.

“Amazon has redefined all aspects of the retail landscape and Black Friday is no exception. We are seeing that more consumers have decided to trade the hustle and bustle of going to brick-and-mortar stores on Black Friday for the ease of online shopping, while finding similar, if not comparable, deals.

“Amazon has mainstreamed online holiday shopping and big box retailers (e.g., Walmart, Target, Kohl’s) have no choice but to follow. Free and fast shipping on value deals along with liberal return policies can no longer be overlooked by brick-and-mortar formats.

“In the toy space, all of the big players are doubling down on toy deals to fill the void created by Toys R Us exiting the scene.”

Hyunjoo Im, Ph.D.:

“In recent years, consumers from all over the world have taken advantage of Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals by shopping from U.S. retailers. Last year, the retail industry saw a surge of sales from mobile transactions.

“If retailers want to take advantage of this global phenomenon, they need to focus on making their websites optimized for mobile devices. What has worked very well for retailers is ensuring that they are easy to access on mobile platforms and pushing timely alerts to consumers.”

Ahmed Maamoun, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of marketing at the Labovitz School of Business and Economics at the University of Minnesota Duluth. Maamoun’s teaches courses tied to retailing, international marketing and the principles of marketing. His research interests include marketing competitiveness and marketing strategy in small and medium-sized enterprises.

Hyunjoo Im is an associate professor of retail merchandising in the College of Design at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. Her research focuses include consumer digital technology adoption and usage and retail interface design effects on consumers.

Source: University of Minnesota Extension