Mobile devices like the iPhone and G1 are letting consumers take advantage of the growing number of high-speed networks, an opportunity that e-commerce retailers are recognizing as users are increasingly using websites for shopping from mobile devices. Some people are even using their mobile devices as their primary online browser.
Any retailer looking to the growing mobile audience for new revenue should deliver shopping sites that are mobile friendly. This means paring back content – or re-organizing it – so that users can access relevant items more easily.
While wireless devices have come a long way, their screen size limits what can be displayed and still be read by the average user. Features such as panning and zooming can only compensate so much for the smaller real estate available on handhelds.
Most websites are still using cascading stylesheets (CSS) optimized for personal computers. Designing and embedding CSS specifically for mobile users will help ensure that the user experience on handheld devices is high quality. The CSS Mobile Profile 2.0 developed by the W3C (the standard-setting World Wide Web Consortium) is now available, giving retailers a widely supported standard to follow.
Other common shopping features, such as large tables of product images and Flash animation, also need to be rethought. Just a decade ago, many websites were built successfully without these features. As screen resolutions and bandwidth grew, these were added to create richer online experiences. Handheld devices may not support all of these technologies, so the emphasis should be placed on simplicity, clarity and speed. And make sure that commonly accessed features, such as viewing the shopping cart are readily reachable.
While the technical aspects of mobile are important to consider, retailers must also focus on marketing fundamentals, such as understanding the needs of this changing audience. Research and analysis on what users want and how they want to interact with your site are critical. One quick tip: use the mobile device itself to gather research information, rather than relying solely on traditional research channels.
Retailers that can use messaging, web content, e-mail, and social networking in an integrated fashion, centered on the handheld device, let users engage with their brands. A basic practice: rather than just asking for e-mail addresses on your sites, permit users to give you addresses for text messages as well, and let them know about special mobile content.
One last piece of advice: do not let mobile marketing become a new outlet for spam. Mobile devices give unprecedented access to retail customers; respecting your customers’ time will lead to longer, two-way relationships.
David King is CEO of Fulcrum, a leader in advanced analytics, technology and multichannel program solutions for marketing.
Retailers know that if there was ever a time to keep their customers happy it’s now. They also know that finding new customers costs more time, resources and money than keeping existing customers. One way retailers are trying to keep economy-squeezed consumers satisfied is with discounts, and the key to effective discounting — without sacrificing ROI — is understanding your customers’ needs and motivations.
Here are five ways to make sure your discounting is on-target, customer-centric and profitable:
1.   One size does not fit all
The same discount offer will not fit the needs of all customers. Some are impulse buyers willing to pay full price; some are “coupon clippers†who won’t buy anything at full price but will buy something they don’t need if it’s on sale. Then there’s a range in between. Understand the differences between your customers and then use that insight to vary offers based on their discount-sensitivity.
2.   Test for the right mix
Start to learn customer differences by looking at the percentage of total items they purchase at a discount. Then compare how they respond to communications with a discount vs. those without. Try replacing discount offers with more relevant, full price product offers for those customers less sensitive to discounts. The right mix of discount and non-discount oriented offers will gradually emerge.
3.   Don’t over-discount
Many companies use discount offers and coupons in most of their customer communications, trying to drive loyalty. Although it’s often an effective strategy that drives traffic and purchases, discounting constantly trains customers to look for and wait for deals – lowering the chance that they will buy at full price. And then there’s the ongoing cost of the discount itself.
4.   Accept their terms
Make your offers consistent with customer shopping preferences. For example, if they like to buy in-store, your offer should emphasize store location and convenience in addition to the discount. You might prefer them to purchase online, but offering free shipping if they purchase online is not likely to work.
5.   Don’t rush to slash
Try to understand what motivates or turns off individual customers. For example, you probably have a large number of customers who have abandoned online shopping carts multiple times. They may be hesitating to complete the purchase because they just can’t stomach the shipping charges. Try testing free shipping for these people before you rush to discounting the product. You might just increase your conversion rate in the process.
Andy Cutler is chief strategy officer at Mercury, a Boston-based, insight-driven marketing agency that drives growth and profitability for clients through enhanced customer experiences.
