The cell world
My husband and I recently attended a concert and in between the encore and main set I was reminded, yet again, of the new world we live in.While the lights were down and everyone was clapping and yelling for the artist to come back, a sea of light radiating from cell phones blanketed the crowd. Not cigarette lighters - cell phones.
Here’s some startling cell phone data. The Pew Research Center revealed that 83% of Millennial or Gen Y members (ages 18 to 29) sleep with a cell phone on or next to their bed. One-half of Baby Boomers (ages 46 to 64) and 68% of Generation X (ages of 30 to 45) sleep near or with their cell phone. Furthermore, 88% of Millennial’s use a cell phone to text and four out of ten do not have a landline phone.
Nearly nine out of ten Millennials learned of a new product for the first time online, according to a December 2009 Deloitte report. The same is true for 73% of Gen X members and 66% of Boomers.
Is your business online? Furniture/Today’s recent Furniture Store Performance Report states that only 58% of furniture stores even have a web site. One-fourth of those stores accept online orders.
Furniture and bedding sales through online retailers totaled an estimated $4.6 billion in 2008, about 6% of total furniture and bedding consumer spending. The online channel continues to grow. Furniture/Today and HGTV’s most recent consumer survey shows that 15% of master bedroom buyers will first shop online this year.
So what about m-retailing and m-marketing? Experts say the current mobile impact is all about customer contact and buzz, rather than actual dollars. That can change quickly though. Today, consumers are able to conduct real-time product and price research through their smart phones while they shop your store.
Welcome to the cell world of openness.
Dana French commented:
Hi, "Bring It." Thanks for the comments. My goal for this blog was to give current cell phone stats. Without question, we now live in a cell world of openness.
Also, I'm a huge fan of furniture stores - my father managed and owned one for 30 years.
Bring it! commented:
Why don't you open a furniture store yourself. You will obviously dominate your competition because you will have such a great website. And I'm sure your advertising will only appeal to people's emotions. Meanwhile, the stores down the street who advertise price and financing will struggle.
Oh wait. This only happens in fantasy land! Too bad noone at FT ever leaves that place. My fantasy is to see a FT writer risk his own money in such a store. It would be a bloodbath.
