Tag: Austin PR firm

Giving Tuesday lasts all year at Ketner Group

Posted on | by Ketner Group

Ketner Group believes that in the office isn’t the only place we can make a difference. Our team is involved in charities and organizations across Austin and Nashville. This Giving Tuesday we wanted to share how Ketner is giving back to the community that gives us so much, and encourage you to get involved with organizations that can impact so many!

Aidan Griffin, who hails from Boston and whose blood runs green, is involved in a number of organizations in the Austin area that promote Irish culture and heritage. He currently serves the Public Relations Officer for the Irish Network of Austin, the local chapter of Irish Network USA – a business, cultural and social network for friends of Ireland in Central Texas. In his role as Public Relations Officer, Aidan is responsible for managing the public persona of the chapter through social media management, event promotion and coordination with local organizations, government entities and businesses. He is also a member of the Austin Celtic Cowboys, the Gaelic Football club in town, where he helps manage media relations and supports public outreach to grow the game in the area among the American community.

Kirsty Hughan, our lone ranger in Nashville, is the co-founder and recently appointed Advisory Board Member of Mod, a community organization that helps women personally and professionally. Through Mod’s monthly events, Kirsty works with Nashville women to better understand and achieve what they want through networking, conversation and education. She is also involved in the small business organization in Nashville and is a member of the Nashville Independent Business Alliance, or Indie Nash.

Heavily involved with Texas Exes Austin Chapter as a past board member and current young alumni committee member, Adrienne Newcomb also volunteers her time and resources with Community First! Village. Community First! Village is a 27-acre master planned community that provides affordable, permanent housing and a supportive community for the disabled, chronically homeless in Central Texas. A development of Mobile Loaves & Fishes, this transformative residential program exists to love and serve our neighbors who have been living on the streets, while also empowering the surrounding community into a lifestyle of service with the homeless.

Kathleen See works with various non-profit and community focused organizations across the Austin community. She’s been involved with the Thinkery, Austin’s children’s museum, volunteering for their annual Imaginarium gala. Most recently, she has begun donating her time to Young Texans Against Cancer. She first became involved through their annual Powderpuff football game, but has become impassioned with their mission to raise funds and awareness for local cancer research and support organizations, becoming the sponsorship chair for their 5th annual Powderpuff Football Game and assisting with fundraising for the 7th annual Spice for Life Chili Cookoff.

Each year Ketner Group sponsors a family in need during the holidays and provides school supplies to underserved children in our area. We also regularly participate in and support our local PRSA chapter. In addition, Ketner Group actively gives back to the organizations our team members are involved with, just another way KG shows its love for our team and community. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook to see how we’re giving back in Austin!

New Intern on the Block: Daniela Ramirez

Posted on | by Ketner Group
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Photo provided by Daniela Ramirez.

This blog was provided by our intern, Daniela Ramirez.

Hello everyone! I’m Daniela Ramirez and I’m one of the new Ketner Group interns, it’s nice to e-meet you! I am currently in my final year at The University of Texas at Austin studying public relations. It’s hard to believe that I am a senior (cue the nostalgia) and already in my last two semesters of undergrad. Looking back as a curious freshman, I wasn’t exactly sure what I wanted to do with public relations or the type of job I wanted to work in following graduation. Through previous internships and courses, I have been able to develop a trajectory and carve a more focused track. These experiences have led me to develop a more strategic outlook and make the most of my four years at the best school in the world (Hook ‘em!).

Having worked in a variety of communication and public relations roles in the beverage industry, music business working with niche, reggae-type artists and bands as well as non-profits, I have been able to widen my scope of knowledge and skills. I’m excited to work with the amazing team at Ketner Group and continue to develop my B2B communication skills, and not to mention, learn about some pretty cool retail technology! Having only been with the team for a short time, I already feel so welcomed and truly feel like a valuable asset.