E-mail marketing is an effective marketing method with a very high ROI. Unfortunately, spammers and scammers have made it more difficult for legitimate senders to get their e-mails past Internet Service Provider (ISP) junk filters and into the inbox, while consumers are all too ready to hit the spam button. The good news is there are steps you can take to avoid the spam label and increase your e-mail marketing effectiveness.
1. Here are some key words to skip: Urgent, money back guarantees, and why pay more?
2. Avoid using ALL CAPITAL LETTERS and exclamation marks in your subject line and in your E-MAIL CONTENT!!
3. If something sounds too good to be true, the junk mail filters probably agree. Do not claim a “once in a lifetime opportunity” and other grandiose offers.
4. Never send out an e-mail that is one giant image. The filters will likely filter it but even if it gets to the inbox, the recipient will have no enticement to turn on images. A good balance is 60 percent text and 40 percent graphics. Do not forget the ALT text.
5. While discussing money is unavoidable, try to avoid excessive mentions of money in your e-mails as the spammers and scammers have made that hard to get through.
6. I think most of us have seen e-mails with red font, flashing objects, etc. Keep it simple to maximize your chances of getting into the inbox.
7. Do not buy a list both because this violate the terms of service of almost all E-mail Service Providers (ESPs) and because your recipients are more likely to hit the spam complaint button that is a common feature of many e-mail clients these days. More than one complaint out of each 1,000 e-mails sent is very likely to get you blocked by one or more ISPs and make it more difficult to get emails through to your best customers.
8. Do not harvest e-mails from the web to send in bulk. Not only will you run into the same problems as when you buy a list, you will also be violating the CAN-SPAM Act.
9. Keep your e-mail frequency reasonably steady to keep your sending reputation intact. For instance, if you send only once every six months the ISPs and the recipients may have forgotten about you resulting in delivery problems and spam complaints.
10. On the other hand, do not send so often that you annoy your subscribers. You probably want to send at least once per month, but you’ll need to carefully consider what volume will start to annoy your subscribers—who will unsubscribe from your list or worse, hit the spam button, sticking a label on you that can be hard to remove.
Don’t be a Gilly! Instead, get to the head of the class and ahead of your competition by attending ERA’s webinars, receptions and meetings. You’ll learn about best practices, new trends and also network with your industry peers in a fun, relaxed setting.
As the nation’s economy remains on shaky ground, there is no doubt in anyone’s mind that these are trying times. Everyone is being hit hard, especially retailers. With employers cutting 2.6 million jobs just last year – and two million more layoffs expected this year – employers everywhere are trying to cut costs, while improving business. Retailers across the globe are looking at how to weather the storm, and the ones who will come out on top are those who are willing to invest. Many retailers believe the obvious solution is to “hunker down†and try to ride out the economic crisis by halting all spending. However, retailers who resist this temptation and try to gain market share will have the best chance to grow customer loyalty in the long run. Once the market inevitably takes a turn for the better, they will be the winners in the retail industry.
Retailers are already looking for ways to put themselves ahead of the curve, get closer to their customers and extend brand loyalty. With fewer and fewer customers walking through the door each day, retailers are using technology as a strategic weapon to differentiate themselves and connect customers to their brands. Companies are looking beyond 2009 for ways to “do more with less†and maximize their existing technology investments to provide greater agility and flexibility. Cabela’s, a leading specialty retailer of hunting, fishing, camping and other outdoor goods, is working with Cisco and SCOPIX (a company that specializes in store operations analytics) to greatly improve the customer experience by using digital video surveillance technology to help managers monitor store traffic. SCOPIX’s web-based platform provides real-time insight into how customers are being served throughout the store and can send in-store alerts to be directly to a store managers’ mobile device so they can reallocate employees to the areas where customers are located. By being able to react promptly to issues on the store floor, Cabela’s believes they will be able to convert more sales opportunities and increase same-store sales. (more…)
Retailers are facing one of the toughest economies in recent history. Experts predict that the first half 2009 will be dismal in regard to consumer spending. Therefore, retailers need to work even harder to engage their existing customers in order to stay top-of-mind during what is likely to be a difficult first quarter. Now, in the wake of a challenging holiday season, businesses must re-think, revamp and reinvigorate their marketing mix in order to succeed in the coming months.
Budgets are tight, so begin by finding free or low-cost ways to engage new customers (particularly those acquired over the holiday season) and give them incentive to return again and again. Among the freshest new tactics are social networks, gadgets/widgets, and community toolbars, which can be used to distribute coupons, release “how-to†videos, announce sales, deploy online surveys and more.
