They say retail is detail - I often disagree

In my many years working in retail I've often heard the mantra retail is detail. Now in small local retailers, particularly when it's not a fast moving product or products, then this CAN be true - details can make a difference. In large retailers, discount retailers, supermarkets, corner shops, convenience stores, newspaper shops and the majority of clothing retailers then retail is not detail. In these case, retail is about being 90% at most-

90% of your customers served quickly

90% of your products available

90% of your customers asked if they have your loyalty card

90% staff attendance

And the list could go on.

So not very detailed then.

Don't be downhearted, though, because this 90% isn't an horrific figure. On one hand it's probably as much as your competition is managing. On the other hand it still gives room for improvement.

Now to get up towards 100% will take investment. Better wages to get better staff attendance, more staff to keep queues down, more staff and more stock holding to keep availability up, etc.

So the next step would be to ask the question -"what type of retailer do I want to be?"

One that keeps 90% of customers happy? Or do I want to spend a little more?

If you're a small, local, self-managed retailer then is suggest aiming for the 100%. It's being different that will get you noticed. It's really hard to try to compete on price, especially against national or multinational organisations that are bound to have much deeper pockets than you. Providing better service, a better experience at a higher price point is letting your customers know that you are different, you are better.

If you're a large multi-site retailer and you can't be at every site, every day, all day then 90% isn't a bad starting point. You can push your team on from there, starting with the store managers. Motivate them and watch this motivation filter down to the customer-facing team members.

You can have an online offering and not damage the High Street

I was reading this article on the BBC website this morning and it seemed to strike at the heart of the online vs High Street battle-

http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/business-30928438

Although it's difficult to fully quantify eBay as a direct competitor to your UK High Street store, there's more than meets the eye in what eBay offers. Established retailers have their own eBay pages where they sell off stock that is discontinued or slow-selling elsewhere. As long as you have a fix on the costs then there is nothing stopping you using the eBay marketplace for any if your products.

I have spoken many times on this blog about the advantages of having an online offering, especially when you offer Click & Collect as the main way of delivery. This gives your customers access to a range that you may not be able to carry in your shop every day of the week. eBay could be an extension to this - carry your full range, offer larger items as collection only and smaller items for postage. Amazon marketplace is another option for sellers of some products.

As well as individual retailers making use of the technological marketplaces offered by these American retailing giants, there is the question brought up about how this competition affects the future if the UK High Street. My blog is based around how I see the future of the High Street. I can see a massive challenge from online, I can see a massive challenge from overseas companies, such as eBay and Amazon, but I can see a bright future if retailers differentiate and if they can make the most out of online.

It's not a direct choice between online or offline, but the two markets will change. The main man at John Lewis has recently said that customers can't go on expecting to have items delivered and pay the same price that they pay in physical shops. This to me seems contradictory, even taking into account delivery costs online must have much less in the way of overheads.

Overall, I think that if you are an individual High Street retailer you can still stand out and be successful. If you differentiate on quality and service and use online to supplement your offering then this will keep your business vibrant and Click & Collect will help keep people coming to the High Street and keep that vibrant as well.

How do you reward your high flyers?

It struck me again this week something that has come to me time and time again during my time in retail. It's a question of reward.

Now if you're an entrepreneur, a single shop owner (as I hope many if my readers are) then don't start to worth at the word reward. The reward I'm putting forward as the most valuable is one that costs you nothing but time.

It's the simple "well done" or "thank you" and it's worth it's weight in gold. I witnessed this week a team member being told that their work was "awesome" and their area "had never looked so good." These comments had that team member bouncing all day and their work improve de enmity than the "awesome" level that had been achieved earlier in the week.

It's comments such as the "well done" or "thank you" put into your own words that make a huge difference to your team. I was a store manager a long time ago and it was part of the daily routine to thank every team member at the end of every day. The store doubled it's sales in a 12 month period. Now there were other factors at play here, but a team feeling recognised and valued were part of the motivation that enabled them to enact the other changes that made us successful. If the team were not feeling valued, they may not have been as receptive to other ideas.

It seems so basic, to talk to your team at every opportunity, but it's so often missed. I've worked in retail organisations where the store management team are hardly seen. They are office managers, who occasionally have to leave their office to pass out a task to a team member but spend the vast majority of their time cooped up in an office carrying out administration tasks or even less. In this experience, the team self-manage and tend to get the tasks done that they want to do, and some if the less favoured tasks just don't get done. It's a huge leap of faith to have in your team, to leave then to their own devices, and not one i'd take. I always want to have contact with my team and customers and I want an employer that empowers me to do that.

Have you started the year with a bang?

Calling all retailers - 2015 has started and those selling off all their unsold Christmas products have started with somewhat of a bang. Footfall has been good, the weather has been kind and opening hours have attracted a lot of bargain hunters, in store and moreso online.

Don't dismiss online. Remember back to previous blogs where I spoke about click and collect.

http://mytimeinretail.blogspot.com/2014/04/asda-gets-in-on-click-collect-boom.html

I have seen research by an unnamed High Street retailer that the average customer spends approximately a further £8 when they come into store to collect their goods. The value of this is immense.

If you haven't got your act together for 2015 then ensure that you start to think and act straight away. Get your team together and work out what you want to achieve this year, and then build stepping stones if a rinks that will allow you to get there.

Good luck!

What Traditional Estate Agents don't tell you: A guide to getting the most out of selling your home by Steven Thompson http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00I5HOJAM/ref=cm_sw_r_udp_awd_lhuQub1ZH8DHV