A clear purpose of what your retail business delivers is key

You must be able to communicate what your retail business stands for and what your customers are to expect in order to be successful.  The more successful retailers of the present times are clear in what they do best, tell their customers "what they are famous for" and their customers respond with loyalty and passion.

Some examples-

Value
Poundland and Home Bargains stand out here for me, as they consistently offer good products at a great price and their customers love it.  You can expect average customer service, often long queues and no shop floor staff to ask questions, but this is the price you pay to pay the price you pay!


Quality
This is the success story of John Lewis and Waitrose over the long-term and especially over the last few years.  The long-standing guarantee of "Never Knowingly Undersold" is their tagline but it is the absolute quality of their products (and staff) that sets them apart.


Getting the fashion trends "just right"
Now this is more difficult to put your finger on, but Next and Zara have hit the nail on the head, year after year.  They produce what their customers want to wear and their growth and sales have followed.


Loyalty
I have marked this as what a retailer can stand for as Tesco with their Clubcard and Boots with their Advantage Card have built loyal customers through their store card schemes, even though they lack in certain other areas (in my view, Tesco with service and Boots with price.)


Expertise
Their are certain retailers that are just accepted or known as the experts or leaders in a certain area.  If you want to buy sports gear then you will more than likely end up in Sports Direct.

All of these companies named have posted great results over the years and they, their staff and their customers are very clear in what they get from their shopping experience.

Ensure that you and your team have a strong, solid idea of what you want to be famous for and  communicate this clearly and consistently to your customers with your everyday conversations with your customers, your marketing and your social media presence.

Recycling empty shops is key to the future vibrancy of the High Street

The below article on the Management Today website seems to bemoan the fact that the High Street has spawned Charity Shops and Betting Chains, but the picture is much more complicated than that-

http://www.managementtoday.co.uk/news/1286363/high-street-shop-closures-dropped-80-last-year/

There needs to be a progression away from shops that sell products or services that we can find cheaper and easier online towards places that offer an experience. product or service that we would rather see or circumstances dictate that we can't do online.  On the "Risers" side of the chart are great examples of this-

Hotels
Although we mainly book these online (see the decline in travel agents on the "Fallers" side of the chart) we can't stay in a virtual hotel.  Good quality basic accommodation at competitive prices will always attract visitors to the correct locations.  The success of Travelodge and Premier Inn are testament to this.  Having a budget hotel in or near your High Street will provide you with extra trade.

Convenience Stores
We buy this at our convenience, as the name states, so it's not a pre-planned online purchase.  As the supermarkets develop their Click & Collect offerings via convenience stores then this area will get bigger and bigger.

Cheque Cashing
This has similar background to convenience stores, as there is a shorter run-up to this decision and the nature of the business and clients lead this to being a face-to-face transaction.  As technology develops, this may be an area that could go online, as was reported last year, with banks allowing customers using technology to pay in cheques.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/treasury-unveils-smart-way-to-cash-a-cheque-take-a-photo-on-your-phone-and-mail-to-the-bank-9025350.html

Sports Goods Shops
I feel this one area is on the list due to the expansion of Sports Direct over the last year.

Bookmakers
This is the growth area that I find most startling on this list. And with the advent of virtual gaming machines on your smartphone and online betting accounts that you can access from anywhere, is the one area that I don't see being a long-term upward trend.

The areas that have seen falls are areas that have seen a large growth online, such as travel agents, recruitment agents, video libraries and photographic stores.  This will only continue, but regeneration of our High Street into something that is fit for purpose in the modern World is essential.  I have mentioned Click & Collect before, and this is a great way of combining online and High Street parts of a business.  It combines the best parts of the online experience (convenience and price) and removes the worst part (paying for and waiting for the delivery.)  If you are not offering this service now, then you must seriously consider it.

Online-only retailers, such as Amazon are rumoured to be setting up demonstration stores where you can try the latest games console, for example, then order it there and then for home delivery or Click & Collect.  On a recent visit to a shopping centre on a weekday, the only 2 shops that were busy were Build A Bear and the Lego store.  Both were offering an experience, like the demonstration store.  Offering your customer an experience, whether that's building your own soft toy or building your own Lego characters, gives them something m ore than a transaction - it's an event.

