January 2012

It is equally important they know what you do not stand for. I am attending a retail conference in Edinburgh, Scotland. One of the other speakers has just come out with this quote which I remember from a few years ago. It is a very relevant quote for today’s consumer. I have just been on […]

On this tour I attended the NABMA Conference in Birmingham. One of the speakers focused on Night Entertainment and the role of retailers. Melbourne in Australia has an excellent retail night market and this was used as an example on how night retailing should be a part of the future retail mix. The keys to

International Retail Month started in the USA in 2009. The aim is to get the message across to the public that independent retailers are essential to the vibrancy of the retail scene. The key is Impact-Connect-Engage. The promotion is now spreading to the UK and Australia. This is an ideal opportunity for retail groups and

In my article on trends for 2012 a few weeks ago I mentioned that video communications would be one of the driving trends of the year. Well three weeks into the new year and YouTube releases new figures that highlight the success of this social media trend. Another one hour’s worth of footage is placed

There is a lot of information coming out at present about how the older consumer shops versus the younger. Both groups expect a different offer. I have just received the Great Cafe’s blog form the UK and this reinforces what is happening out in the market place. According to the HTA in the UK 55

One of the golden rules of retailing is knowing who your customers are and then addressing their needs. When you have a national or international chain this can be quite challenging as the easiest model to adopt is “one size fits all”. Tesco in the UK are about to change their model to improve sales.

Retail sales in UK and USA were better than expected over the Christmas season. This is a good sign for retailers. However this does not mean we should become complacent, there are still a lot of changes ahead. Retailers need to focus on the little things that will make a difference to the bottom line.

One of the main focuses for many retailers is how do they attract women into their store. Men are often neglected. Research carried out in Ireland by Jim Bradley revealed that when women went shopping with men , the average sale of the transaction and shopping time went down. The challenge is to either put

I am in the USA and after the gloom the optimism is slowly coming back. Recent sales figures for retailers is up and the consumer has turned the corner. They are starting to spend, slowly, but they are starting. Let’s hope this becomes a trend that is followed around the world. Trade show exhibitors are

Successful retailers are passionate The key is how do you show that passion to your consumers. I recently came across this promotion in Ohio which really gets that message across “Our Family, Our Farm, Our Life Pastimes Farm and Bakery” This is so simple ,yet I still go to businesses where there is no message