The line retailers counteroffensives: Amazon Holiday season magic will disappear

　　 Roson November 26

November 15, Fort Myers, Florida, an ordinary door of Best Buy, David Valentine (David Valentin) and setting up the tents begin to line up. Distance "Black Friday" week, his early waiting in here, just won a 40-inch Toshiba LCD TV in Best Buy leaked promotional single on the original price of $ 420, this LCD TV In "Black Friday," the day is only $ 179.99. So low special discount, worth a week to wait in line! "Valentine undisguised ecstasy inside.
　　After Thanksgiving "Black Friday" has been considered to be America's biggest shopping festival in the year, the day's sales accounted for almost 10% of the sales throughout the holiday spending season, so it was a beauty named retail " Super Bowl. " And Valentine, retailers including Wal-Mart, Target Stores, Sears Holdings, Toys R Us and clothing retailers Gap this year are ahead of opening its doors, "Black Friday" as if into "Black Thursday." Retailers are unanimously point the finger of blame at the Amazon - the darling of the holiday shopping season.
　　With low operating costs, inventory management, and convenient product selection and search services, Amazon has long dominated the online retail market for the holiday shopping season. However, with the change in the policies of the sales tax, the electricity supplier of traditional retailers and improvement of the shopping experience, Amazon's advantage is shrinking. Obviously, Amazon also recognize that the crown of the holiday shopping season may be affected. In the latest quarter earnings conference call, Amazon expects revenue in the fourth quarter in a loss of $ 490 million to a profit of $ 310 million, far greater than last year.
　　2012 traditional retailers struggling to counter-attack, and the Amazon rule of the holiday shopping season of talent this year may lose its magic.
　　Online evolutionary war
　　Better search services, load faster and smoother mobile site experience, the field of online business - the headquarters of the Amazon, large retailers become more adept.
　　As the world's largest retailer, Wal-Mart's network business improvement amplitude is also the most significant. To expand online shoppers, Walmart.com was launched in the spring of this year a new feature called "Pay with Cash" allow users online orders, then pay cash at a nearby Wal-Mart retail stores. In addition, Wal-Mart launched a new search engine that Polaris, consumer the search goods website after the purchase rate is greatly enhanced by 10-15 percentage points. Same day delivery service throughout the United States throughout the holiday season in logistics, in early October, Wal-Mart as part of the 4000 retail logistics center opened in San Francisco, San Jose and other cities called "Walmart To Go" shopping to prepare for war.
　　Bain & Company senior partner of leading global consumer goods retail business ratio (Darrell Rigby), said, "The traditional retailers really find how digital and physical business combination, which will be on Amazon threat. "
　　Amazon nose to the grindstone the same, but it is quite bumpy. In early November, in order to face the shopping season, Amazon monthly subscription system Member Services Prime on the line, just $ 7.99 enjoy the month 包邮. Then just launched ten days, the service is stopped, the huge logistics of the holiday shopping season under the pressure of the huge costs before Amazon spokesman vaguely said, "We often test new options to consumers, this test has been completed." Amazon where the pain.
　　With the rise of mobile shopping trends, the Amazon, in the field of online shopping is facing strong pressure of the opponents. The latest release of IBM's Benchmark data show that during the shopping season this year, the use of mobile devices to access the retail website users reached 26.5%, the combination of eBay and Paypal assigned from a lot of soup, in mobile shopping, Amazon or even become follow persons.

　　2012 Thanksgiving Day visit to the top five retail sites (Artesyn Technologies with map)

No digital Truth. From digital marketing services company Experian Marketing Services statistics show that the major U.S. retail online supplier Thanksgiving Day launched promotional activities, compared with an increase of 71% in last year's hits. Although Amazon still topped the list, but 25,020,000 hits Immediately following 24,610,000 of its Houwoerma, of almost the same. Concern is the growth in Best Buy hits the most powerful, 104%, Amazon crises!
　　Price tug of war
　　U.S. law, a state offers any entities operator places a retailer must state sales tax levied to consumers. Amazon entities footprint through its large distribution center and its supply chain continues to increase and expand, at the same time, to waive the sales tax advantage is also shrinking. The data show that the imposition of sales tax makes the price advantage of Amazon retail entity from the original 5-10% to 3-5%.
　　Consumers is the most rational and most emotional contradictions, they are most vulnerable to the impact on the price. From market research firm SurveyMonkey online survey of more than 400 Amazon users in California, 36 percent of those surveyed said that because of the decrease in sales tax in Amazon shopping trips, the vast majority of shoppers said they would never charge sales tax online retailers shopping, more than a quarter of those surveyed said that they would choose a physical store.
　　Last year's shopping season, Amazon has launched a mobile phone parity software Price Check, consumers in the store by scanning product barcode, not only can query to the price of the merchandise in outlets, but also direct access to the Amazon purchase. The traditional retailers resentment reach the ultimate consumers scan any product in any physical store, Amazon provides a 5% discount. Clearly, retailers gained a lesson.
　　Behind the marketing blitzkrieg, retailers are price on the self-armed. Many businesses with substantial advertising clear to all: How much online selling, we match the price! Wal-Mart developed a new technology that allows the company to regularly monitor competitors in online sales, the selling price of each product. Other retailers also adopted a similar "dynamic pricing" technology, this technology Mercent and other third-party, several times a day to adjust the price of the product in the network allows retailers. Large retailers Target and Best Buy price of goods and network synchronization, to avoid consumers search online store scans the bar code, the preferential price of the same commodity.
　　Experience the ultimate battle
　　Customer experience is always a divide Amazon insurmountable. Especially in the holiday shopping season, the line retailer crazy discount activities in the physical environment, but also significantly boost randomness of the customer's consumption and impulsive consumption. Customer experience and human touch has become a the latest aimed battlefield of various retailers, so far Amazon has an advantage in this regard has not been.
　　Apple is clearly the most shining instances, stores its exquisite taste experience attract shoppers immersive, other line retailers to follow suit. Best Buy is launching the class Apple retail stores Mode, and comes with its own "genius" - Best Buy Geek Services Platform (Best Buy Geek Squad), to rebuild the experiential stores. Sears (Sears), Macy's (Macy's) services entity store pickup for online orders, set up online shopping and in-store returns service center, pay more attention to the customer experience.
　　The evolution of the humane same shopping season with a new mode of evolution. Wal-Mart has taken a bold guarantee the supply of a particular product policy, commitment to customer product must have the goods specified in the local time, November 22, from 22:00 to 11:00, including the 16GB WiFi version of the iPad 2, LG Blu-ray player and other popular products. If the guarantee of a particular product is sold out during the above period, shoppers will be able to get a secured card, to ensure that they will be able to buy the desired products to the "Black Friday" advertising promotional prices before Christmas comes.
　　It is worth mentioning is that to buy giant Groupon recently in Hong Kong to open the store in the second line, people began to reflect on the line in the line. Consumers' favor and trust of real goods and the short term will not be easily changed, the Amazon build virtual sales space has not yet fully formed fortress, the store is still irreplaceable.
　　The battle was only just beginning of the holiday season, Amazon's shadow lingering in the heart of traditional retailers. However, the crisis mortar retailers have already begun to make use of the advantage line resources to find a breakthrough, line, Internet and mobile end channels linkage. Eye for an eye person in his body, the Amazon is facing a menacing counter-attack.
　　Business is always forward-looking, it's cold and it's interesting, is unknown side.