Blog/News

Ecommerce and Store Closures on the Rise

Sadie Keljikian, Express Trade Capital

Although fears of a “retailpocalypse” have mostly died down, the retail landscape is certainly shifting in favor of ecommerce, with more than 5,000 brick and mortar closures already announced in 2019. Many of the closures come from high-profile retailers like Gap, J.C. Penney, Abercrombie & Fitch, Tesla and Victoria’s Secret. Even Amazon has announced that it will close all 87 of its pop-up shops in Kohl’s, Whole Foods and malls nationwide.

A recent UBS study predicted that online sales will make up 26% of overall retail sales by 2026, from 16% today. Assuming current trends persist, roughly 75,000 more retail locations will close in that time. This amounts to approximately 8,000-8,500 closures per 1% increase in online sales. Amazon is expected to account for about half of the ecommerce market in the US at the end of the seven-year projection period. Of the 75,000 predicted closures, 21,000 clothing stores, 10,000 consumer electronics stores, 8,000 home goods stores, 7,000 grocery stores and 1,000 home improvement stores are expected to shutter.

Only time will tell whether these projections will come true, but on the bright side, Lasser and Sole say that the closures “should help the store productivity of surviving locations.”

Green Your Business

Sadie Keljikian, Express Trade Capital

The devastating effects of climate change have rapidly increased in the last few years. As a result, businesses of all sizes and across industries are taking it upon themselves to be more eco-friendly. Though most business owners recognize the urgency to reduce their wasteful or pollutive practices, many are concerned about the cost and complexity of implementing greener habits. Although some large-scale changes can be expensive, investment in environmentally sound systems absolutely pays off over time. Here are some of the ways your business can adjust its practices to take better care of the environment.

Change Your Lightbulbs

One of the simplest things your business can do to reduce energy use is to change your lightbulbs. Halogen incandescents, compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) and light emitting diodes (LEDs) use 25-80% less energy than regular incandescents and last 3-25 times longer. Some cost slightly more initially, but more than cover their own price in longevity and reduction in your energy bills.

Recycle Everything

Recycling your paper, plastic and metal goods is a great start, but these days, it’s remarkably easy to find facilities that will recycle just about everything. Specialized recycling centers nationwide allow customers to deposit old electronics, appliances, batteries, and other items that were once difficult or impossible to recycle. Many of these centers even offer pick-up services for businesses that need to remove large amounts of heavy equipment at once.

Encourage Your Employees Not to Drive

One of the biggest problems employees face, regardless of location or industry, is their daily commute. Although they may be tempted to drive, encouraging them to carpool, bike, or use public transportation can drastically decrease your workforce’s negative impact on the environment. This can be as simple as posting a sign-up sheet in your workplace for carpools based on location and/or department.

If you’re located in one of the many cities that offer bike sharing, you can offer to pay for some, or all of the cost of your employees’ bike rentals should they choose to ride to work. You can also offer employer transportation benefits to those who use public transit. Regardless of which method(s) you choose, offering your employees a simple, inexpensive alternative to driving to work is a wise move.

Switch to PCW (Post-Consumer Waste) Paper

Although the world has largely transitioned to paperless documents, some businesses can’t avoid printing on a regular basis. If your business requires printing, make sure to use PCW paper products and packaging wherever possible. Although recycled paper is an improvement on new, or “virgin” paper products, it isn’t a regulated designation. Only PCW products are made entirely from recycled paper. They also use 45% less energy and create half as much waste in the manufacturing process as traditional paper products.

Eliminate Excessive Packaging and Single-Use Items Wherever Possible

This one can be a bit harder for employers to accept, but things like single-use coffee pods, plastic cutlery, water cooler jugs, and styrofoam cups make up a significant portion of the excessive waste North America produces. As an alternative, consider regular coffee, a water filter and reusable dishes and cutlery to keep your workplace from producing unnecessary trash that won’t biodegrade. You’ll also save the money you would’ve spent on refills for your water cooler, disposable dishes, and cutlery.