Now, a little bit about myself. I’m from a small town near Fort Worth, Texas called Kennedale – maybe you’ve heard of it? That’s why I was so excited to move to Austin and really live in a place that I haven’t experienced before. I love everything about Austin and the energy that it offers; I don’t plan on leaving the city scene anytime soon (sorry, Mom!). I’m all about experiences and living in the moment. You can often find me seeking out the next place to try brunch, attending a concert in town or going to an improv comedy show. I love to meet new people and learn about their life. That’s what really intrigued me about studying public relations; it’s a discipline that’s all about sustaining relationships through authentic dialogue. It’s a field that’s conducive to learning and exploring new interests and allows you to build an arsenal of skills. I love diving into different industries and learning how they operate, hence the range of my internships. Overall, I’m an extrovert and love to surround myself with good company. I’m excited for the semester ahead and spending my time with Ketner Group. As a senior, I’m anxious as well as excited for what’s ahead, while ironically wanting time to slow down at the same time.

Looking forward, I hope to work in the agency world so I can continue to gain varied experience in one industry and widen my scope of knowledge. I can already see that interning at Ketner Group will make my public relations undergrad experience memorable and one-of-a-kind, and I am very excited for the wonderful opportunity!

It’s an Amazon world, we’re just living in it

Posted on | by Ketner Group

If you know anything about the retail industry you’ve probably heard a thing or two (or a million) about Amazon. Amazon, an ecommerce giant, provides thousands, if not millions of items to consumers from all over the world delivered to your door step within days. Retailers, physical and digital, find themselves competing with Amazon constantly. It’s hard to beat impeccably cheap prices, two-day free shipping and same-day delivery in some cities for Prime members. But now there’s something else to compete with. Amazon announced that it would be launching Prime Day, an event to celebrate their 20th anniversary. Amazon boasts that it will have deals that are much bigger than those on black Friday. Of course the purpose of this is to drive sales, but how can other retailers beat such a heavy promise?

Walmart, for one, is taking a big stab at competing with Amazon. Walmart’s CEO Fernando Medeira posted a blog titled “Why Every Day is Low Price Day at Walmart,” in which he announced they would reduce the minimum free shipping for online purchases from $50 to $35 and reduce prices on thousands of online items. “We’ve heard some retailers are charging $100 to get access to a sale,” Medeira stated in the post. “But the idea of asking consumers to pay extra in order to save money just doesn’t add up for us.” A point well made by Walmart, which was clearly taking a punch at Amazon’s Prime Day event. A few days later Walmart increased the competition a bit more with their new promotion called “Dare to Compare,” in which they guarantee that they will offer lower prices than Amazon and invite consumers to compare the prices themselves.

Though two of the biggest retailers in the world are going head to head in competing for market share based on low prices, they are not the only ones. Food Lion has also jumped on the price lowering bandwagon. They announced they would be lowering prices on thousands of items that are most important to consumers based on extensive research and frequently purchased items. To ensure that consumers are aware of the price cuts, Food Lion is using three signed deal offers including, “WOW: Lower prices on thousands of items that matter most to customers, offered for longer periods of time,” which also alludes to Amazon’s brief one-day event.

As the highly anticipated Prime Day is in full swing, many consumers are anything but impressed. Many consumers went to social media to criticize the event for its unexciting items and for the fact that there are waitlists for those items. Though Prime Day isn’t what people expected, the event still sparked a lot of competition from other retailers and interest from the media and consumers alike. The fact that other retailers created promotions in response to Prime Day deals shows just how significant Amazon’s influence is in the retail industry.

 

The Most Buzzworthy PR Successes June 2015

Posted on | by Ketner Group

Public relations is such a diverse and expansive field and there is a constant stream of notable PR successes to praise. With the impactful changes that have been made across all kinds of industries this past month, there are most definitely a few PR successes to celebrate.

A big win for Apple and Taylor Swift

There is no doubt Taylor Swift is aware of her influence and is no stranger to speaking her mind. A few weeks ago, Swift released a letter to her fans, peers in the music industry and to Apple voicing her opinion on their new free streaming trial. Swift explained that Apple hadn’t planned on paying artists during this free three-month trial. Swift explained that fortunately this was not a big deal for her, but it was a huge deal for upcoming and new artists who have recently released music and depend on income and recognition to continue pursuing their music. After Swift’s argument went viral, Apple changed their terms to pay the artists during the trial. Some speculate that it was Apple’s plan all along to have someone high profile to speak out against these terms to draw attention to their new service. True or not, both artists and fans are praising Swift; plus, everyone now knows about Apple’s free trial. Read more here.

