Shopper Observations of Nordstrom Incorporation and Bloomingdale - Assignment Example

Observational Research Jocelina Fonseca Number Observational research is an important aspect of marketing inwhich the researcher utilizes their visual skills to unearth the secrets behind the success or failure of an organization. The research methodology comprises of structured observation whereby a sensible and replicable technique of gathering data reigns supreme. In this case, the researcher chose pure observation as the way of collecting data, with some questions tactically being directed to the salespersons across the aisles. During the process, the researcher steered clear of any experiment or attempts to change the perceptions of the attendants in respect of each of the stores’ layout. Introduction Nordstrom Incorporation and Bloomingdale’s are key players in the US’s upscale retail market of fashion industry. The two actors have maintained successful business both online and in their respective physical outlets in different states across the country. This paper is a report about an observational research of the two retailers’ business activities on their official websites and at their physical business locations. The researcher intended to secretly seek answers to unclear marketing issues by disguising as a curious shopper. Part I Shopper Observations First, following its founding by Nordstrom John W. and Wallin Carl F. in the early 20th century, Nordstrom’s mission was to serve the upscale market with fashionable items from its head offices in Seattle, Washington. The organization has since grown its business to include stocks of shoes, clothing, handbags, jewelry, and beauty products such as cosmetics and perfumes. In Nordstrom, there were wedding and home decoration products for would-be couples. I realized that the company’s website is stocked with a variety of the goods, but a visit at the physical location of the business revealed much more of the goods available for consumers than could be updated on the online store. On the other hand, I realized that Bloomingdales is also a significant player in the American high-end market. The company was set up in 1861 by Macys, Inc. For more than a century, Nordstrom has been one of its main market rivals in the country. And following the advent of the Internet in the second half of the 20th century, it is clear that Bloomingdales took its products to the online store; a platform upon which it seeks to expand its market share. The performance of the online stores is therefore rated as follows: best (1), better (2), good, (3); bad (4); and worse (5) as written in table 1. The rating is based on the quality of stock and client service. In both cases, the retailers demonstrated that a combination of both the online and offline stores yields the best outcomes because they offered prospective consumers the chance to browse new products in the online stores and make physical visits to the premises to shop for more of the items. store Stock level Arrangement Variety Customer Attendance Customer satisfaction Nordstrom 1 1 2 1 2 Bloomingdale’s 2 1 2 1 2 As Johnson and Raveendran (2009) suggested, I realized that shopping from the online stores could be done by customers from the comfort of their living rooms; the payment system is electronic; and the delivery of the goods is completed by the store. By contrast, I am now sure buying from the physical stores enabled consumers and prospects to have a closer look at the items before buying them. In addition, I realized that the payment is either electronic or by cash and the consumers take with them the items upon successful purchases. Regardless, I think the massive computer systems supporting the online stores contradict the fewer varieties of items available on either website. Part II Analysis The brick-and-mortar stores show the dynamic nature of the American fashion market (Phillips, 2010). With stocks of famous brands taking the larger space in the shelves and reflecting the wide diversity of consumer perceptions towards common fashions, I believe the stores primary aim is to maximize marketing for the best sales. I think the fashion segments as evidenced in both stores reflects an individual-level classification of these varying interests and priorities to give the consumers and prospects a clue as to the best attire to put on under prevailing circumstances. For instance, both stores grouped mix and matching clothes together for easy selection by customers. In the stores’ gender-related segments, the clothing retailers made clear use of gender segments. For example, both stores sell a variety of items for both male and female customers. I noticed that these item lines encompass casual and formal attire for both demographics such as casual pants, T-shirts, hats, and rubber or canvass shoes being placed near each other. As Wilson-Jeanselme and Reynolds (2006) indicated, I realized the fashion items in the stores features are evidently influenced by the season as well. Both stores stocked with more of mens shorts and other light clothing lines during the summer and spring, for instance; but with the winter seasons in the corner, more stocks of warm attire were rapidly filling the shelves. In each of the two stores, it is easy to notice that there were different sections for items of specific gender, such as cosmetics