News from Bridge
Bridge in the News
December 2016
HFN Magazine: $2 Million Milestone
HFN shares that Bridge has doubled year-over-year sales processed for clients.
November 2015
HFN Magazine: $1 Million Milestone
HFN highlights Bridge's handling of $1 million in online gift registry sales in 2015.
May 2015
HFN Magazine: E-commerce Update
Allison Zisko interviews Jason Solarek about Bridge's new services.
December 2016
HFN Magazine: $2 Million Milestone
HFN shares that Bridge has doubled year-over-year sales processed for clients.
November 2015
HFN Magazine: $1 Million Milestone
HFN highlights Bridge's handling of $1 million in online gift registry sales in 2015.
May 2015
HFN Magazine: E-commerce Update
Allison Zisko interviews Jason Solarek about Bridge's new services.
Thursday, August 22
Stores that offer convenience and deals are winning, shares today’s WSJ. Sales at Walmart, Target, and T.J. Maxx are up while they’re murky at Macy’s, J.C. Penny, and Nordstrom. Just offering deals isn’t enough, nor is just offering next-day delivery. A store is going to have to accept smaller margins via deals and convenience offerings. The alternative is: join Macy’s with its 50% stock drop.
Nordstrom’s sales are down 5% and profit fell about $20m.
Kohl’s, which has a partnership with Amazon, ... ...
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Stores that offer convenience and deals are winning, shares today’s WSJ. Sales at Walmart, Target, and T.J. Maxx are up while they’re murky at Macy’s, J.C. Penny, and Nordstrom. Just offering deals isn’t enough, nor is just offering next-day delivery. A store is going to have to accept smaller margins via deals and convenience offerings. The alternative is: join Macy’s with its 50% stock drop.
Nordstrom’s sales are down 5% and profit fell about $20m.
Kohl’s, which has a partnership with Amazon, ... ...
Read More
Wednesday, August 21
Scott Galloway and Kara Swisher shared their ideas about tech, politics, and life last night at Convene’s Liberty Place location. I’ve read Scott’s book The Four and like it so much that I shared 40 copies with retailers. I also recommend Scott’s recent book The Algebra of Happiness which is about life in general (and not as business focused as The Four).
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Scott Galloway and Kara Swisher shared their ideas about tech, politics, and life last night at Convene’s Liberty Place location. I’ve read Scott’s book The Four and like it so much that I shared 40 copies with retailers. I also recommend Scott’s recent book The Algebra of Happiness which is about life in general (and not as business focused as The Four).
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Tuesday, August 20
Gold in ‘Dem Thar Hills
I went into a small shop in New York City yesterday and admired all their nice tableware. It offered mugs, cups, plates, drinking glasses, and vases—all items that are great for gift registries.
The store was empty. I thought it may be a good time ask the store manager if the store offered an online registry. He replied "yes." I was surprised because there was no signage in the store that said it offered a gift registry. I shared with him what Bridge is and explained ... ...
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Gold in ‘Dem Thar Hills
I went into a small shop in New York City yesterday and admired all their nice tableware. It offered mugs, cups, plates, drinking glasses, and vases—all items that are great for gift registries.
The store was empty. I thought it may be a good time ask the store manager if the store offered an online registry. He replied "yes." I was surprised because there was no signage in the store that said it offered a gift registry. I shared with him what Bridge is and explained ... ...
Read More
Monday, August 19
Nordstrom stock is down 52% in the last 12 months. Only Macy’s stock performs worse in the S&P 500 retail index.
It’s clear that Nordstrom should not have bought HautLook in 2011 and Trunk Club in 2014. In 2016, Nordstrom wrote down the value of Trunk Club by half of its $350m purchase. That’s $175m in value it desperately needed to spend elsewhere to compete with Amazon. Each million dollar mistake today results tens of millions in lost opportunity next year. Mistakes have exponential ... ...
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Nordstrom stock is down 52% in the last 12 months. Only Macy’s stock performs worse in the S&P 500 retail index.
It’s clear that Nordstrom should not have bought HautLook in 2011 and Trunk Club in 2014. In 2016, Nordstrom wrote down the value of Trunk Club by half of its $350m purchase. That’s $175m in value it desperately needed to spend elsewhere to compete with Amazon. Each million dollar mistake today results tens of millions in lost opportunity next year. Mistakes have exponential ... ...
Read More
Sunday, August 18
Is Amazon a 'Retail Hacker'?
Amazon may be spying on your business. It may be crawling your website, checking your prices, and then stealing your customers. If this sounds creepy, it is.
Every week over the last few years, I have found Amazon-hosted bots crawling my 400+ retailers' web pages. I block these Amazon-hosted bots but they just keep coming back. Why do they crawl and keep coming back? Well, let's ask ourselves: what do the bots do with this data? Using what it crawls on my retailers'... ...
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Is Amazon a 'Retail Hacker'?
