November 2011

Now that we are getting used to online shopping, the online shopping companies are popping up on Main Street. eBay have opened a store in Dean Street in London and in New York and they plan to keep them open until Christmas. Customers need a smart phone if they plan to shop. The consumer looks […]

When I left Canada the other day I had to use the self check in to get my ticket at the airport. I have just been to Sainsbury’s in the UK supermarket and with some hesitation I went to the self check out desk with my goods. Self checkouts in retailing have been around in

The key to retailing and marketing is to stand out. Take a traditional idea and do it in a different way. The Christmas tree is a traditional icon. At St Pancras railway station they have always had the traditional Christmas tree in the foyer. The same again this year. A 12 metre high tree dominates

I love simple retail ideas. I discovered this one in Canada. A store has a policy of if they see a male and female partner shopping and the women looks at product, but fails to purchase of simply taking a company business card and passing it discretely to the male partner as a Hint card.

A few months ago Marks and spencers revealed they were going to redesign the inside of their stores at a cost of 600 million pound. This was exciting news for a depressed retail environment. In the UK Daily Telegraph on 22 November it was announced how this would be financed. Each supplier will be billed

November saw the release of a report by Symphony IRI Group in the USA that showed over half of consumers are now eating out less and cooking more at home. Clearly this is an opportunity for some retailers and a challenge for others. Some of you will be old enough to remember the original Betty

In presentations I talk about the power of the 35 to 40 year old consumer. These are often mothers with young kids and we all know that what mother says must be true. Research shows that what mothers use and recommend as parents are often taken up as products used by the next generation. Mothers

In my presentations I discuss how advertising has become less effective for retailers due to lack of trust. This week the Canadian Advertising Standards released a report which actually puts some figures to my argument. These results are Canadian and I will leave it to you to decide whether Canadians are different to the rest

The snow is on the ground and it is minus 10 Centigrade outside. The middle of November and the winter has arrived in Alberta. This creates a challenge for many retailers and in an upcoming Blog I will show you how one street, Whyte Avenue in Edmonton has set about making a difference. The next

Research carried out in Canada shows that in the lead up to Christmas the average Canadian shopper will spend 8 hours buying presents in a shopping mall and 5 hours buying presents online. This emphasises the need for an online retail prescience!