Gene Detroyer

Target and Wal-Mart Give Individual Attention to Customers

August 31, 2010

FROM RETAILWIRE:
Target and Wal-Mart Stores may be the biggest mass merchandisers in the country, but both believe business results can be improved by tailoring what they do to individual shoppers. Do you think Target and Wal-Mart are capable of achieving a "neighborhood store" feel?      [more...]

There is no new news here. Wal-Mart has been executing customized assortments for years. They have over one hundred basic sets, with variations on each. They have the technology and capabilities to pull it off better than any retailer.

And, be assured, it is not about "feel," it is about business. If you provide the customers with the products they want, you are going to generate more revenue. The execution of this concept is simple. One needs the technology and all the information will be there. However, most retailers are not focused on the operational end to pull this off. They are still into buying and promoting rather providing and selling.

As for Target...customized online advertising is easy and should be expected in any online campaign. But then again, it is a matter of how the retailer thinks. Are they trying to get the customer to buy what they offer or are they trying to offer what the customer wants to buy?