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The most important and impactful innovation to come down the lane, recently, for retailers has been the phenomenal growth of mobile. Smartphones and other connected devices that consumers can carry in their pocket have changed the shopping experience. For those of you keeping score at home, 38% of all Americans now own smartphones, according to current Nielsen stats, while a full 62% of those in the 25-34 age range do.

I’m sure most of you retailers have experienced customers in your store holding a product in one hand and an iPhone in the other. Perhaps you’ve even seen them scan the bar code on a product with the Red Laser app and effortlessly pull up a wealth of online information. While it’s tempting to get riled up over the thought of your customers  comparing prices online, I hope you can come to terms with the fact that there are few mysteries in shopping anymore – and that you can influence what they find online.

As a consumer, I’m an information hound. I want to know anything and everything about a product before I drop my hard earned bike industry dollars on something. Price is important, but as a recent Nielsen survey of digitally connected consumers found, “good value for the money” (61%) beat out “low price” (58%) as the top reason for their choosing a particular place to shop. While you can’t discount (excuse the pun) the role of deals and other financial incentives as a driver of new business, it’s not the only thing consumers are interested in.

(What influences your decision to shop at a particular retailer? – Click to enlarge)

For IBDs this is good news since the experience at your store is about so much more than just price and you have the ability to affect the value proposition with service, education, and your passion for cycling. Just make sure that you communicate this value to your customers where they expect to find it: online. Look at your own – or better yet, your kids’ – shopping habits for examples of where you need to be with your message.

There are new ways to influence your local customers with “hyperlocal” advertising:  Google recently announced that the distance between a person and an advertiser’s business location is now a factor in mobile search ads ranking. Think about it. That’s a really powerful new tool for your business to be able to direct your customers to your store.

At Interbike, we understand the power of face-to-face interaction, but the continuing growth and influence of online and mobile can’t be ignored. Social media and peer reviews online have influenced consumer behavior for years, but mobile puts that influence onto your showroom floor. You’re not done influencing your customer before he leaves his house anymore, and mobile can become an ally if you take steps to make it work for you.

Here’s a great recent infographic, also from our colleagues in the Nielsen family, on the mobile digital consumer to illustrate the current reach and influence of mobile.

(Click to enlarge)

I’d love hear how retailers are using these tools to grow their businesses.

Thanks everyone!

Bike Radar’s 2011 Interbike Coverage

Urban Velo magazine’s 2011 Interbike Coverage

VeloNews’ coverage of Interbike 2011

BikeBiz coverage from Interbike 2011

ESPN coverage of the show

Mountainbike.com’s product roundups from Interbike 2011

Bicycling magazine’s coverage of products at Interbike 2011

Bicycling magazine’s coverage from day two of Interbike 2011

Momentum magazine’s coverage of the City Style Fashion Show

Momentum magazine’s 2011 Interbike coverage

Bike magazine’s coverage of Interbike 2011

Huffington Post’s highlights of Interbike 2011

Transworld Business coverage of Interbike 2011

RideBMX magazine’s coverage of Interbike 2011

Outside magazine’s 2011 Interbike hard goods & components roundup

Outside magazine’s road bike roundup from Interbike 2011

Outside magazine’s roundup of 29ers from Interbike 2011

Outside magazine’s roundup of accessories and apparel

Dirt Rag magazine’s 2011 Interbike coverage

Bicycle Times’ coverage of Interbike 2011

Slowtwitch.com on Interbike 2011

Complex magazine coverage of BMX at the 2011 show

Pinkbike.com’s news from Interbike 2011

Gear Junkie on the best from Interbike 2011

MTBR’s extensive Interbike 2011 coverage

RoadBikeReview.com’s coverage of the show

Singletrack magazine articles from Interbike 2011

Lovely Bicycle’s coverage of the “transportational elegance” at Interbike 2011

TwentyNineInches.com roundup of 29ers at Interbike 2011

Vital BMX’s roundup of their coverage of Interbike 2011

Vital MTB coverage of Interbike 2011

The Outspoken Cyclist radio program on WJCU recorded live from Interbike 2011

SickLines content from Interbike 2011

Cyclocross Magazine Interbike 2011 coverage

Check it out on the Street Level of the show near the Pub.

The Circulus Video 2011 from PDW on Vimeo.

I arrived in Las Vegas yesterday afternoon and took a stroll over to the New York New York Hotel on the other end of the Strip from the Sands. Here’s a photo I took of their Statue of Liberty which has a permanent memorial to 9-11 along the sidewalk at its base:

Following the events of September 11, 2001, firefighters from around the world who visited Las Vegas created an impromptu memorial at NY-NY by leaving t-shirts from their home fire battalions on the fence that surrounded the statue. Apparently, several thousand shirts had been left by 2003 and the hotel subsequently donated many of them to the University of Nevada Las Vegas to be archived.

The hotel kept some of the shirts and built a permanent memorial consisting of lighted marble and glass display cases each featuring one of the shirts. You can see some of them at the bottom of the photo above.