Etsy, Amazon, Walmart and other retailers remove the Confederate flag

In light of recent events fueled by racism, controversy around the prevalence and meaning of the Confederate flag has heightened. The church shooting in Charleston that left nine dead was strongly associated with the Confederate flag. Many people were disturbed by the fact that the Confederate flag, which has historical significance involving racism and violence, still flies over the South Carolina State Capitol. Despite differing opinions, the flag is causing uproar. In fact, the South Carolina legislature is deciding today whether or not to keep the flag at the Capitol. The flag’s removal has passed through the Senate, and is now in the House. Many retailers have taken an initiative to remove items with the Confederate flag from their stores. Regardless of your opinion on the Confederate flag, it is a tactful move by many retailers, as it prevents the potential for future controversy. Read more here.

Obama’s approval rating is above 50%

Also, if you happen to have internet, watch TV, or interact with other humans you are probably aware of a few successes in the last couple of weeks for the Obama Administration. One being that The Supreme Court upheld the Affordable Healthcare Act. The second: The Supreme Court ruling that the constitution guarantees gay marriage, making it the law of the land. Whether or not you support these rulings, they have led to a boost to 50% approval rating of the Obama Administration for the first time since the very beginning of his presidency. Read more here.

Brands show their support for marriage equality

The Supreme Court ruled in favor of marriage equality, and many brands have used this historic event as an opportunity to show their support of the decision. A number of brands used Twitter and Instagram, but one company in particular went above and beyond to celebrate. Ben & Jerry’s, who has publicly supported gay rights for quite some time, renamed their chocolate chip cookie dough flavor to “I Dough, I Dough.” The flavor is available all summer at participating stores nationwide and online through the Human Rights Campaign. Regardless of the different views on marriage equality, brands have used this ruling as an opportunity to connect with current and potential consumers in a heart-felt way. Read more here.

It’s safe to say that June was a memorable month that kept the PR world busy. Stay tuned to find out what July has in store for PR professionals.

#RetailRoundUp

Posted on | by Ketner Group

It has been a very busy week for the retail industry, from being able to shop and buy items from Nordstrom with just a simple text, to the new-found ways to utilize pop-up stores. Check out the top stories this past week from the retail world:

Nordstrom enables shopping via text via Retailing Today

Imagine a world where you could text someone what you wanted, and all of a sudden it’s yours. Well, for all of those shopaholics out there, it’s time to rejoice. Nordstrom has launched TextStyle at all of their  116 U.S. stores, and it’s basically revolutionized retail. TextStyle allows shoppers to make purchases from a personal salesperson or stylist, and enables associates to send new product recommendations to customers with a text message. If the customer would like to purchase the items, they can by simply replying with ‘buy’ and a unique code. Shoppers can also send their salesperson a text message with a product description or photo. All purchases are completed with the customer’s Nordstrom account information, and items are shipped directly for free.

Of course this isn’t the most mind-blowing news around. There are many retailers that have similar programs like this, but Nordstrom is now the only retail company in the U.S. that offers customers who opt-in the ability to shop and buy with just a text message. TextStyle provides consumers with a unique, efficient and extremely personalized way of shopping.

Target addresses digital channels after overwhelming demand for Lilly Pulitzer collaboration via RIS News

April 19, 2015, is a day that will live in infamy. It was the day that the Lilly Pulitzer collaboration with Target, #LillyForTarget, launched, sold out in minutes, crashed the company’s website and left many people angry, sad and extremely disappointed. Target’s CEO, Brian Cornell, noted that the company was disappointed their, “digital channels were not able to properly accommodate the surge in traffic at the time of the launch.”

Since that chaotic event, Target has been working to redeem itself and its digital business. Target announced during their Q1 2015 earnings call, that the company will make a $1 billion investment in technology and supply chain. Kathryn A. Tesija, executive vice President, chief merchandising and supply chain officer, ensures the company will continue to invest in technology and supply chain to allow their guests to shop on demand, and to improve the economics of its online business meaningfully. Target is now “working to address root causes and learn from the experience” as they prepare for the upcoming holiday season and the accelerated growth of the company.

Jo-Ann Fabric among first retailers to partner with Pinterest’s new Buyable Pins via Chain Store Age

We’ve all been there… well most of us. You’re scrolling through your Pinterest feed and you basically fall in love with everything you see. You re-pin it, thinking that you might attempt to create it later. After a while, you finally have time to create this beautiful masterpiece that is supposedly simple to do. But then you realize achieving the perfection that is pictured on Pinterest is basically unattainable, and your sad attempt hardly resembles it. Well, look no further because you can finally buy items from Pinterest directly from the site!