The key to success with this “Web 2.0 marketing†is to increase the amount of interaction you have with your customers and they with each other. For example, one retailer, Incredible Technologies (makers of the Golden Tee golf game), is using a branded community toolbar to activate community building by sharing specials and promotions that they think will appeal to their customer’s interests. They also showcase their customer forum, user international tournament stats, and their Golden Tee YouTube channel where users can post video of their best golf shots. Golden Tee did all of this for no cost.
Not a techie? Don’t worry about it. All this stuff is really easy to use. Give it try? What have you got to lose but customers?
We’ve heard the reports, seen the numbers and heard the ba humbug! This past holiday season was one of the most dismal for retailers in years. Stores were slashing their prices to get rid of merchandise and still weren’t seeing the sales of years past. So how does a company compete and distinguish itself in such a tough economy? Obviously, red-lined prices aren’t making an impact, but great customer service leaves a lasting impression.
Take in point one of our customers, Drugstore.com, an online drugstore. This holiday season it decided to launch a chat feature for a subsidiary site Beauty.com. Not just a place to sell beauty products, Beauty.com features what’s hot this season, a video library with demonstrations and now with the new chat feature, Beauty.com is replicating the beauty experience consumers have at the makeup counter in their local department store. Trained beauty experts, all with esthetician or beauty counter experience, can now engage in chat sessions with online shoppers to share immediate advice on the best products for their needs from the convenience and privacy of their homes. For example, experts provide specific recommendations regarding budget, skin tone, color coordination or new products.
And what’s interesting is that Beauty.com is converting approximately 40 percent of chat sessions into product orders. Drugstore.com is depending on excellent, personalized customer service to keep sales up as opposed to brand or price. For me, a big online shopper, it was great. It gave me the personalized attention to help me find the perfect shade of red for the big holiday party all from the comfort of my home.
You can meet withSuzy Meriwetherof RighNow Technologies at the eRetailer Summit’s Solution Zone on Sunday, March 1, from 12:00 p.m.—3:00 p.m. and hear her speak on Monday, March 2, from 9:00 a.m.—10:00 a.m. Register here!
Recently, I opened up my community newspaper to learn that my favorite shoe store was going out of business—another victim of the economic meltdown. Another blow came a few days later when my husband and I drove to one of our favorite neighborhood restaurants only to be greeted by a sign on the door that read: Thank you for allowing us to serve you these past few years. Unfortunately, we have closed our doors.
Although for several months, we’ve all heard the news reports about companies and industries in dire straits, the reality is much more sobering when you literally see the signs in your own backyard. And while some companies are bracing themselves for rough seas ahead, it’s refreshing to hear about companies that have been able to prosper despite such difficult times.
Take, for example, the company featured on this month’s cover, Zappos.com. This online shoe store reached the $1 billion mark in sales for the year. How has this nine-year-old company been able to do it? According to CEO Tony Hsieh, by focusing on building an enjoyable corporate culture and enhancing the online customer experience—whether it’s through free shipping or complimentary upgrades.
However, Zappos isn’t the only e-tailer to pull out all the stops for customers. Retailers plan to make online shopping more appealing to Christmas shoppers. In fact, a 2008 eHoliday Study conducted by Shop.org shows that 78 percent of retailers plan to offer free shipping with conditions. What’s more, to attract holiday customers, they have invested in new site features to augment their purchasing experience. Such features include:
• 42.9 percent of retailers have added improved site search to help customers navigate sites more easily;
• 24.6 percent added product video; and
• 32.7 percent offered customer reviews.
These online retailers are well aware that tight budgets will force people to hold out for the best deals. Perks like free shipping with conditions is just a snippet of what e-tailers are doing to entice budget-focused shoppers. According to the Shop.org study:
• 27.1 percent of retailers have added and enhanced clearance sale pages;
• 31.3 percent added featured sale pages; and
• 25 percent of online retailers added a Facebook page.
Why do more shoppers prefer purchasing online rather than shopping at brick-and-mortar retailers this holiday season? The study reveals that 58 percent of consumers cite 24-hour shopping convenience as one of the primary reasons. Their desire not to battle crowds is another reason consumers give for their online shopping preference.
