The Merchant Prince

Preamble:  I mentioned yesterday (click here) how I'd expect unsubs to come because I dared question the attention to detail maintained by digital marketers. And that is what happened. It's always interesting to learn the hills some readers are willing to die on.

It's been eight years since Retail Dive gleefully cheered on the fact that the smartest merchant of a generation didn't perform to "their" lofty expectations (click here). Management and Customers make those judgments, and you already know.

Have you ever worked with a brilliant merchant?

If you have, it's an experience you'll never forget.

I recently met a brilliant merchant ... just walking with this person for fifteen minute was like standing next to greatness. This person "was" her craft. Sheer excellence.

I was on a video conference earlier this year. No merchant. A tech person, a handful of analytics experts, a couple of digital marketers. Not one of these individuals knew ANYTHING about what the company sold. They could tell you that the conversion rate on the website yesterday was 3.04% and the AOV was $77 and the number one source of traffic was an Instagram post from three weeks ago. They were clueless what their converting customers purchased. Worse, they didn't care. "Not our job" as one of the individuals said. It is absolutely your job to integrate with your merchandising team to do what is best for your business.

That team needed a Merchant Prince to come into the meeting and kick some butt.

Until we have strong digital marketers who are allowed to Lead companies (this is a big qualifier, because sometimes they're suppressed from leadership positions), we are at a point in time where we need a Merchant Prince or two to pull us out of 60% off (plus an additional 80% off clearance items) as gimmicks to boost "engagement".