Amazon may be spying on your business. It may be crawling your website, checking your prices, and then stealing your customers. If this sounds creepy, it is.
Every week over the last few years, I have found Amazon-hosted bots crawling my 400+ retailers' web pages. I block these Amazon-hosted bots but they just keep coming back. Why do they crawl and keep coming back? Well, let's ask ourselves: what do the bots do with this data? Using what it crawls on my retailers'... ...
Read More
Friday, August 16
What company in the tabletop industry has invested in a tech company? I don't know of one. I believe our industry should be doing what UPS does and investing in tech--and I'll explain why.
As today's WSJ shares, UPS has a venture capital arm and it has this because smart businesses know that most businesses are becoming more like: software businesses. Therefore, businesses have to ‘buy’ that know-how by investing in a tech company. UPS knows that it doesn't have the internal tech know-how to... ...
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What company in the tabletop industry has invested in a tech company? I don't know of one. I believe our industry should be doing what UPS does and investing in tech--and I'll explain why.
As today's WSJ shares, UPS has a venture capital arm and it has this because smart businesses know that most businesses are becoming more like: software businesses. Therefore, businesses have to ‘buy’ that know-how by investing in a tech company. UPS knows that it doesn't have the internal tech know-how to... ...
Read More
Tuesday, August 13
New feature:
Your 'New Products' page now shows you the date the item was added. This makes it easier for you and customers to keep track of your business adding new items.
In the example shown, we see that the retailer added the three items today.
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New feature:
Your 'New Products' page now shows you the date the item was added. This makes it easier for you and customers to keep track of your business adding new items.
In the example shown, we see that the retailer added the three items today.
View Post
Tuesday, August 13
NY NOW
I'll be NY NOW on Tuesday, August 13, meeting with brands, retailers, and reps. Happy to meet with you. Just drop me a line. :)
http://www.nynow.com/
http://41madison.com/
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NY NOW
I'll be NY NOW on Tuesday, August 13, meeting with brands, retailers, and reps. Happy to meet with you. Just drop me a line. :)
http://www.nynow.com/
http://41madison.com/
View Post
Monday, August 12
We have a new milestone: mobile orders exceeded desktop orders for the first time this past Saturday on Bridge. This is notable because desktop orders have historically beat mobile orders.
Shoppers choose the mobile route on Saturday because they are most likely out of the office and on the go. But why had mobile not trumped desktop before? We believe that mobile-based purchases are increasing as shoppers get more comfortable with mobile (aka they are making more mobile purchases for other ... ...
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We have a new milestone: mobile orders exceeded desktop orders for the first time this past Saturday on Bridge. This is notable because desktop orders have historically beat mobile orders.
Shoppers choose the mobile route on Saturday because they are most likely out of the office and on the go. But why had mobile not trumped desktop before? We believe that mobile-based purchases are increasing as shoppers get more comfortable with mobile (aka they are making more mobile purchases for other ... ...
Read More
Sunday, August 11
Fifty percent of the U.S. book market is controlled by Amazon, while Barnes & Noble has 8%. This book market share split shows that shoppers value convenience and price more than customer service. Anyone that says retail can be helped, saved, or fixed by concentrating on anything but convenience and price is wrong.
For example, an HFN columnist whom I won’t name is often extolling the need to make the in-store shopping experience fun and interesting. Similarly, a market building president ... ...
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Fifty percent of the U.S. book market is controlled by Amazon, while Barnes & Noble has 8%. This book market share split shows that shoppers value convenience and price more than customer service. Anyone that says retail can be helped, saved, or fixed by concentrating on anything but convenience and price is wrong.
For example, an HFN columnist whom I won’t name is often extolling the need to make the in-store shopping experience fun and interesting. Similarly, a market building president ... ...
Read More
Thursday, August 8
I read the New York Times and want to ask: Are we sharpening our executioner's sword? That is what FedEx wondered as it helped Amazon grow by delivering its packages. Finally, FedEx woke up and decided it's better to make less money tomorrow than help usher in its death in the near future. As the Times reports, FedEx is terminating its ground delivery agreement with Amazon at the end of August, thereby passing on the delivery of millions of packages.
Amazon has historically partnered with ... ...
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I read the New York Times and want to ask: Are we sharpening our executioner's sword? That is what FedEx wondered as it helped Amazon grow by delivering its packages. Finally, FedEx woke up and decided it's better to make less money tomorrow than help usher in its death in the near future. As the Times reports, FedEx is terminating its ground delivery agreement with Amazon at the end of August, thereby passing on the delivery of millions of packages.
Amazon has historically partnered with ... ...
Read More
Tuesday, August 6
Remember when people said that customers wouldn’t buy luxury online? They were wrong as evidenced by Today’s WSJ summarizing the decline of Barneys as a failure to navigate the rise of e-commerce. In addition to e-commerce competitors, high rent and high debt ($200m) played roles.