This year, brick-and mortars like Mervyns and Linens ’N Things have succumbed to the weakening economy. However, other retailers refuse to rely solely on in-store traffic to generate holiday sales. Retail giant Walmart, for instance, integrates its online and retail efforts with its Site-to-Store program, where customers can order their merchandise online and pick up their purchases at a nearby Walmart location. As an added incentive, the retailer offers free shipping. Other retailers like Toys “R†Us and Borders focus on coupon promos and online deals.
Of course, these are challenging times for our industry. But what companies like Zappos teach us is that it’s possible to overcome those obstacles if you remain consistent with your marketing message and stay focused on ways to best serve your customers.
Many retailers have learned how to leverage their data to help identify opportunities to increase their share-of-wallet by cross-selling additional products and services to established customers. Yet many retailers remain disappointed with the results of their cross-selling efforts to deepen and broaden their relationships with established customers. Response rates have remained flat or actually declined. Average order sizes remain unchanged or are actually decreasing. Tinkering with the current approach will no longer provide incremental improvements — 2009 is the year to build a new foundation for your cross-selling strategy, based on four cornerstone concepts:
1. In-Market Timing
Many retailers who have developed an ability to anticipate when customers are interested in buying have done so by building a standalone model, and then face the logistical challenges of working with multiple models to account for both choice and timing in any customer’s purchase decision. Your analytics department or vendor needs to have the capability to take both of these dimensions into consideration in one integrated modeling framework.
How could your cross-selling results improve if you were able to not only anticipate what each customer or segment is interested in, but when their interest will be highest? And to eliminate individual customers or segments from further solicitations of the same or similar offer when they are no longer interested? And do both while also taking into account your competitions’ plans?
2. Repeat-Purchaser Focus
Every retailer has a percentage of single-transaction customers, but few retailers design and implement specific strategies to increase their number of repeat customers. Aside from the data management issue of identifying a first-time customer (not an insignificant issue in itself for many retailers), the other challenge is deciding what exactly to offer these customers to encourage a second purchase. Even with the limited data that you will have on file for these customers, an analysis can identify at either the individual or segment level the specific second-purchase decisions with the highest potential acceptance.
3. Cross-Channel Offer Affinity
Every retailer knows the importance of delivering consistent messaging across customer channels, and many are in the process of making significant strides in this area. Yet, despite widespread consensus that cross-channel integration is critical, many retailers struggle to find and deploy practical strategies to infuse more cross-channel intelligence into their marketing programs. In many cases, the concept of “offer affinity†affords retailers an immediate opportunity to provide meaningful communications to customers across channels.
“Offer affinity†is based on a marketing analysis that finds a pattern of one type of purchase naturally following another. To use a home improvement example, a purchase of deck lumber would have an intuitive follow-up sale of deck stain, but an analysis of transaction data could point to other “missed purchase categories†such as joist brackets, and flashing.
Finding these “potential pairings†is something that in-store merchandising display departments have studied and reacted to for years, but now that kind of intelligence can inform both offline and online customer communications.
4. Marketing Agility
A decade after the launch of marketing automation systems to execute and measure direct marketing strategies, many retailers remain locked into campaign-centric views of their marketing programs. The demands of today’s marketplace require that retailers be able to respond to smaller and smaller segments of customers with increasingly targeted and timely offers.
Your database marketing platform needs to provide a cross-channel marketing management solution that provides a high degree of customization at either the individual customer or segment level. Such a platform will allow you to transform the way you think about marketing, breaking out of the traditional campaign-centric view to truly deliver customer-centric marketing.
Retailers know all about the importance of effectively merchandising their end-caps, shelves, and racks to provide in-store shoppers with key “why to buy†messages, but when it comes to translating some of these approaches in the online world, most are failing to provide shoppers with the same level of attention.
With 90 percent of consumers going online to research products before making a purchase, online merchandising is equally (if not more) important as in-store merchandising. Visit any product page on most retailers’ sites and chances are you’ll see little more than a “picture and a paragraph†describing a product. Very rarely will you see specific “why-to-buy†messages, let alone more persuasive merchandising that leverages the unique capabilities of the online medium, such as video, audio and animation.
