BRAND X JOURNAL

Purchase brands vs. usage brands

Positioning a brand for how people live their lives

Harvard Business Review: “Where traditional brands focus on positioning their brands in the minds of their customers, digital brands focus on positioning their brands in the lives of their customers. Furthermore, they engage customers more as users than as buyers, shifting their investments from pre-purchase promotion and sales to post-purchase renewal and advocacy.”

99 Canettes of Pabst on the Wall

This is not your father's Canada Dry

Why do shoppers de-value digital goods?

A weak link to ownership is evident

Harvard Business Review: “Despite the many advantages of … digital goods, companies find again and again that people value and are willing to pay considerably more for … their physical counterparts … experiments suggest that the key driver of this value loss is not the resale value of the good, or how much it costs to make, or how long it can be used, or whether it’s unique or popular. We find that the key difference is that digital goods do not facilitate the same feeling of ownership that physical goods do.”

What’s small is big again at retail

Smaller stores are on the rise

The Washington Post: “Across the country, retailers such as Walmart, Target, Macy’s and Nordstrom are experimenting with ways to distill their inventory into smaller, more-focused locations. The shift comes, analysts say, as Americans flock from the suburbs to city centers, where space is at a premium. Big-box stores on the outskirts of town are no longer convenient nor practical for millennials with tiny apartments and no car. Target alone is opening 30 smaller stores by the end of the year, doubling its presence near urban areas and college campuses.”

Some retailers try simplified pricing

Others profit from complicated discounts

The Wall Street Journal: “Retailers have a gift for discount-obsessed holiday shoppers: simpler pricing … Kohl’s has been testing a ‘Your Price’ feature that shows the final price after all discounts … For example, a Disney Princess Palace, regularly priced at $79.99, was on sale on Kohl’s website earlier this month for $54.99 and eligible for an extra 25% off. The “Your Price” was $41.24.”