Welcome to Tax Season 2012

It’s been all celebration and hoopla, what with ringing in the traditional American New Year and the Chinese New Year. But, those days are drawing to a close. By Jan. 31, we should all have our tax documents in place. And then comes the real fun.

Welcome to tax season 2012.

Retail was bound to get in on the action at some point. And mega-retailer Walmart has found a way with its recent announcement to open 2,800 Jackson Hewitt Tax Service kiosks inside its stores nationwide.

The benefit is twofold – existing Walmart customers get the benefit of killing two birds with one stone, with tax preparation and shopping handled all in one spot. Secondly, the kiosks may also attract non-regular Walmart shoppers who also happen to need their taxes done. And – oh wait, that’s more than two, but hopefully you don’t mind – Jackson Hewitt is able to offer its tax services to more folks than ever before with this recent partnership.

In a sense, everyone wins.

Walmart has continued to sweeten the tax deal by offering IRS-check-cashing services – only $3 for checks up to $1,000 and $6 for checks up to $7,500 (restrictions apply, see official press release). In addition, Walmart is offering:

• Bill payment options for 88 cents.
• Money transfers (like MoneyGram) for a “low fee.”
• Walmart MoneyCard, a loadable, pre-paid debit card.

Wait – is Walmart getting into the financial services industry? It appears as though they might be. While I’m not sure if this is a good idea or a bad one, it is an excellent example of a retailer meeting the needs of its consumers in a variety of ways. 

So, who is doing your taxes this year? Do you approve of the merging of finances and retail? Give us your perspective here.

-Heather Strang

*Photo courtesy of Google Images.

Choose Your Retail Favorite Here!

Everybody has their favorites. My mom swears up and down my little sister Alison isn’t her favorite, but we all know she is. I have my favorite pair of boots, favorite sushi roll (it’s the Alaskan if you must know) and favorite friend (that’s top secret info, of course).

Favorites are one of those things we can ascribe to virtually anything. Retail is not excluded from this. In fact, we even have an “America’s Favorite Fashion Retailer” designation.

And by “we” I mean Market Force Information, which released its top favorite fashion retailers results earlier in the fall. Market Force interviewed approximately 7,000 consumers in North America asking for their favorite retailer from a list of 91 national chains.

Consumers clearly have options. But still, one clear winner stood above the rest.  
Are you ready? (I’m building tension for effect – is it working or did you cheat already and look at the graph above?)

The No. 1 favorite fashion retailer, according to Market Force Information is…Kohl’s. In fact, Kohl’s is a sure winner – with a 16 percent lead over Nordstrom.

The rest of the favorites rolled out like this:

2-Nordstrom
3-Macy’s & Dillard’s (tie)
4-JCPenney
5-Coldwater Creek
6-Ann Taylor Loft & TJ Maxx (tie)
7-Old Navy, Marshall’s, Ross, Lane Bryant & Banana Republic (tie)
8-Dress Barn & Target (tie)
9-Walmart

So, what constitutes a favorite fashion retailer you might ask? Market Force looked at a variety of angles, noting that Kohl’s led in just about every category: prices, easy parking, customer service, atmosphere and no-hassle returns. However, the survey noted that Marshalls was the only retailer to receive props for its loyalty program (something other retailers can work on strengthening before next year?) and Macy’s led the way for providing the widest variety of clothing and accessories.

For me, a favorite retailer has amazing service, reasonable prices and an eclectic selection. Which is why I would vote for Ross & TJ Maxx as my top two favorite fashion retailers (my Nordstrom-only sister is rolling her eyes right now – but hey, I love a bargain!).

What is your favorite fashion retailer? Agree or disagree with Market Force’s results? Tell us all about it here!

-Heather Strang

2012's Color of the Year

If you’re anything like us, a lot has already transpired in the beginning of this very new year. We’ve made and broken a few of our resolutions (a couple of times, actually) and we’re already planning sunny vacations (we’ll be traveling a lot in February to be precise). But, there’s one thing we almost forgot. Almost.

Pantone’s color of the year.

2011 was the year of honeysuckle, and 2012 is—are you ready?—the year of tangerine tango or Pantone 17-1463, to be more exact. Yep, we’re going big and bright this year. A combination of red and orange, tangerine tango just makes us want to visit the sun, ASAP.

You’re sure to start seeing this bold and bright color everywhere – painted on retail walls, furniture, jewelry, makeup (Pantone has forged a partnership with Sephora, so be on the lookout for tangerine tango make-up in March.This will either be awesome or scary. The verdict awaits.) and fashion. In fact, I’m pretty sure you’re apt to see some member of the DDI staff in this show-stopping color during GlobalShop. Just sayin'.

So, keep your eyes peeled.

In the meantime, what’s your take on tangerine tango? Too much, not enough or just right? Where are you hoping it will pop up? Leave your comments here.

- Heather Strang

*Photos courtesy of BDE.

Trend Alert: The Anti-Salon

Trend alert! Here at Retail Design Diva, we love discovering new retail design concepts, product offerings, visual merchandising, sustainability projects, etc. – if it’s retail - we love it. We also (if you’ve ever met any one of us) love our hair. So, when the two merge together, it’s sort of a big deal.

