{"id":1523534,"date":"2023-07-02T08:09:02","date_gmt":"2023-07-02T12:09:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.practicalecommerce.com\/?p=1523534"},"modified":"2023-07-14T14:57:47","modified_gmt":"2023-07-14T18:57:47","slug":"lessons-from-bed-bath-beyond","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.practicalecommerce.com\/lessons-from-bed-bath-beyond","title":{"rendered":"Lessons from Bed Bath & Beyond"},"content":{"rendered":"

The demise of retailer Bed Bath & Beyond reminds us of the necessity to adapt to evolving consumer needs. Overstock.com is reportedly buying the brand from bankruptcy and adopting the name. Still, the giant home d\u00e9cor and furnishings seller was set to close its doors.<\/p>\n

The failure to embrace online shopping early is surely a leading cause. Covid-19 accelerated the slide as Bed Bath & Beyond fell behind ecommerce rivals.<\/p>\n

Change is inevitable, and flexibility is key \u2014 for any business, online or off. As I write this, shoppers’ needs are evolving. But how do merchants know what those changes are? How do we adapt?<\/p>\n

Start with these three tools.<\/p>\n

Website Data<\/h3>\n

Analyze how shoppers enter the site and what they do once there. This includes navigation, product search, taps and clicks, saving products to carts and lists, and checkout. Product ratings and reviews reveal useful information, such as consumer expectations and brand loyalty.<\/p>\n

What to do:<\/em> Track everything you can without violating shoppers’ trust. Study heat maps and detailed analytics. Annotate your changes in the analytics tool to track what works. Try to implement updates over time to more easily tell the impact of each.<\/p>\n

Studies and Trends<\/h3>\n

Reputable surveys and studies can identify product gaps and growth potential.<\/p>\n

For example, a recent analysis by Boston Consulting Group and Shopify of more than 1 billion data points across 220,000 online stores identified these top sales drivers:<\/p>\n