STORES Magazine - June 2008 - (Page T11)

TA K I N G O N teens fashion retailers such as H&M should fare well in this climate. Teens inherently view fashion as ‘disposable’. We have never heard a teen say that they’ve made an “investment” purchase of clothing, and these retailers offer them a chance to be stylish at affordable prices. Knowledge is their vanity. There has been a recent shift away from status brands and toward knowledge as the new social currency. Those with the most insider knowledge/connections are becoming the new power brokers. Teens seek out expertise in the hope of becoming the go-to person for their area of interest. They love shopping at stores that employ experts – they specifically mention Sephora, the Apple Store and GameStop – making comments such as “you have to know so much about games to work there.” Online full time. Teens are online 24/7. It’s the first thing they do when they get up in the morning and the last thing they do before bed. This constant exposure to information has fundamentally changed the way they approach nearly everything, including shopping. The online retail experience is crucial to them — from auction sites like eBay to online homes of their favorite retailers. They demand a fluid relationship between online and store and expect to be able to research products online to buy in-store and return online orders instore. The need for a satisfying online shopping experience will only increase with time. 4 11 O N T H E Zandl Group The Hot Sheet is published by the Zandl Group. Founded in 1986 by Irma Zandl, one of America’s leading trend forecasters, the Zandl Group has pioneered many ethnographic and non-traditional approaches that yield rich insights while fully immersing clients in their consumers’ world. The New York-based research firm specializes in consumer insights, new product trends and ways to stay culturally relevant to today’s hard-to-reach consumer. The Zandl Group’s approach is ethnographic, combining consumer immersions and directional/progressive research. Consumer immersions include in-home interviews, shop-alongs, scene immersions and “closet checks” that give a rounded sense of retail habits and trends. For directional research the Zandl Group relies on its online panel of “thought leaders” who have been hand-picked and prescreened for their keen cultural perspectives and conceptual abilities. attempting to connect with teens should keep in mind. Teens are multi-taskers. They surf the ’Net, play video games, and instant message (IM) and text message their friends — often at the same time, which makes it much tougher for you to grab their attention. Teens prefer byte-sized entertainment. It’s best to keep your message short if you want to grab their attention, and that’s especially true if you’re delivering it to them online or via cell phones. Teens expect content on demand. Today’s kids download their favorite tunes and videos from peer-topeer networks and watch TVs hooked up to TiVo and DVRs. They’re used to getting what they want, precisely when they want it —delivered, of course, on their favorite devices. That has drastically changed the way marketing professionals evaluate and present media. Teens want to participate. They’re hooked on social media because it offers them instant feedback. Mainstream media are getting the message; shows like “American Idol” encourage viewers to vote for their favorite contestants; Doritos, Dove, and other well-known brands invite consumers to create their own commercials and jingles. Enlist teens to manage your social media. Take advantage of social media’s ability to reach vast audiences by sending out weekly MySpace bulletins, Facebook notes or fun messages. By recruiting a teen or two to assist you, you’re validating their technological expertise and social networking skills. Don’t try too hard to be cool. Kids can see right through that. Know your audience. Boys and girls use the Internet differently, and you’ll want to tweak your strategy to take advantage of those differences. Teenage boys, for example, create and upload more videos onto sites like YouTube; girls spend more time designing, decorating, blogging, commenting and communicating on social networking sites. Don’t sweat the design. Beautiful design is great, but your site doesn’t have to be drop-dead gorgeous. Just make sure it addresses teens’ fundamental needs. Support causes kids care about. American Apparel, a brand that’s popular with teens, speaks out on immigration reform, and Virgin Mobile supports organizations that are working to end youth homelessness. GAP joined the (RED) campaign, which was created, in part, to purchase medical supplies for women and children in Africa who have been affected by HIV/AIDS. Find out what teens are passionate about and create a way for them to make a difference in the world. Use text messaging and IM appropriately. Teens use e-mail to communicate with the “adult” world, but when they want to talk to each other, they usually text or IM. If adults reach out to kids in a medium they view as their own, it often freaks them out. StORES STORES / JUNE 2008 T11 WWW.STORES.ORG http://WWW.STORES.ORG

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of STORES Magazine - June 2008

STORES Magazine - June 2008 Contents Executive Editor's Page President's Page Tesco Tests Carbon Labels What Shoppers Think 10 Things You May Have Missed Numbers Worth Counting Full Price/Markdown Retail People Cover Story: Boom - or Bust Green Retailing Concept2Watch Online Marketing Building Traffic Water Management Branding Digital Marketing Loyalty Programs Special Report: Taking on Teens Supply Chain - Robo Crop Human Resources Supply Chain - Directory Assistance Loeb Retail Letter Arts Update Point of View NRF News Retail Crossword Retail Industry Calendar Last Laugh

STORES Magazine - June 2008

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