The Power of Retail

I like sleek automobile interiors, thing that look as if they were created to become an automobile part, nothing weird looking and stuff. One of the hottest and longest running car interior trends has been for wood paneling and some of the popular ones include these Chevy grills, if you have a Chevrolet, of course! Everyone dreams of what kind of car is their ultimate, and for many having wood work inside is really what matters. I’m more into a sleeker and simpler look, no leather for me either. Can you imagine just how hot it would get in this heat? To each his own, I suppose. If its your dream, you’re going to work towards it and get it ultimately, works and all!

All marketers want to be able to connect with the decision maker of the house and in most cases it is women and especially moms. When it comes to Gen Y moms, reaching out to them is not the same as what worked in earlier generations. According to research by Moxie Interactive, the way to target Gen Y moms is different. Based on their findings, moms born after 1978 are committed to using products that other generations have used, but have a smaller circle of friends and therefore put a lot of stock in what their peers have to say about a product or service. According to Joanna Sammartino, managing director of Moxie Interactive’s New York office, “They’ll respond to a recommendation from another parent much more favorably than a straightforward ad.”

Gen Y moms are more likely to use community features such as posting comments and asking questions about a product at parenting sites, instead of heading straight to the commerce section as older moms will do. How that translates for marketers is that they need to use a softer approach with this segment of customers, such as using blogs, and social networking sites to become more familiar to consumers and build brand awareness. Word of mouth publicity is a very vital tool for this generation of moms too.

Moxie, an interactive ad agency that works for such clients as Nestle, Coca-Cola and Maybelline, says that while Boomer moms tend to be less tech-proficient, they are willing to spend a surprising amount of time comparing prices, products and services–perhaps because they are more likely to have older kids who require less hands-on care.

“Marketers think mothers are just too busy to play casual games,” she says, but Moxie has found that plenty of moms are de-stressing with electronic games. “And they regard something like a marketer putting a brand name on checkers, for example, as a non-intrusive, non-marketing way to reach them.”

As fashion accessories go, eyeglasses are suddenly seeing quite an upswing in the way they are perceived. Maybe it is to do with several movies and sitcoms that feature stars wearing eyeglasses, or something else. Fashion is a cyclical machine and every few years they come back in a new form. The difference now is that you have the Internet to find stuff at great prices now, so you can be fashionable and stick with all the trends without breaking the bank. If you want to change your look then this is the easiest way to do it, and if you wear prescription glasses then this is a great time to get a fashionable new pair.

Japanese culture and lifestyle are the hottest trends this summer. Everything from movies to fashion, books to games is Japanese inspired. One of the summer’s highly anticipated movies Speed Racer, which is based on the anime from the 1960s. From racks and racks of manga comics at Barnes & Noble to Gwen Stefani’s Harajuku line of fashion, Japanese influences are everywhere to be found.

According to Roland Kelts, a professor at the University of Tokyo and auther of Japanamerica: How Japanese Pop Culture Has Invaded the US, “I mean, [look at] the fact that sushi is available in mainstream supermarkets around the country; the fact that Japanese style, design and architecture are appearing in major cities around the country; [and] the popularity of manga and anime in bookstores and Wal-Mart and Target.”

According to Seiji Horibuchi, president and CEO of VIZ Pictures, “What I think is most appealing about Japanese culture is its amazing mixture of cuteness, coolness and playfulness. Playfulness can allow us to have generous curiosity, to cross borders between cultures, beliefs, genders, ages and so on. I think that’s the true beauty of Japanese culture.”

Where to get Japanese inspired items? FredFlare.com has a large range of items that are cute and Japanese products are a perfect fit for their store. The site carries items such as a spatula that looks like a frog and a pan that has a panda face on it, alongside accessories for crafts.

The slowdown in the US market has affected the travel industry like everything else, but even though the luxury vacations segment has not been affected quite as much, it’s a good time to find special deals as many travel agents are offering lots of luxury packages in an effort to boost this segment of travelers. So, whether you’re traveling to Paris or to Buenes Aires or the Caribbean, you should keep an eye out for one of these special deals.

Luxury vacations are usually offered to a very narrow niche of customers, but since many are holding back, several resorts and agents have opened up to attract a wider audience of customers. Getting a nice sweet deal is a sure fire way of ensuring a even more fun vacation, right? I thought so too!

Starbucks announced that it would not be opening too many coffee shops in US till the end of 2011, in an effort to adjust to the slower pace of growth in the US economy. The company will focus on expanding its overseas business in this time frame. Starbucks brought back its founder Howard Schultz in january this year to help turn around the company and create a new niche for itself apart from fast food chains such as McDonalds who are capitalizing on the high cost of coffee at Starbucks.

According to Schultz, the mortgage mess in the US has left consumers with less money to spend on leisure items such as specialized coffee. He added “We strongly believe it is not the competition … We don’t believe that we’ve saturated the market, but we do believe that we have a head wind the likes of which we’ve never seen.”

As an international customer of Starbucks, I am certainly looking forward to this strategy and hoping to see a Starbucks nearby!