Rachel Lothspeich's blog

Outlets are re-emerging as a prominent retail strategy, with retailers from Nordstrom to Gap investing in and expanding their off-price strategy. Since the “Great Recession,” consumers have turned to outlets to shop the brands they love at prices they could afford, demanding more value. Retailers are responding and recognize that the outlet channel provides an optimal venue to answer the customer’s need for value. However, similar to the early days of e-commerce, retailers are trying to determine the right way to leverage this channel without cannibalizing its broader brand business. Which begs the question: how should loyalty programs fit in this space? Should it be the same value proposition the flagship stores offer?

Preserving prestige is what sets brands such as Burberry and Hermes apart from Gap and H&M, but that same elitism has previously kept certain luxury brands from engaging in the digital space/social media — one of the most powerful forms of marketing at the moment. Despite the initial industry-wide hesitations, we have seen a recent increase in digital marketing initiatives from select premium brands; with Burberry leading the way.

I recently attended the Social Media Integration Conference held at Kennesaw State University, and it was such a treat to hear all the talented professionals share their insights. One of my favorite and most applicable seminars was Mack Collier's "Think Like a Rockstar." I love this perspective on the company/customer relationships, and these key takeaways can be applied to any industry.

Given the increasing saturation of the “deals” market, Microsoft has made a much talked about and speculated move here. Consumers do not want to sort through the 6-10 different emails they are receiving daily from all of the deals sites they’ve signed up for, so Microsoft has come up with a convenient solution for these users. Bing says, “Instead of building another program, we're harnessing deals from major providers and retailers, including Groupon, LivingSocial, Nordstrom, Target and many others, to help you cut through the clutter and find the best deals in one central location.