On a side note, I have a personal connection to 9-11. My wife and I were scheduled to move to California from Connecticut (about 40 miles north of New York City) on September 11, 2001, as my employer in the bike industry at the time was transferring a number of us to offices out West. Luckily, we were supposed to be on an afternoon flight that day and, needless to say, we were only able to move west a few days later.

We’re coming up on our 10th anniversary of living in California, and we’ll never forget the date. Of course, our connection to the date pails in significance to that of the many families directly affected by the events that day. Our thoughts go out to all of them today.

Safe travels and we’ll see you all in Las Vegas.

SRAM gave 50 artists a box full of 100 components and asked them to create something with them. The finished pieces will be put on display at Interbike and then at a gallery in Chicago in October after which they will be auctioned off to benefit World Bicycle Relief.

Here’s a video short of one of the artists working on his creation:

Look for the pART PROJECT display lining the main aisle on the Street Level of the show next week – make sure to check it out.

Is there a more anticipated event than the arrival of your new custom designed bike jersey? The agonizing (arguing?) over the final design with your team mates or co-workers is well behind you, and now you’re just waiting for the actual physical manifestations of that illustration that you all agreed to. Well, for us, the payoff for the wait happened this week.

Several boxes from our long time (8 years now?) jersey partners at Hincapie Sports arrived, and were summarily ripped open. We’re super happy with the design that Jennie Brewton, our art director, came up with celebrating the 30th edition of the show this year. I goes without saying the quality of the jersey and the sublimation of the designs are first class. Big thanks go to the team at Hincapie for always doing a great job!

The new Pub will be a place where retailers and exhibitors can relax, have a casual meeting and grab a beer, drink or quick bite to eat on the floor of the show. The Pub will be located between the new street level Urban Yard and Circulus Velodrome. For more food options, there will also be a new Interbike Cafe also located on the street level show floor. I’ll post more food details as I get them. This will be a big upgrade to the dining options and also eliminate the need to walk back to the food courts in the Venetian hotel.

Here’s what we have lined up for beer choices:

Fat Tire
Blue Moon
Bud Light
Sam Adams
Newcastle
Stella Artois
Heineken
Corona
Tenaya Creek
Widmer Bros

As soon as I heard about Circulus last year, I picked up the phone and called Dan at Portland Design Works. It’s not trivial shipping a velodrome 1,000 miles so it took a bit to iron out the logistics. But we knew we’d get it done. As PDW co-owner, Dan Powell, just wrote, “Circulus is going on a little road trip.”

Along with co-sponsors Paved magazine, All-City Cycles and Yakima, we’re super excited to have Circulus at the annual industry gathering this year. What do we have planned? We’ll have open riding sessions available at various times throughout each day of the show. You’ll be able to grab an All-City bike from the pit and hit the track.

We’ll also have a couple of featured events – one each on the first and second days of the show. On Wednesday we’ve got the PDW/Paved Pro-Am Classic at The Circulus. Described as “Quite possibly the first annual celebrity micro-velodrome pursuit world championships, featuring stars and others.” More details about the event (and about those stars we mentioned) are still to come.

Yakima’s got the reigns for the Thursday night festivities, and I hear that it might involve some form of bike roulette… Stay tuned for more on this as it develops.

And while the events are nominally competitive, we’re shooting to focus more on the fun than on hard-core racing. Look for MC’s Chris DiStefano and Stevil Kinevil to keep the feats of strength in check.

This last Saturday, PDW hosted a little get together up at their place featuring Circulus. Hers’a little write up by BikePortland.org.

And finally, here’s a little sneak peak at Circulus in action:

PDW Circulus Promo 1 from James Wilson on Vimeo.

Where will you find Circulus at Interbike? It’ll be on the street level of the show (this year’s show is on two floors of the Sands Expo, remember?). Walk through the Urban Lounge near registration, through the new Pub beer garden and you’ll run into it.

But first, you’ve got to register for the show. You have registered already, right? www.interbike.com/register for those in the business of bikes.

WSJ journalist, passionate cyclist and frequent Interbike attendee, Reed Albergotti, steps in to comment from a cyclist’s perspective with the two other more mainstream journalists.

Cycling apparel brands: submit your pieces to be considered for this year’s Interbike City Style Fashion Show, produced in partnership with Momentum Magazine, by downloading a submission form here.

Drummondville, Canada – The entire FOX RACING SHOX RACE Trailer and FORD F550 Truck was stolen late Monday night 6/27, in route to the UCI World Cup event in Mount Sainte Anne, Canada. The truck cab is a white FORD F550 Turbo Diesel with beige interior, CA Lisc #. There are many distinguishing features with this cab such as all FORD logos have been converted to FOX logos, FOX custom embroidered seats, FOX instrument cluster and custom FOX footwheels. The trailer is a 28ft FEATHERLIGHT flip down door. The trailer contained custom proprietary racing equipment as well as two YETI bicycles, a medium ASR-5, and medium ARC hardtail. A reward is being offered for any information that leads to the return of the vehicle. The Race Rig was last seen at 6/28/11 at 4:30am traveling West on Hwy 20 just outside of Montreal.

Contact Jim Noonan at Fox with any news or information:
Direct 831.274.8346
jnoonan@foxracingshox.com