Pinterest is embarking on their first attempt in e-commerce by partnering with various retailers, including fabric and craft specialty retailer Jo-Ann fabric and Craft Stores, for their new Buyable Pins. Currently, there are over 4.2 million pins linking back to Joann.com. With buyable pins, consumers can find a product, pin it to their board, and directly purchase it off of Pinterest.

The Buyable Pins are expected to launch on the Pinterest iOS app this month and for Android and desktop later this year. Other retail partners for Pinterest’s Buyable Pins include Macy’s, Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus and Ethan Allen.

Pop-Ups: How temporary storefronts are changing brand loyalty via Fierce Retail

Pop-up stores are a big trend this year. Though the concept of placing a shop within a shop to attract attention to new designers and collections is nothing new, but the concept of a pop-up shop today has evolved into something much more intricate. The 2015 pop-ups are used as a sort-of beta test for a physical presence for retailers that have previously only had an online store and to see how it might change brand loyalty.

Many retailers are joining this trend, including e-commerce giant Amazon with its launch of a holiday pop-up store in 2014. Brands such as Zappos, The Grommet, Crest & Co. and Boohoo have recently introduced their first pop-up store. Even the highly anticipated buzz for the sold out Lilly Pulitzer collection for Target was fueled by a pop up shop in New York’s Bryant Park.

This growing trend for retailers utilizing pop-ups can be attributed to a few important reasons. First, retailers are starting to realize that pop-up stores are a feasible way to increase sales and presence in the marketplace. Secondly, these temporary stores are a great way to track customer approval for the transition from online to brick-and mortar in a temporary setting. Lastly, opening a temporary store is relatively inexpensive with little risk, which is great when testing something new. Pop-ups are not only a great way to assess costs and success; they’re also a great way to promote a brand.

The New Super Excited Intern

Posted on | by Ketner Group

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Hi, my name is Kamilla Rahman and as you can gather from the title, I’m the new intern for Ketner Group. I’m currently a sophomore public relations major at The University of Texas at Austin  hailing from the great city of Dallas, Texas.  I’m an account executive for Texas Tower Public Relations, the only student run PR firm on campus, working exclusively with non-profits in the Austin area. Additionally I’m on the social media committee for ORANGE Magazine and UT’s PRSSA chapter, as well as a member of the Texas Belles.

During my freshman year I interned with eduCAUTION, inc., a short film that enlightens the issues with the student debt crisis in America, helping out with promotions and event planning for the premiere at SXSWedu in 2014. The film gained quite a lot of attention from the media and other film festivals, and it was really rewarding to see my team’s hard work pay off.

After freshman year I became a marketing intern for Rahman Financial. I worked alongside my dad and the marketing team to refurbish their marketing strategies by researching potential clients, analyzing turn key technologies and redesigning their brochures and business cards. Though working for my dad seemed mundane at first, it was a great opportunity to learn about marketing in the financial world and about my father’s profession.

During the first semester of my sophomore year I worked as a marketing intern for UT’s Frank Erwin Center. I got the chance to work many special events including concerts and UT basketball games to ensure sponsored advertising ran during the events. During my time at the Erwin Center, I assisted the publicist with the Erwin Center’s Applause blog, grass roots marketing plans and much more. Sitting courtside at basketball games and up close to the stage at concerts made working at the Erwin Center an unforgettable experience.

Once the second semester of my sophomore year started, I was determined to find an internship at an agency. After weeks of stressing myself out from emailing a plethora of companies in the Austin area and sifting through tons of internship databases, I stumbled upon Ketner Group PR + Marketing. I emailed them, and I actually received an email back in a timely manner. Honestly, I was shocked. I was ecstatic when I received a phone interview. I was basically floored when I got a second interview. And I can’t even begin to explain my excitement once I was actually offered the internship.

I knew I wanted to intern at the Ketner Group the moment I had my phone interview with Kathleen. She was so sweet on the phone and made the interview surprisingly fun, rather than dreadful. Once I had my second interview with Catherine, I had the chance to meet Jeff and Sara. Everyone was so nice, and I got a chance to learn what retail technology really is, and what Ketner Group does for their clients. There is a lot of technology powering today’s leading retailers, and Ketner Group sits right at the heart of it!