Clean Up Your Cleaning Products

Cleaning your office with harsh chemicals isn’t just bad for the environment, it’s bad for your employees. Harsh cleaning products can cause allergic reactions and other cumulatively negative effects on your workforce’s health. Switch out your cleaning products for their green alternatives and you’ll find your workplace a much happier, more energetic environment with fewer sick days.

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There are dozens of small changes you can make to create an office culture that takes better care of the environment. Business owners are too often bogged down by the idea of installing solar panels and other environmentally sound systems that are effective, but expensive and impractical. By implementing these small, inexpensive changes, you can dramatically decrease your business’s carbon footprint and inspire your employees to do the same in their private lives. A healthy planet is good for people and businesses alike!

ETC’s Mark Bienstock Talks Factoring with TSL

ETC Managing Director Mark Bienstock is featured in the latest issue of The Secured Lender as part of a discussion on modern developments and competition in receivables financing. Click here to learn about the latest developments and what the future holds for the factoring industry!

Tech Shakes Up Retail

Sadie Keljikian, Express Trade Capital

As technology becomes increasingly present in our daily lives, it changes the way we do nearly everything, most notably how we buy and sell products. Keeping up with the intricacies of digital sales can be overwhelming, particularly given the ever-evolving nature of technological functionality. Here are a few of the latest and most prominent ways in which technology has revolutionized sales techniques.

  • Multi-channel approach.

Contrary to popular belief, physical store locations are not going away entirely. With more ways than ever to reach prospects and customers, a multi-channel approach is essential to successful sales. Whether you’re selling consumer goods, commercial equipment, or anything else, it is important to integrate your online presence with any brick and mortar locations as seamlessly as possible.

The recent trend in previously online-only businesses opening store locations (Wayfair, Warby Parker, Casper, and Untuckit among them) is a great example of this. While modern consumers appreciate the convenience of ecommerce, they miss certain aspects of the in-store experience and frequently choose to blend their shopping methods.

This has proven particularly popular in industries like apparel, where consumers are hesitant to buy items they can’t try on, or large appliances and furniture, where consumers often prefer to see the item firsthand and ask questions before they make a final decision. Some apparel retailers have even opened mini-locations with limited samples of each item for customers to try on before they order them online.

  • Personalization

Some big-box stores use augmented reality to provide an in-store experience from home. Target, for example, launched an AR feature in 2017 that allows customers to take a photo of a space in their home and see an approximation of furniture pieces and home goods as they would appear in the space. This personalizes and simplifies the selection process significantly in terms of dimensions and style and prevents unpleasant surprises when items arrive.

Additionally, methods like individually tailored sales emails and social media marketing based on curated data are becoming the most popular strategies businesses use to market and sell their products and services. Brands are also expected to not only cater to each customer’s lifestyle and esthetic preferences, but to their philosophical beliefs as well. As a result, companies that make a point of using charged imagery or pointed messages in the way they sell their products are often among the most successful.

  • In-store tech.

Many retailers that depend primarily on in-store sales have begun incorporating technology into the customer’s experience at their locations. In some cases, they use virtual reality to add an element of fun in select store locations. Walmart’s tech incubator, Store No. 8 offers an immersive VR experience followed by a gift shop.

Others offer a visual search station for customers to locate the items they wish to buy, saving them the difficulty of finding the product they need on foot. Other retailers have begun using interactive apps that allow customers to learn more about a product by simply pointing their phone camera at its label. Luxury resorts have started offering AI services to allow guests to plan their visits and personalize their experience by communicating with chatbots. Grocery stores and department stores have even started using mobile robots to monitor obstructions in the aisles and customer reactions to free up human employees to assist customers.

Systems like these not only give the customer a better sense of engagement and control of their experience, they also offer retailers similar insight into their customers’ habits and preferences. Consequently, on-site technology can be as useful to market research as web traffic and sales numbers, allowing brands and stores to further optimize the way their customers’ experience and buying habits.

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Consumers have never had higher expectations of their retail experience. For big brands, this emphasizes the importance of diversifying their offerings and allowing their customers as many customizable options as possible. For smaller brands, it means homing in on the specific preferences and values that most accurately align with their target demographics. Ultimately, there are more ways than ever to use technology to guide product development and research markets, allowing brands and retailers to come up with solid solutions that allow their businesses to thrive.