or lingerie for females and casuals for either gender. Apart from gender and geographic-related segments, I confirmed that age is another demographic that the upscale fashion retailers have used to determine and get the most out of the buying audiences. The retailers had carefully arranged stylish new fashion lines, including tops, apparel and other beauty products ostensibly to attract young women buyers. I realized that trendy, casual clothes such as jeans trousers for teens were conspicuous during school holidays for casual attire. The whole of childrens segment represents another productive purchasing group in the sale of apparels (Phillips, 2010). I realized that infants also represent another important age-related segment in the stores. The retailers have each created some shelves exclusively for this market segment in order to maximize the sales. Moreover, my careful look at the arrangement of the fashion products within the stores revealed how the marketing strategy is influenced by behavior-related factors in respect of the consumer’s interests. For example, I realized that clients who prefer prestige in their purchases have their sections clearly curved out for them with matching relatively higher prices in the stores situated in affluent neighborhoods (Gil-Saura, & Ruiz-Molina, 2009). In such cases, the staffs say these clients’ taste and preferences are driven by the need for superior quality or service and tend to care less about the commodity prices. Part III Recommendations Nordstrom and Bloomingdale’s are well established companies with more than a century in the fashion business. On the one hand, the former was built upon exemplary customer service, and throughout the history, the chain has taken its primary values to the next level, particularly in the wake of the widespread use of the Internet technology since the 1990s. While many strong business organizations witness the tremendous technological advancement and use it sparingly, Nordstrom has opted to exploit it to improve its business and interactions with customers. Nonetheless, there are a number of weaknesses on which the company should improve in respect of leveraging its existing segmentation on the Internet. First, Nordstrom needs to reassess team structures and ensure the offline, online staffs and the teams in charge of analytics synergize their efforts for better marketing outcomes (Hales, 2011). This ought to ensure promotional campaigns are integrated and that current segmentation is employed online and in the brick-and-mortar stores. Secondly, there is need to build current segmentation process into keyword standardization strategies for easier access to goods (Gil-Saura, & Ruiz-Molina, 2009). The company’s use of a bid management technology should ensure the application programming interface (API) redirects customers to their preferred searches. The company should optimize its keywords based on the market segments they are targeting with the fashion items in order to save the prospective clients’ resources. Lastly, the company should ensure that the display activity is deployed on websites with a summary of items matching its most viable segments. In doing so, the company may use online intelligence technologies to subdivide the population segments of proposed websites for promotion and this can be linked to the brands of the original segments for greater sales (Hales, 2011). As Hales (2011) said, for Bloomingdale’s, there is need to expand the online inventory in order to attract more online buyers and or prospective clients who browse new products before making their way into the physical stores to make purchases. Secondly, the company should step-up its reward program for affiliates based on the consumer segment in question. A higher reward for a consumer in a viable segment and a lower reward for a buyer in poorer segment would be just fine in terms of balancing the revenue across different segments. Lastly, Bloomingdale’s should acquire email contacts for profiling against its most viable segments. According to Johnson and Raveendran (2009), the strategy is proven in terms of improving the return on investment (ROI) Conclusion Generally, segmentation is important to companies because it allows for customization of the consumers’ interests for higher level of satisfaction and companies (ROI). Even though Bloomingdale’s and Nordstrom are keen on segmentation, a lot still needs to be done to integrate each of their online and offline resources for maximum gains. References Gil-Saura, I., & Ruiz-Molina, M.E., (2009). Retail Customer Segmentation Based on Relational Benefits. Journal of Relationship Marketing, 8(3), 253-266. Hales, M., (2011). Five recommendations for using existing segmentation online. Marketing Week, 34(41), 41. Johnson, J., & Raveendran, P.T.V., (2009). Retail Patronage Behavior and Shopper Segmentation: A Study among Shoppers of Organized Retailers. The XIMB Journal of Management, 6(2), 121-142. Phillips, A., (2010). Researchers, snoopers and spies -- the legal and ethical challenges facing observational research. International Journal of Market Research, 52(2), 275-278. Wilson-Jeanselme, M., & Reynolds, J., (2006). The advantages of preference-based segmentation: An investigation of online grocery retailing. Journal of Targeting, Measurement & Analysis for Marketing, 14(4), 297-308. Read More