With their online venues, retailers have tremendous opportunity to engage and educate their shoppers using video tours that dynamically demonstrate product features and benefits. The use of rich media allows unique product capabilities to be seen by the shopper in the context of real use scenarios. Video product tours can also be augmented with other compelling product content such as sell sheets, 360-degree images, printable user guides and product specifications – elements that would be impossible to provide alongside a product in store, and once again take unique advantage of the online environment. There’s no better time to pull out the stops and impact your highly qualified niche of shoppers than while they are in the process of researching and buying products online.
Online video product tours aren’t all show. Independent third party studies show they increase conversion rates by providing shoppers the information they need to make informed purchase decisions. In so doing, video tours also make your site ‘stickier’ - in fact, shoppers view video product tours for an average of two minutes per tour– a major victory of extended engagement in the online retail world where your competition is only a click away.
But perhaps the most compelling news for retailers is that video product tours are provided free of charge by leading manufacturers through various content syndication networks. The video tours are also hosted by those same networks, so there’s no IT impact for the retailer. Effective, free, and easy – it just doesn’t get any better than that.
It is clear that for online retailers to remain competitive during this holiday season, their sites must offer personalized recommendation engines, product reviews, live chat and a host of other features supported by social behavioral platforms. Consumers are driving this demand, and to ensure they continue to return to a site, they must have access to the technologies they have come to rely on.
Marketing professionals need to know the benefits they can expect from deploying social behavioral platforms, as well as why it is critical they integrate this type of system before the 2008 holiday shopping season ends. Following is a list of benefits online merchants can anticipate in terms of ROI, as well as short- and long-term effects.
• Immediate and measureable results are the “brass ring†every business is looking for. Satisfied customers may not contact retailers directly to share their thoughts regarding positive experiences, but increased average order sales and repeat visits exemplify their contentment.
• Online marketing systems decrease the need to manage on-site merchandizing and in turn reduce the need for seasonal retail staff. Using a multichannel approach empowers retailers with the ability to reach consumers of every demographic. Additionally, a ubiquitous presence engenders a perception of strength and longevity.
• Low cost of ownership is paramount to internal teams, and can be easily achieved through the deployment of fully automated software. A system that collects data, like click patterns, searches conducted and products purchased—all provided through the simple act of shopping—creates a self-sustaining system that essentially runs on its own, requiring no maintenance.
Once the IT department and business team deem the site ready to include e-commerce optimization software, key functionalities the project manager should look for are:
• Intelligent mining of large data sets – This offers real-time, automated, intelligent predictive suggestions.
• Performance-based models – Empower retailers to invest in the future by developing their online presence now, while keeping costs low and building their brand.
• Landing page optimization – Directs consumers to the specific page of the product being searched, presenting the merchandise most likely to appeal to shoppers.
It is crucial in today’s economic climate that online retailers employ strategies expressly designed to mitigate costs and optimize resources at hand. Instituting a social behavioral system that can be deployed in days rather than weeks ensures shoppers are greeted with personalized treatment and individualized care in time for the holiday shopping season, which will also begin laying the foundation for future retailing success.
Amid the current economic crisis, some retail experts believe that retailers aiming at wooing more consumers into the store during the upcoming holiday season may want to provide the layaway payment plan to needy consumers. This plan will allow shoppers to reserve craved merchandise while unable to pay right away. The layaway plan may have several benefits to retailers offering them:
First, with its help, certain customers would be able to buy the merchandise that they would otherwise not be able to, and that would translate into more sales. Furthermore, the customer may evermore appreciate the additional service, as this purchase might be one of major emotional and psychological import, such as a wedding ring. When good times come, the appreciative shopper may pay back to the store by becoming a more loyal customer.
Second, the customer would need to pay at least one more trip to the retailer to pick up the merchandise once all payments are made. This means more traffic into the store and chances are that the shopper will purchase some additional products, while there on the second trip. Increased store traffic will also have psychological impacts on other shoppers and even on store employees. In this holiday season, store traffic is a hot commodity for retails large and small.
Third, the layaway plan offers a less risky financing alternative to the retailer than does store credit card issuance, because the retailer sets the rules and the regulations are not as stringent as in the case of credit card issuance and compliance is easier. In the case of approving credit cards, the borrower could default on payments and declare bankruptcy, causing major losses to issuers. Whereas in layaway, the retailer can simply forfeit the deposit and return the laid-away merchandise back to the store shelf.