Another stores that I have seen similar experiences are Sainsbury's, where I was offered a croissant with jam and then told which croissant and which jam, to enhance my experience (and make me buy some!)

Then there are the beauty stores (Boots are good at this) where they offer you a makeover, show you online videos with make-up tips and then sell you the relevant products.

None of these things can be experienced online!

Not everything can be bought on the High Street - Kindle edition of The Book Thief

The Budget 2014 - how does it affect the High Street? and Next's increase in profits

The Budget

The Chancellor George Osborne outlined The Budget for the upcoming tax year yesterday.  What parts of it affect retail and in particular the High Street?

Well, in my view, it's a budget of small measures to inch us further along the road to recovery.  The 1p cut in beer duty, the halving of tax on bingo and the revamp of the savings and pension rules will bring some people back to the High Street, which can only be good news.  As they have a beer, play bingo and sort out their finances, they will spend time in cafes and spend money in shops.  This knock-on effect will be marginal but will help.

There is also the slight boost for some retailers themselves in the incentives offered for expoirting and investment-

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-26642445

Next reports rise in annual profits

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-26660925

The biggest rise was in the Next Directory part of it's business and I believe that many High Street retailers can learn from their Click & Collect and in-store ordering systems particularly.  These two areas a great offering, where you can offer your entire catalogue to customers of even your smallest stores and have them there waiting for your customer to collect.  It works well with many retailers (I particularly like the offerings of Boots and the big supermarkets with this) and can boost your trading platform.

You can offer an online or in-store experience for a customer, for items that you may have to source from a supplier, may have in another of your outlets or may have stored away from your shop front.  You can have the great conversation with your customer, sell them the required items, and then have the item or items ready for that customer to collect at a later date.

Your returns policy needs to be a little more flexible with this approach but the benefits to both parties and the customer loyalty it generates is more than enough compensation for this.

This can be linked to a recent report that family financial optimism was rising-

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-26255705

My first ebook is on an Amazon Countdown deal. I'm so excited!

Some of the best days are when you just leave your team to do their job

As the title states, I think that some of the best days are when you have a team that you have trained, skilled and motivated to do their jobs to the best of their ability. Sometimes all you need to do is point people in the right direction and let them get on with what they do best - no interference, no questioning. Yesterday was one of those days where the operations guy knew exactly where he wanted to be after a heavy weekend trade (see payday weekend blog from Saturday.) The customer service team had nothing other to do than give great customer service and weren't hindered by taking on extra tasks. The shop ran well, sales were up and everyone enjoyed their day. For things you can't buy on the High Street - Kindle edition of Philomena: The True Story of the Film (Film Tie-in Edition): The True Story of a Mother and the Son She Had to Give Away

Do payday lenders have a place on our High Street?

As I looked through the BBC news pages, this article caught my eye.

http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/business-26382481

There are payday lenders on most High Streets, so is greater regulation a good thing for other High Street retailers or not?

For

Well, on a selfish level, there more disposable income our potential customers have in their hand, the more they have to spend in our shop.  Providers of essential items of grocery or personal hygiene products will welcome our loyal customers being able to continue spending.  In the UK we have little manufacturing industry, so a large part of our economy is driven by consumer spending.   The local plus it may provide is jobs for a couple of local people and rent for what may be a local landlord.

Against

In terms of the greater good of our community, money leaving local people as high interest payments and arriving in the profits of international corporations does us little good at all.

It may be our staff that are borrowing in this way, which if used irresponsibly then can lead to longer-term financial woes.  This could eventually lead to absenteeism or, inextreme cases, employee theft.

I am against the "Nanny state" and I think that people should be free to make their own decisions.  There is obviously a market for payday lenders, as they have become hugely successful.  This needs to be balanced with financial education (preferably in school.)

Not everything can be bought on the High Street - James Hunt: The Biography

It's payday weekend again

I suspect many of you have seen an upturn in sales towards the end if this week. Thursday and Friday are reporting good sales from local retailers here.

Make sure you're ready for this weekend.  Extra selling staff will make a big difference, as will staff ready to serve at the tills.

Your operations team should be prepared for extra replenishment and for it to take a little longer than usual, due to the extra customers.

Good luck out there!

Have a great weekend!