During my interview I could really tell that everyone enjoyed their work and the people around them. And that’s the number one thing I’m looking forward to while interning at Ketner Group. For me personally and thinking about my future career and job, I think liking your job, the people around you.

Looking back on SXSW Interactive 2015

Posted on | by Ketner Group

Originally posted on PRSA Austin Chapter website. 

SXSW Interactive celebrates its 21st year in Austin, Texas.
SXSW Interactive celebrates its 21st year in Austin, Texas.

Every year, South by Southwest Interactive brings together the most innovative, entrepreneurial and accomplished individuals to showcase their products and ideas in front of eager audiences. 2015 was certainly no different.

A number of PRSA Austin Chapter board members were in attendance and answered a few questions about their experience. Check out their insight below:

What was your favorite session/panel at SXSW Interactive and why?

  • Sara Lasseter: I immensely enjoyed the panel on the Next Generation of Retail Innovation with the CEOs and founders of StitchFix and Rent the Runway. They had wonderfully insightful commentary on the state of retail and ecommerce operations, as well as where they see their innovative companies going in the future. As a woman in the technology industry, it was inspiring to hear the obstacles they faced in a male dominated startup/venture capital world.
  • Madison LaRoche: My favorite panel of SXSWi was on Reinventing the Cooking Show, in which representatives from PBS Food, ingredient sourcing show Original Fare and online cooking site ChefSteps.com discussed their experiences with digital cooking and food content. Regardless of their goals or plans for how their content would be consumed, all agreed that the digital format allowed for flexibility that was nonexistent in the time of Julia Child. Versus broadcast TV, the digital format allows for greater audience participation, allowing for content to create a feedback loop and a channel for dialog not previously available. At the close of the panel, the message was clear: stay true to the story you want to tell and maintain your authenticity in order to build and maintain brand equity. This lesson rings true well beyond the foodie content culture.
  • Erica Schuckies: My favorite session was called Entertainment and the Edge: Post Millennial Culture. Ian Pierpoint and Jack Horner (who both had very sexy English accents, by the way) provided insight into the minds of ‘Generation Edge,’ which consists of individuals born right after the Millennial generation (after 1995). Pierpoint’s research into this group showed that kids today are more socially aware of the pitfalls in our society and feel a responsibility to make positive changes more than any other generation (at least at their age). Horner described this generation as “rebels with a cause,” acting against the norm to make life better for not only themselves, but also their peers and future generations. Generation Edge is also more thoughtful of what they post on the web and social media; as Horner so eloquently put, “posting less shit.” Let’s hope this is true for all our sakes.
  • Alison Kwong: I really enjoyed the Lyft keynote on Monday afternoon. CEO and co-founder Logan Green is such a smart, articulate spokesperson who was very clear about his company’s story, vision and key differentiators from his competitors. It was apparent in the messaging and what he said about the marketing and plans for growth and future expansion. I also enjoyed Charles Barkley’s panel about staying relevant in the digital age. As a well-respected member of the sports media, I thought his perspective on why he doesn’t participate in social media was interesting as most of his peers and athletes do. The main takeaway was that authenticity and honesty go a long way in the media, especially in the sports industry.
  • Catherine Seeds: My favorite session by far was What Fashion Can Teach Women-Led Companies, which included a panel of the CEO and co-founder of Birchbox, the founder and CEO of Reformation Apparel and the founder and chief editor of Snob Essentials (Great blog on hand bags, by the way, if that is your thing!). This was a wonderful session on how these women have differentiated themselves and their companies by the way they communicate and engage with their customer base and by knowing exactly what their customers (mostly women) want and expect from these fashion and beauty brands. The panel discussed the social media effect on their companies, advice to other women on successfully launching their own companies, and some of the challenges they’ve faced as women-owned companies.

What were the trends that stood out to you while attending the Interactive portion?

  • Alison Kwong: Big data and analytics; the Internet of Things and how it drives innovation; the importance of good content.
  • Catherine Seeds: Retail tech was HUGE this year at SXSW.
  • Sara Lasseter: How to harness big data; mobile tech, of course; the customer experience.
  • Erica Schuckies: Customization of EVERYTHING, from wearables to user experiences to marketing & advertising; short-form video and social platforms catering to this concept (Meerkat, Meerkat, Meerkat); mobile-first mentality.

