In doing research for my upcoming book, I learned that while many were too slow when it comes to mobile, RadioShack actually moved too fast. In 2009, it abandoned its core do-it-yourself customer in favor of mobility products.
"We completely pissed them off," Chief Marketing Officer Lee Applbaum said of the retailer's core DIY customers, who are (or now were) 55 year old Caucausian males with jobs or interest in engineering. "We had turned our back and were ignoring them. We had alienated the very consumer that had given us that core credibility in electronics."
As the mobility business grew, RadioShack’s core business fell from 38% of sales in 2009 to 32% in 2010. And despite going back to its roots, the drop continued all the way to bankruptcy.
More notes:
Thanksgiving was highest sales day during the holiday season for REI mobile properties. But Christmas Day saw the most traffic.
Just one-third of mobile users will buy apps in 2015, per eMarketer.
Tweet of the week from @BillGates – “Today, 2 billion people don’t have a bank account. In 15 years they’ll be making payments with their phones”.
Only 47% of retail brands engage on Twitter when tagged in an @ mention, according to Brandwatch.
62% of consumers expect a brand to have a mobile-friendly website, 42% mobile app, 23% location-specific experience, says Forrester.
Tablet shipments fell 12% last quarter, its first-ever decline: Canalys.
Twitter says 36,048,635 tweets about the Super Bowl were viewed 2,500,732,548 times.
Apple Stores reportedly will be outfitted with safes to protect gold Apple Watches. No price has been given. Speculation centers on these being priced at several thousand dollars each.
Mobile will account for half of all U.S. digital commerce revenue within two years, per Gartner.
61% of mobile consumers want to call a business when making their purchasing decision, according to Marchex.
Facebook served 65% fewer ads last quarter but cost per ad was up 335%.
More than half a billion users only access Facebook from mobile.
Panera: 80% of mobile payments are from Apple Pay.
Meanwhile, Apple Pay is said to be coming to 200,000 vending machines, kiosks, paid parking, other self-serve locations.
Headline on TechCrunch - Microsoft Faces Stiff Mobile Challenge. Me - the things you learn on the net.
Starbucks' mobile app payments now represent 16% of all Starbucks transactions: Fast Company.
Last year, mobile apps generated the most revenue in Japan, South Korea and the U.S., says App Annie.
93% of all U.S. app downloads in 2014 were organic, down slightly from 95% in 2011 according to Flurry.