Now, that we’ve got your attention, here’s the trend: a salon that does nothing more than blow out your hair. If you’re a man, you probably have no idea what this means. We’ll explain. A blow out is when your hair is freshly washed and then blown dry into the lusciousness that you always knew your hair could be, but that you can never get it to be on your own.

For only $35, customers can enter Drybar, sip a tasty beverage (champagne perhaps?), watch a favorite movie, relax and walk out with movie star hair.  

Have I mentioned that we love this?

It gets better. Drybar is mixing it up by creating several choices for thier customers (so smart!). They host parties for girlfriends, offer a variety of blow-out options (from the Straight Up to the Cosmo-Tai to the Hot Toddy), and even – now this is really smart – offer monthly memberships for ladies who rely on a blowout as their signature look.

And the reason we’re calling this a trend is that Drybar is popping up all over the place. They currently have locations in NYC, Atlanta (the home of DDI), Texas, California and Arizona. Now, if I can just talk them into opening a location in Portland, Ore.…

Part of Drybar’s expansion and success may be linked to bringing on Karen Kelley as COO and president. Kelley is a retail executive with more than 20 years of experience with a host of national retail chains. There just might be a connection...

OR it’s just a wicked awesome concept. You decide.

First things first, have you been to a Drybar? If so, details please! Secondly, what do you think of the “anti-salon” concept? Leave your illustrious thoughts here!

-Heather Strang

Welcome to 2012! But First, Some 2011 Holiday Shopping Results

Happy 2012! We hope you had a wonderful holiday season.

And now, for the important stuff. Drum roll, please…

The results from the 2011 Christmas holiday season are in (thank you ShopperTrak – who had the data out before any of us were even back to work!), and they are spectacular. In all ways, the 2011 holiday season rocked. Let’s review:

• Roughly $44 billion was spent the week ending Dec. 24, a 37.8 percent increase over the week prior and a 14.8 percent increase over the same time period in 2010.

• Month-to-date sales for December 2011 were 4.7 percent higher than December 2010.

• We’re still procrastinators – 32.4 percent more of us were out shopping the week ending Dec. 24 than the week prior. And yes, that was me on Dec. 24 hitting a few stores for local wine and cheeses (it’s amazing who you forget to put on your list in all of the holiday shopping hub-bub!).

• The day after Christmas was also a booming shopping day; it was fourth in foot-traffic and sales for the entire holiday season, with foot traffic increasing 25.9 percent from the same day last year. Consumers spent approximately $7.1 billion, a 25.5 percent increase from the same time period in 2010.

Whew! So we shopped until we dropped, or until the ball dropped on Jan. 1, 2012 that is. 

I know I was guilty of last-minute Christmas shopping, were you? If you’re a retailer did you experience the same stellar results that ShopperTrak discovered? Leave your comments here.

-Heather Strang

P.S. And here’s to an even more outstanding year in 2012 for everyone!

Image credit: © Nevit Dilmen found at Wikimedia commons

Mobile Mayhem

Diva loves having a smart phone and all the conveniences that come with it. Case in point: a few weeks ago, Diva made an unexpected stop at a local Gap store during one of her holiday shopping marathons. She actually found a few items on sale that would make perfect gifts and proceeded to the checkout line, wishing that she'd remembered to print out that $10 coupon she received in her e-mail from Gap several days earlier. Diva's only hope was that the store would accept the coupon via mobile phone (plenty of other stores do, so this was not a long stretch). Here is what went down:

Diva: (Standing at the register, Diva shows the sales associate her phone screen.) Do you accept e-mail coupons via smart phone?

Sales Associate: Ummm, I don't know, let me check. (Looks slightly exasperated, as if a partial eye roll is on the verge at any moment. Turns to coworker at other register.) Ummmmm, like, John, can we use coupons off phones?

Coworker John: Yea, definitely. Just have her expand it so you can see the code and type in the number.

Sales Associate: Okay, yea, just like, expand it (mimes the technique used for zooming on an iPhone with his fingers, which Diva does not find helpful since she has a Blackberry).

Diva: (Tries to zoom in, accidentally clicks a link that navigates away from the coupon, but quickly goes back and zooms in properly, then hands phone over to cashier.) Sorry about that, here it is zoomed in, is that close enough?

Sales Associate: Uhhhhhh, yea. (Starts to type code in, then places one hand on his hip and cocks head over his shoulder to another coworker.) Jamie, this is exactly what I was talking about.

Diva: (Stands in shock, cannot believe this employee is copping such an attitude and clearly talking smack about Diva right in front of her.) Excuse me???? (Glares at employee with dagger eyes, then shoots an "are you serious"-look at the coworker/supervisor to cashier's left. [Diva has younger siblings and knows the fastest way to retribution is always through an authority figure.])

Sales Associate: (Gets reprimanded by his coworker/supervisor and is told to "knock it off." Then completes the transaction, hands Diva her merchandise in a bag.) Have a great holiday!

Diva: (Still fuming, only offers up a death stare.)

And, scene!

The moral of this ridiculously long story: mobile marketing is convenient and great, but if your sales staff is not trained on how to implement it at the store level, than it really does more harm than good. While Diva loves a smart phone, she does not love a snippy, untrained sales associate giving her attitude. Period.

--The Diva