Did you Meerkat at all during SXSW Interactive? If so, what did you Meerkat?

  • Madison LaRoche: I downloaded Meerkat but was too scared/busy/uninterested to experiment with it at the time.
  • Erica Shuckies: Same as Madison – I downloaded the app with all intentions of Meerkatting my life away. To be completely honest, I kind of forgot about it most of the time, especially in moments that would have been perfect for it.

What was the coolest/most unique thing you saw during the Interactive portion?

  • Madison LaRoche: Unfortunately I didn’t see many amazing brand executions at SXSW this year, but to be honest, I wasn’t looking for them as hard as I have in the past. One of the most interesting panels I attended was the last Interactive Keynote of 2015, in which Dr. Astro Teller, captain of moonshots for Google[x], gave a passionate speech on failing with purpose. At his “moonshot factory” – a sci-fi-esque arm of Google devoted to exploring new technology to solve global problems – Teller encourages his colleagues to fail fast and harness those failures as learning opportunities toward success. He gave case study after case study of huge, time-intensive and expensive projects in which failure was part of the process to figure out what doesn’t work to get to what does. Though these examples were fascinating on their own, the best part of the speech was Teller’s extraordinary tenacity for and promotion of this “fail fast, fail often” approach. During the Q&A portion at the end, an obviously inspired but desperate attendee asked via Twitter how a company without the luxury and budget to fail could harness this approach. An exasperated Teller exclaimed that this poor soul missed the whole point of the talk, which was the simple fact that failing at the START of something (and being able to fix it) is much cheaper than failing at the END (when it’s simply too late to do anything about it).
  • Catherine Seeds: My colleagues and I had the opportunity to sit in on a session with the editor of Lucky Magazine, Eva Chen. She was fantastic and very down to earth. Here is a great write-up on her.

If you weren’t able to attend the Interactive portion of SXSW this year, we did the hard work for you and compiled a list of some great SXSWi recaps. Be warned, there are plenty of Meerkat mentions.

How about we all meet back here around this time next year? Until then, we will be catching up on sleep, nursing our blisters and over-tweeted fingers, and putting our learnings to good use!

Geeking out over SXSW Panel Announcement!

Posted on | by Ketner Group

It’s only Tuesday, and the week is turning out to be very special for the Ketner Group team! A few months ago we took on the very daunting and detailed task of submitting a few of our clients to present at SXSWInteractive, in conjunction with the SXSW festival hosted right here in Austin, Texas. Yesterday morning, we were among the thousands of entrants refreshing our Twitter feed and the SXSW webpage. And finally, the magic happened—the list was announced, and we saw one of our client’s panel session was selected! Much excitement ensued, and perhaps a few yee-haws and whoops!

Image courtesy of SXSWInteractive
Image courtesy of SXSWInteractive

In addition to seeing our client OrderDynamics’s panel on the $800 billion “Ghost Economy” of lost sales retailers battle every year, there are several panels and sessions I’m planning on attending next March. Here’s a preview of a few retail and brand sessions I’ll be attending:

  • The $2 Billion Promise of Predictive Intelligence: Predictive intelligence is becoming a major topic for retailers. I’m planning on attending this session to see how Cisco and 6Sense are addressing this through their software platform to turn previous clicks and conversions into future products and purchases.
  • Mobile Tech and the Retail Revolution: Who hasn’t Shazammed a song to win an argument with a friend? In this panel, the CPO of Shazam, CPO of Mood Media and a senior editor of WWD will be discussing how retailers can utilize technology to create one-of-a-kind in-store shopping experiences while employing the wealth of product knowledge on the internet through mobile interaction.
  • Managing a Shit Storm and Restoring Your Brand: Let’s be honest—with a title like that who wouldn’t want to attend this session? I have a personal admiration for professionals and practitioners in the crisis communication field, so anytime I have an opportunity to learn from them, I’m there. This panel will give me some insight on proactively and reactively managing crises. I’m also interested in seeing how big data companies are evaluating social media response to crises.
  • Personalization for the People: Personalization is a HUGE topic in retail for the upcoming year. Retailers are tiptoeing on the fine edge of maintaining consumer privacy and providing personalized experience. I’m looking forward to hearing how this panel will suggest maintaining customer loyalty and amazing shopping experiences while not being seen as the “Big Brother” of retail.

