Okay, it's a VERY tactical topic for The Retail Muse, I know. But I ran across a brief article in the March-April 2007 Loss Prevention magazine that offered some trends in background screening that offered some points worth mentioning:
1. Increased Government Mandates--Federal and state government requirement of background checks is on the rise.
2. Privacy and Accuracy--Inaccuracies in database matches and noncompliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act has got privacy advocates stepping up their activities.
3. Second Chances--"Second Chance" laws are popping up in states like New York and require greater analysis of criminal records to justify whether or not to hire someone.
4. Impact of Recession--People are in greater need of employment, so you should be more careful in verify credentials, such as past employment and education.
5. Social Network Sites--Employers are using social networking sites to try and learn more about candidates. This information is untrustworthy and discriminatory. Stear clear.
--The Retail Muse
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Rise of the "Sellsumers"
TrendWatching.com just released a briefing to introduce the "Sellsumers".
According to their report, Sellsumers are an ever-growing group of ordinary consumers making money as (part-time) entrepreneurs. They are driven by the recession-induced need for cash and enabled by the infrastructure of the web.
As TrendWatching.com puts it, "in a nutshell":
"SELLSUMERS: Whether it’s selling their insights to corporations, hawking their creative output to fellow consumers, or renting out unused assets, consumers will increasingly become SELLSUMERS, too. Made possible by the online revolution’s great democratization of demand and supply, and further fueled by a global recession that leaves consumers strapped for cash, the SELLSUMERS phenomenon is yet another manifestation of the mega-trend that is 'consumer participation'."
Obvious connections for campus stores include:
- Creativity: Tap into the "sellsumers" in your customer base for ideas and creativity for new products, services, and business ventures. Don't think you're going to get it away from them...plan to partner!
- Staff resources: Consider hooking up with local or web-based sellsumer ventures to add skills, capabilities, and services to your businesses portfolio.
- Master the Consumer Involvement concept: Study this and other examples of the growing trend that suggests customers want to be co-creators of the products and services that solve their problems, meet their needs, and enhance their lives. The sooner you master this one and find ways to engage your consumers accordingly, the better!
Read the full "Sellsumer" brief (with tons of examples and ideas) at http://www.trendwatching.com/trends/sellsumers/.
--The Retail Muse
According to their report, Sellsumers are an ever-growing group of ordinary consumers making money as (part-time) entrepreneurs. They are driven by the recession-induced need for cash and enabled by the infrastructure of the web.
As TrendWatching.com puts it, "in a nutshell":
"SELLSUMERS: Whether it’s selling their insights to corporations, hawking their creative output to fellow consumers, or renting out unused assets, consumers will increasingly become SELLSUMERS, too. Made possible by the online revolution’s great democratization of demand and supply, and further fueled by a global recession that leaves consumers strapped for cash, the SELLSUMERS phenomenon is yet another manifestation of the mega-trend that is 'consumer participation'."
Obvious connections for campus stores include:
- Creativity: Tap into the "sellsumers" in your customer base for ideas and creativity for new products, services, and business ventures. Don't think you're going to get it away from them...plan to partner!
- Staff resources: Consider hooking up with local or web-based sellsumer ventures to add skills, capabilities, and services to your businesses portfolio.
- Master the Consumer Involvement concept: Study this and other examples of the growing trend that suggests customers want to be co-creators of the products and services that solve their problems, meet their needs, and enhance their lives. The sooner you master this one and find ways to engage your consumers accordingly, the better!
Read the full "Sellsumer" brief (with tons of examples and ideas) at http://www.trendwatching.com/trends/sellsumers/.
--The Retail Muse
Friday, April 10, 2009
Digital Signage that's Not Digital...or all that Expensive!
For years we've all be hearing about, reading about, and seeing digital signage popping up in retailers...and, quite honestly, making many of us in the college store space a bit envious.
All too often, our mainstream retail competitiors are willing and able to put the hot new thing in display and signage into use. Things that we usually cannot give the space and/or dollars for.
But now there is a digital signage-like display system that might be of interest. I first say this at a P-O-P show last year. And ran across it again the other day "spotlighted" on the VMSD magazine site.
The MCS Low Voltage Lighting Display Panel system (from Carl Stahl DecorCable) uses illuminated, 8x10 sized frames to hold simple graphic slides (think overhead film printed with color graphics) to create vibrant images. This system is easy to install and looks nice with 3-4 panels in a vertical line.
From my discussions with the vendor, an entry-level set-up is less than $300 and is easy to install. The graphic films can be produced in-house by using printable overhead film and color printer with your own graphics.
So if it's not true digital signage (with motion, sound, etc.), how would you use it? Well, TRU research tells us that our customers rarely know the brands or wide variety of merchandise that we carry in store. So what about using each panel to display the logo of a name brand you carry in apparel? Or you could mount it in a window to add vibrant images to add to window displays. Since the cables/panels can be clicked into/out of the mounting like track lighting, you could just take it down when you don't want it to be part of a display.
Bottom line--this is an easy, inexpensive way to bring a bit of tech and splash into your store. The best way to use it is up to you. I'm just here to spark the idea!
Check out the VMSD highlight online. The vendor site is a "build what you need" site. So if you're really interested, I'd suggest just giving them a call!
Tony Ellis, CAE
tellis@nacs.org
All too often, our mainstream retail competitiors are willing and able to put the hot new thing in display and signage into use. Things that we usually cannot give the space and/or dollars for.
But now there is a digital signage-like display system that might be of interest. I first say this at a P-O-P show last year. And ran across it again the other day "spotlighted" on the VMSD magazine site.
The MCS Low Voltage Lighting Display Panel system (from Carl Stahl DecorCable) uses illuminated, 8x10 sized frames to hold simple graphic slides (think overhead film printed with color graphics) to create vibrant images. This system is easy to install and looks nice with 3-4 panels in a vertical line.
From my discussions with the vendor, an entry-level set-up is less than $300 and is easy to install. The graphic films can be produced in-house by using printable overhead film and color printer with your own graphics.
So if it's not true digital signage (with motion, sound, etc.), how would you use it? Well, TRU research tells us that our customers rarely know the brands or wide variety of merchandise that we carry in store. So what about using each panel to display the logo of a name brand you carry in apparel? Or you could mount it in a window to add vibrant images to add to window displays. Since the cables/panels can be clicked into/out of the mounting like track lighting, you could just take it down when you don't want it to be part of a display.
Bottom line--this is an easy, inexpensive way to bring a bit of tech and splash into your store. The best way to use it is up to you. I'm just here to spark the idea!
Check out the VMSD highlight online. The vendor site is a "build what you need" site. So if you're really interested, I'd suggest just giving them a call!
Tony Ellis, CAE
tellis@nacs.org
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