The Shopping Diva

The Problem

Women who love to shop (and what woman does not) find that their trip to the mall becomes an endurance contest as theyÝ carryÝa growing number of packages from store to store.Ý In addition to tiredÝarms and aching hands, security concerns increaseÝover bags tipping andÝspilling their contentsÝwhen set down in order to peruse the next rack of goodies.

The Solution

The Shopping Diva™ is an inexpensive, fashionablyÝattractive, light weight and uniquely portable wheeled valet which will unfold, set up andÝfold up again, with the ease of opening and closing an umbrella. It will also be similar in size and weight. The Shopping Diva will be manufactured of very strong, light weight, and fashionableÝmaterials. It will be available in a variety of designer colors and patterns.

Market Analysis Summary

TouchThought, LLC commissioned the University Wisconsin Innovation Center (UWIC) to do a new product assessment for The Shopping Diva. Their conclusion: "The Shopping Diva appears to be a useful and feasible product".

Their report stated that: according to the latest U.S. government census, "The number of malls and shopping centers dotting the U.S. landscape as of 2003 amounts to 47,103. The numbers for 2006 were unavailable but suffice-it-to-say the number of malls continues to increase.

The director of consumer research for publicly traded Simon Property Group, Inc with just 83 properties in ownership said they have over 2.2 billion consumer visits annually of which 61% of that number in 2002 was female. The also said that women age 18 and older accounted for more than 510 million mall visits per year or an average of 3.1 million per month. Women age 25 to 44 accounted for 334 plus mall visits each per year.

The manager of the largest mall in the country, The Mall of America in Minnesota said: "We rent ëa ton' of strollers and most of them end up being used for carrying bags not children." He estimated 10 percent of the customers shopping at the Mall of America use strollers or the Smart Cart shopping carts, which they rent for $3.00 per use.

UWIC interviewed a company representative for St. Louis Galleria, St. Louis, MO who said "strollers are quite often used for bag carrying". Referring to the Smart Carts and rental strollers he also said that "...5-10 percent of mall goers used these methods for transporting their shopping goods..."He added that he rarely sees any other type of personal shopping carts or caddies used at his facility.

These interviews along with others confirm what TouchThought representatives have been hearing repeatedly from women in every age demographic. They are using baby strollers to carry their packages or, they carry and struggle with their bags until they get back to their car.

The women we spoke with said "they didn't rent Smart Carts unless they had something unusually large to carry for a couple of reasons. First of all there was a fee for each use but more importantly they had to return the cart to the mall to recoup their deposit once they got their packages to the car. Walking back to do that and then having to return to the car again was not an attractive option. Sometimes they have to park a significant distance from the cart return area. The ones, who said they did rent the carts and did not want to have to bring it back, either ditched it in the parking lot forfeiting their 50 cent deposit or returned the cart before leaving the mall and just carried their packages by hand to their automobile.

Regardless, Smarts Carts use is very successful in many malls in America

TouchThought will target females ages 18 to 59, median age 37, in both the United States and international markets. According to the US Census Bureau, this market in the US alone is approximately 95 million. For the younger crowd "daddy's money" will likely by the Diva and the packages it will carry. Woman at age 59 will find The Shopping Divaô to be even more of a necessity as packages begin to feel heavier than in their younger years.

TouchThought will also target retailers like Macy's, Sak's 5th Ave, Nordstrom, Nieman Marcus, etc. who will sellÝDiva at a reduced price (their cost)Ý"with a purchase". The value to the consumer is now evident. The value to the retailer is having a silk screened or embroidered logo emblazoned on a stylish rolling billboard. The consumer will be happy for onlookers to know that they shop at "that" store while the retailer gets "free" advertising. Additionally Diva's design will enable teen oriented retailers like Abercrombie & Fitch, American Outfitters and The Gap etc to sell or give away a model with a transparent plastic cover designed for specifically for teens that will hold their own "statement". Some retailers may wish to customize "statements" on the Diva as an additional step to individualizing and personalizing the purchase.

TouchThought anticipates being able to offset cost and offer a better price point with the aforementioned and similar strategies. Additionally, "Advertising Budgets" are usually larger and easier to get into than annual budgets with fixed allocations.

TouchThought will reach this broad market segment with partner relationships through one or more well known designer(s) whose name is a household word and has established channels of distribution. As stated before, the company believes that The Shopping Diva's fashion component is as important to the success of the product as is the actual function. The trade marked name Shopping Diva will also naturally branch into other "fashion accessory" related products.

In addition, TouchThought will market The Shopping Diva through its website providing interested consumers with product feature descriptions, specifications, available styles, etc, as well as the names and location of retailers who carry the product. The company will advertise heavily in fashion magazines and on regional television commercials. Importantly, the will promote the product through a well-known celebrity spokesperson.