As this year will be my first SXSW to attend and with over 700 sessions, meetups and panels to chose from, I will be making a schedule of my sessions of choice with three back-up options per time slot. Yes, I’m one of those people. If you’re coming to SXSW, be sure to stop by the Ghost Economy panel; it promises to be haunting.

What’s Happening in Retail | October’s Biggest Stories

Posted on | by Ketner Group
Photo courtesy of Seth Sawyers on flickr
Photo courtesy of Seth Sawyers on flickr

This autumn has graced us with some much-needed cooler weather here at Ketner Group, but the retail industry is still turning up the heat! Retailers are faced with data security concerns, mismatching omnichannel expectations, forecasting the holiday season and revitalizing the concept of physical retail.

Here are some of the hottest retail stories from this month:

 Integrated Solutions for Retailers – “Kmart Investigates Payment System Breach”

Recently reported in Integrated Solutions for Retailers, Kmart announced a security breach of their payment data systems. According to a press release issued on October 10, Kmart’s parent company, Sears, filed a report with the Securities and Exchange Commission and Kmart immediately began working with an IT security firm. The breach was found to have started in September, caused by malicious software that was undetected by Kmart’s anti-virus software systems. The retailer was able to remove the malware, but has reported a number of credit card and debit card numbers were stolen. Kmart will be providing free credit monitoring protection to any customer who used a credit or debit card Sept. 1 2014 through Oct. 9, 2014. The company advises any customer concerned about the breach to contact their customer care center.

Wall Street Journal – “Amazon to Open First Brick-and-Mortar Site”

The Wall Street Journal recently reported that online retail pioneer Amazon.com will be opening its first physical store on 34th Street in New York City. The site is set to begin operation just in time for the holiday-shopping season. Chain Store Age noted that 50% of purchases made online are from a retailer with a physical location, and that Amazon’s move showed that the company prioritizes omnichannel retail, silencing melodramatic remarks on the decline of physical retail. It’s worth noting that the retailer has studied the outlet concept and scouted locations for years, and while the store remains experimental, Amazon’s timing couldn’t be better. If they do fully capitalize on the opportunity, the addition of physical immediacy to their pricing and delivery platforms will become an astonishing trifecta.

Chain Store Age – “NRF: Holiday Sales to rise 4%”

NRF 2014 Holiday StatsAccording to a press release from the National Retail Federation and reported by Chain Store Age, holiday spending is forecasted to reach $616.9 billion, making it the first time since 2011 that holiday sales increased more than 4%. Retailers are expected to highlight competitive pricing and inventory exclusivity as Americans keep to their household budgets. NRF also predicts retailers will hire between 725,000 to 800,000 seasonal workers for the 2014 holiday season, a 14% increase from 2013.

OrderDynamics – “Retailers missing the mark on customers’ omni-channel expectations”

A joint study by our client OrderDynamics and Opinion Matters revealed that online retailers are not offering the services that customers want. For example, 54% of online shoppers want a named delivery date, but only 15% of retailers offer the service, usually offering next-day delivery instead, which only 10% of shoppers pay for. This mismatching of services is a critical weakness in omnichannel retail campaigns. Customers only see one relationship, and one engagement and discrepancies in meeting their desires anywhere, anytime, from any device could destroy the relationship entirely. For more information about the survey and the retailer benchmark, read the report ‘Customer Relationships: The rules of attraction’.

360pi – “Believe it or Not, Amazon is not the King of Cheap Online Prices”

Another recent report by our client 360pi partnered with Wells Fargo took an in-depth look at competitive pricing, indicating that Amazon’s pricing model is not as edgy as customers believe. The joint study found Amazon has lost to Wal-Mart and Target in key categories such as clothing, electronics and housewares. Furthermore, Target, whose products were shown by the study to be consistently 5% cheaper, announced that they will match Amazon as well as Wal-Mart. The study also notes that Amazon’s prices have been rising due to new investments, which may give a slight skew to the results. However, Time’s report says that the battle for online sales dominance is nowhere near over.