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Remember when people said that customers wouldn’t buy luxury online? They were wrong as evidenced by Today’s WSJ summarizing the decline of Barneys as a failure to navigate the rise of e-commerce. In addition to e-commerce competitors, high rent and high debt ($200m) played roles.
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Saturday, August 3
Two of the five pitchers featured in today’s Times are from Bridge Smart Brand partners. :)
Congrats to Costa Nova and Mary Jurek.
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Two of the five pitchers featured in today’s Times are from Bridge Smart Brand partners. :)
Congrats to Costa Nova and Mary Jurek.
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Saturday, August 3
We all have to provide customer service, and a historic hallmark of customer service is the free 1-800 number. Today’s WSJ reminds us that someone had to invent that and be the first to offer it. Not coincidentally, it was a telephone company: AT&T.
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We all have to provide customer service, and a historic hallmark of customer service is the free 1-800 number. Today’s WSJ reminds us that someone had to invent that and be the first to offer it. Not coincidentally, it was a telephone company: AT&T.
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Monday, July 29
Thanks to Matt Hullfish, national sales director at Casafina, for sharing this good news about brick-and-mortar stores:
Excerpt:
Retailers with brick-and-mortar and e-commerce operations continue to benefit from having both, according to a recent study from the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC).
...The average consumer makes 2.1 transactions in-store with that same retailer within 15 days. Similarly, following an in-store transaction, the average consumer makes 1.3 online ... ...
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Thanks to Matt Hullfish, national sales director at Casafina, for sharing this good news about brick-and-mortar stores:
Excerpt:
Retailers with brick-and-mortar and e-commerce operations continue to benefit from having both, according to a recent study from the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC).
...The average consumer makes 2.1 transactions in-store with that same retailer within 15 days. Similarly, following an in-store transaction, the average consumer makes 1.3 online ... ...
Read More
Saturday, July 27
Do you like selling online? Wonder where your businesses stands in the history of it all? Today’s WSJ shares that the first official online purchase was 25 years ago for a: Sting CD.
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Do you like selling online? Wonder where your businesses stands in the history of it all? Today’s WSJ shares that the first official online purchase was 25 years ago for a: Sting CD.
View Post
Friday, July 26
Irony: old analog retail is literally being replaced by new tech. Today’s WSJ shares that retail space that used to belong to Lord & Taylor’s midtown flagship may become Amazon’s NYC office space. In the East Village, Facebook’s HQ recently took over Kmart’s entire third floor, shrinking Kmart from three floors to just two. That’s a 33% contraction, which mirrors the contraction of physical retail and the growth of digital platforms like Amazon and Facebook. Note: Lord & Taylor, Kmart, and many ... ...
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Irony: old analog retail is literally being replaced by new tech. Today’s WSJ shares that retail space that used to belong to Lord & Taylor’s midtown flagship may become Amazon’s NYC office space. In the East Village, Facebook’s HQ recently took over Kmart’s entire third floor, shrinking Kmart from three floors to just two. That’s a 33% contraction, which mirrors the contraction of physical retail and the growth of digital platforms like Amazon and Facebook. Note: Lord & Taylor, Kmart, and many ... ...
Read More
Wednesday, July 24
Carol Schroeder recently shared an article about the 10 best e-commerce platforms (https://www.ecommerceceo.com/ecommerce-platforms/#Local)
I developed Bridge Network, an e-commerce platform, that is not included in this article. Here are some things I have learned over the last 20 years of e-commerce development:
1. The article’s ranking criteria includes themes and templates. I believe you don't need an assortment of templates to have a functioning (or successful) e-commerce site. Just look at ... ...
Read More
Carol Schroeder recently shared an article about the 10 best e-commerce platforms (https://www.ecommerceceo.com/ecommerce-platforms/#Local)
I developed Bridge Network, an e-commerce platform, that is not included in this article. Here are some things I have learned over the last 20 years of e-commerce development:
1. The article’s ranking criteria includes themes and templates. I believe you don't need an assortment of templates to have a functioning (or successful) e-commerce site. Just look at ... ...
Read More
Bridge in the News
December 2016
HFN Magazine: $2 Million Milestone
HFN shares that Bridge has doubled year-over-year sales processed for clients.
November 2015
HFN Magazine: $1 Million Milestone
HFN highlights Bridge's handling of $1 million in online gift registry sales in 2015.
May 2015
HFN Magazine: E-commerce Update
Allison Zisko interviews Jason Solarek about Bridge's new services.
December 2016
HFN Magazine: $2 Million Milestone
HFN shares that Bridge has doubled year-over-year sales processed for clients.
November 2015
HFN Magazine: $1 Million Milestone
HFN highlights Bridge's handling of $1 million in online gift registry sales in 2015.
May 2015
HFN Magazine: E-commerce Update
Allison Zisko interviews Jason Solarek about Bridge's new services.