Fourth, this plan is all about providing delayed gratification to the consumers (and their beloved ones for gift purchases) and will encourage the customers to do more responsible budgeting. In this way, I consider the layaway plan a socially responsible response to the economic crisis, given that reckless spending among consumers and homebuyers is widely regarded as one of root causes for the crisis.
For the downside, instituting the plan might involve personnel, legal and administrative expenses for the retailer—and unless demand for the service is sizable, the expenses may be hard to justify. Also, a successful and well-utilized layaway plan may necessarily cause strain on the inventory space and make some merchandise unavailable to those shoppers who are able to pay on the spot. Finally, this plan may make most sense in geographic areas where the impacts of the economic crisis have taken a bigger toll.
Direct response professionals are taking the mainstream media by storm, informing consumers about the cost saving benefits provided by DR and e-commerce in a shaky economy.
A.J. Khubani, president of CEO of Telebrands Corporation, visits “The View.†And no- there’s no politically charged conversations here!
Click here to watch as Michael Rubin, CEO of GSI Commerce, is interviewed on CNBC regarding the strength of e-commerce during the economic downturn.
Mobile devices like the iPhone and G1 are letting consumers take advantage of the growing number of high-speed networks, an opportunity that e-commerce retailers are recognizing as users are increasingly using websites for shopping from mobile devices. Some people are even using their mobile devices as their primary online browser.
Retailers know that if there was ever a time to keep their customers happy it’s now. They also know that finding new customers costs more time, resources and money than keeping existing customers. One way retailers are trying to keep economy-squeezed consumers satisfied is with discounts, and the key to effective discounting — without sacrificing ROI — is understanding your customers’ needs and motivations.
E-mail marketing is an effective marketing method with a very high ROI. Unfortunately, spammers and scammers have made it more difficult for legitimate senders to get their e-mails past Internet Service Provider (ISP) junk filters and into the inbox, while consumers are all too ready to hit the spam button. The good news is there are steps you can take to avoid the spam label and increase your e-mail marketing effectiveness.
Retailers are facing one of the toughest economies in recent history. Experts predict that the first half 2009 will be dismal in regard to consumer spending. Therefore, retailers need to work even harder to engage their existing customers in order to stay top-of-mind during what is likely to be a difficult first quarter. Now, in the wake of a challenging holiday season, businesses must re-think, revamp and reinvigorate their marketing mix in order to succeed in the coming months.
We’ve heard the reports, seen the numbers and heard the ba humbug! This past holiday season was one of the most dismal for retailers in years. Stores were slashing their prices to get rid of merchandise and still weren’t seeing the sales of years past. So how does a company compete and distinguish itself in such a tough economy? Obviously, red-lined prices aren’t making an impact, but great customer service leaves a lasting impression.
Recently, I opened up my community newspaper to learn that my favorite shoe store was going out of business—another victim of the economic meltdown. Another blow came a few days later when my husband and I drove to one of our favorite neighborhood restaurants only to be greeted by a sign on the door that read: Thank you for allowing us to serve you these past few years. Unfortunately, we have closed our doors. 
Many retailers have learned how to leverage their data to help identify opportunities to increase their share-of-wallet by cross-selling additional products and services to established customers. Yet many retailers remain disappointed with the results of their cross-selling efforts to deepen and broaden their relationships with established customers. Response rates have remained flat or actually declined. Average order sizes remain unchanged or are actually decreasing. Tinkering with the current approach will no longer provide incremental improvements — 2009 is the year to build a new foundation for your cross-selling strategy, based on four cornerstone concepts:
Retailers know all about the importance of effectively merchandising their end-caps, shelves, and racks to provide in-store shoppers with key “why to buy†messages, but when it comes to translating some of these approaches in the online world, most are failing to provide shoppers with the same level of attention.
It is clear that for online retailers to remain competitive during this holiday season, their sites must offer personalized recommendation engines, product reviews, live chat and a host of other features supported by social behavioral platforms. Consumers are driving this demand, and to ensure they continue to return to a site, they must have access to the technologies they have come to rely on.
Amid the current economic crisis, some retail experts believe that retailers aiming at wooing more consumers into the store during the upcoming holiday season may want to provide the layaway payment plan to needy consumers. This plan will allow shoppers to reserve craved merchandise while unable to pay right away. The layaway plan may have several benefits to retailers offering them:
