Tuesday, February 16, 2010
The blizzard conditions that have hammered over one third of the U.S. have most grade-schoolers thinking about days and weeks of no school and tons of sledding. But the execs of many retail outlets, convenience store chains, and even the representatives on Capitol Hill have a little bit more bleak outlook. While sales of bread, milk, and of course sledding gear are likely sky-rocketing, on the whole, snow days are not good for the economy.

First of all, travel is down for obvious reasons. So, of course fuel sales are down, but in fact c-stores don't make most of their money on fuel sales. It's the peripheral items that make their businesses float. And, while fewer people are driving, that means less Little Debby's, 36 oz. slushies, fountain sodas, and the like.

Other retail is feeling the same strain--especially in the midst of one of the year's biggest shopping holidays: Valentine's Day. When a blizzard struck Indianapolis on Valentine's Day two years ago, hospitals prepared for a baby boom in November. Do the math. And, while that may seem like a splendid way to spend Valentine's Day to the consumer, the retailers aren't so pleased. Most of the common Valentine stock is perishable--flowers, chocolates, cakes, etc.--cannot be stocked away for next season.

There are other economic indicators that dip during a blizzard, too. New home construction hits a stand-still. Home sales are postponed due to the inability to show, list, and even perform inspections for closings. Countless businesses lose days and weeks of valuable productivity. And, as Reuters reported, local and state municipalities are asking for federal aid to cover the cost of digging out.

But this is common to any snow storm. The phenomenon with this most recent onslaught of snow is how widespread it is. We're not talking about one mall, one city, or on region seeing a slow-down for a few days. This blizzard has affected over a third of the nation, and 8 of the 10 most populous states in the Union.

The snow may be melted by March, but it will be 3rd quarter before the full economic impact can be measured.

Labels: C-store, Convenience Stores, Economy, Retail, Snow Storm

posted by Nick Carter at 4:53 AM Link to this Article  1 Comments

Thursday, February 4, 2010
When the average consumer thinks of wireless broadband, they consider it synonymous with mobile broadband. Wireless and Mobile devices are so tightly interwoven in our day-to-day lives, we naturally assume that anything wireless implies that it is mobile and vice-versa. In fact, I had to be corrected on numerous occasions when I first joined the Accel Networks team. I had to change the way I thought about wireless broadband.

Or did I? The truth about fixed wireless broadband is that it still shares much of the same benefits associated with so-called "mobile" broadband. Of course, as the name clearly says, it is fixed. It is provisioned for one location and, although the last-mile connection is serviced wirelessly, it functions within the c-store, retail store, kiosk, or what-have-you in much the same way as wired broadband solutions do.

So why not drop the mobile connotations altogether? Well, consider for a moment what mobile broadband effectively accomplishes. I'm at home, pull out my smart phone, pop open a browser. Instantly, I'm assigned an IP address (if one isn't already assigned) and routed to the internet via the nearest cell tower. I slide it into my pocket and drive to my in-laws for dinner, pull it out, and repeat. What's happening? I'm effectively provisioning a connection all over again, and in real-time.

Ask yourself this: how many times does a small business move locations? Tier-2 office spaces offer 1 or 3 year lease options because of the agility that growing businesses need. Even retail is always vying for the better location, and if a high-traffic corner can be had you'll break the most costly lease to get there. Or consider expanding businesses entering new markets, new locations, new strip-malls, emerging communities, etc.

How long does it take to get these new locations online and running when copper cable has to hit the d-box, then the punch panel, before finally getting the POS system onto the company network.

Perhaps "mobility" is not the right term, but the business concepts that come to mind are very reminiscent of mobile applications: agility, flexibility, speed of transition, and of course (as Verizon and AT&T are warring over in advertising today) the ubiquitous nature of the network.

So, the next time you get corrected over the jargon -- mobile vs. fixed wireless -- consider this: fixed wireless broadband is anything but immobilized.

Labels: C-store, Fixed Wireless Broadband, Retail

posted by Nick Carter at 8:37 AM Link to this Article  0 Comments