Canadian Retailer - Summer 2013 - 10

RETAIL CURRENTS

TRENDS

CALENDAR

wINDOw ShOppING wITh EBAY

RCC EvENTS

New York City was the testing ground for one of the most innovative and
creative ways yet developed by any retailer to generate e-commerce sales.
In June of this year, eBay Inc. launched its first virtual stores called
"shoppable windows" which it hopes will help add to sales from their
existing physical store networks.
The online retailer is utilizing touchscreens on front windows of
closed stores within the busiest parts of the city, featuring 30 items
from Kate Spade Saturday, a new fashion brand launched this year by
apparel retailer Fifth & Pacific Companies Inc.
The screens measure about 9 feet across and 2 feet (0.6 meter) high
and allow consumers to order and have products delivered to them
within an hour via courier. Payment is accepted by the couriers through
PayPal Here, a mobile payment service developed by eBay.
The project is a continuation of a similar initiative that the company had
attempted back in late 2011. However, this iteration is a step beyond, as consumers were not afforded the opportunity to purchase product in 2011.
eBay’s “shoppable windows” represent a major shift toward mobile shopping and are part of the company’s latest effort to collaborate with other
large retailers that are looking to reach more online and mobile shoppers.
"This extends the boundary of the store,” says Steve Yankovich, head
of the company's Innovation and New Ventures group. “Suddenly the
physical store, by virtue of online technology, extends to any space
that's interesting to use.
eBay has already attracted the attention of Target Corp. to its online
marketplace, while the company develops mobile shopping technology
for other retailers such as Macy's Inc.

Building Your Brand Without
a Marketing Budget

wALMART TURNS TTC ShELTERS INTO vIRTUAL STORES

Throughout the month of June, Walmart Canada teamed up with
one of its suppliers, Proctor & Gamble, to convert 50 Toronto Transit
Commission shelters into virtual stores. Each shelter was adorned with
posters that housed QR codes for Proctor & Gamble products that are
available at the retailer’s locations across the country.
At each of these 50 shelters, commuters in the city were given the opportunity to scan the QR codes with their smartphones which then took
them to a Walmart webpage where they could purchase the item and
receive free shipping to their home.
The experiment allowed Walmart to reach an urban audience, perhaps one of the final frontiers that the world’s largest retailer has yet to
crack, while engaging their consumer in an interactive and educational
form of advertising.
“This is a great way to approach high-density areas that have a
high concentration of e-commerce customers,” said Simon Rodrigue,
Walmart Canada’s vice president of e-commerce. “It allows us to very
quickly target them.”
Walmart’s online shopping program is really in its infancy, having
been implemented less than two years ago. This campaign drives traffic to the company’s e-commerce site – traffic that Rodrigue says has
“increased immeasurably”.
The shelters were located in areas of heavy transit use and featured anywhere from two to six products, including baby products and beauty goods.

10 |

canadian retailer | summer 2013 | www.retailcouncil.org/cdnretailer

Tuesday, July 30, 2013
3:00-4:00pm EST
RCC Webinar Series
Retail Loss Prevention
Conference

Tuesday, September 10 –
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
Toronto Congress Centre,
Toronto, ON
Retail West

Tuesday, October 22, 2013
Pan Pacific Hotel
Vancouver, B.C.
Retail Math: The Business of
Your Business

Tuesday, September 24, 2013
3:00-4:00pm EST
RCC Webinar Series
For more information
concerning RCC events, visit
www.retailcouncil.org.
INDUSTRY EvENTS
e-Tail east 2013

Monday, August 12 –
Thursday, August 15, 2013
Philadelphia Marriott
Downtown,
Philadelphia, PA
Shop.org annual Summit 2013

Monday, September 30 –
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
Lakeside Center at
McCormick Place,
Chicago, IL
114th Canton Fair

Tuesday, October 15 –
Monday, November 4, 2013
Guangzhou, China
Events subject to change. For
more information about these
events, as well as updates and
other industry events listings, visit
our website at www.retailcouncil.
org. Send your events at least
two months in advance to
cdnretailer@retailcouncil.org.

http://www.retailcouncil.org http://www.Shop.org http://www.retailcouncil.org http://www.retailcouncil.org/cdnretailer

Canadian Retailer - Summer 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Canadian Retailer - Summer 2013