No Turn On Red

Couple of stories catching my eye this morning:

The New York Times has a look Red Hook, Brooklyn, just a couple of months after the Ikea there opened. Many community residents were against the opening of this location, as they feared the traffic and noise impact on the local community. Ikea also tore down several historic buildings to make room for this location. But now, just two months after the retailer opened there, some residents in the community are finding positives in what Ikea has brought to the community.

Best Buy has announced a series of airport kiosks/vending machines that will dispense cell phone accessories and other portable electronics. Apple has had their own iPod vending machines in airports and other locations for a few years now and this model has, seemingly, worked well for them. This similar model should also prove to be a low-cost distribution channel for Best Buy.

Finally, Customer World is discussing social media in banking and the obstacles that it faces in adoption. Interesting views on an industry that has been slow to adopt social media and why customers would be reluctant to embrace social networking in banking.

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Social Shopping is an emerging field and E-Commerce Times has a great post that explains what is is, provides a rundown of different social shopping services, and opportunities for retailer involvement within the field.

With social media transforming the way we work and interact, there becomes less of a distinction between the time we spend on and off the clock, so to say. Steve Bendt provides a great look into the ramifications of wage laws in the United States and the impact they have on retailers who look to use social media to connect with their customers.

Get Elastic is talking about the viral marketing video campaign from Office Max that ties in to their Back to School “Penny” marketing. I really like this campaign. It is a series of fun videos that ties in well with the overall brand position for Officemax for this season. Good job by Officemax, I think.

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Just two quick links for today:

In regards to today’s earlier entry about the perils of catching a shoplifter, I came across another recent story on the same topic. Last week, a shoplifter tried to stab a Home Depot security guard with a screwdriver he just stole.

Then there’s an article from the Billings Gazette about how retailers and others are recruiting teenagers to fill Summer jobs. Good look at a local American Eagle Outfitters location and how the manager there goes about recruiting new employees, as well as some of the methods used by others to fill other, non-retail, jobs.

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From the Asbury Park Press, a reminder of one of the dangers the retail employees do face and need to be cognizant of:

Police arrested a 21-year-old township man on shoplifting charges, and also charged him with pulling a knife on the store employee who confronted him.

Police charged Arthur A. Montague, 21, who has been living at the Holmdel Motor Inn on Route 35, with robbery, shoplifting, possession of a weapon, and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose.

On Saturday, at about 4:58 p.m., township police received a report of a male suspect who had just shoplifted a lap top computer from the Best Buy in the Holmdel Commons on Route 35. The suspect was seen leaving through the rear service bay of the store by a Best Buy employee, police said.

When approached by the employee, the subject took out a chrome knife and started waving it toward the employee, advising him to stay away, police said. The incident was also witnessed by a store manager.

I am happy to hear that everyone is safe and the suspect was caught. More on this story from the Asbury Park Press.

Sometimes retail workers can forget that they are surrounded by hundreds of thousands of dollars of merchandise and large sums of cash. Unfortunately, there are people who will want their hands on this stuff and will do anything to get it. Even a shoplifter with a $15 shirt may turn out to have a weapon on them and will want to use it.

I’ve seen a shoplifter attempt to run over associates with his car after he was stopped with less than $200 worth of merchandise because he had outstanding warrants and didn’t want to get arrested. I know people who have been on the receiving end of armed robberies and smash and grabs.

While the vast majority of people who walk through the doors of a retailer are normal shoppers, there is always going to be that small small small percentage looking for something else. This is why employees need to be aware and remember that it is not worth getting injured, or worse, when trying to apprehend a shoplifter. This is also why most retailers have such strict policies as far as who can make an apprehensive and how it has to be performed.

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Intelligent Entreprise has a quick interview with Best Buy’s Senior Director of Customer Insight, Matt Smith. Good look at how retailers look at all of the channels available to them and how they are trying to understand and better target their customers.

While I believe that retailers need to better look at ways to interact with their customers, using emerging social media technologies, I think that Best Buy’s customer analysis is a good building block. Understand your customers, but interact with them and they’ll tell you more about themselves than you could ever harvest.

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Oops. From NBCSanDiego.com:

A woman and her daughter filed a lawsuit Wednesday against Best Buy’s Geek Squad in which they accused a computer technician of videotaping the daughter while she was in the shower.

The mother said she hired the tech, who faces criminal charges, March 2 at the Best Buy in Industry.

Natalie Fornaciari said the technician used her daughter’s bathroom and allegedly positioned a cell phone camera in the room to catch the 22-year-old woman while she showered.

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