John’s Blog

Retailers often tell me that the new channels of media marketing are too expensive. I often comment that the expense is in time not in material costs. There are various tools in the market place to help you keep marketing costs down. One that should be in all our data bases for when we need it is Fiverr.com As the name suggests this is where you can get selected tasks

A recent research report highlighted that consumers are coming more cautious. According to research by Brainmales. 65% are saying Do I really need it 61% Looking for the best price 46% Are planning purchases 46% Buying less when they go shopping More are online shopping and the reasons are 75% believe it is cheaper 74% convenient 67% Can compare prices more easily Plus 30% of women hate shopping because of

A White paper has just been released by Brainmales on the challenges retailers are facing. The key 5 are 1 – Volatile Global Economy 2 – Rise in Online Shopping 3 – Increasing use and penetration of mobile devices 4 – Competition from International retailers 5 – Delivery of substandard customer experiences Three of these challenges are under your control and many retailers need to be focused on them.

Over the last three months I have been working with retailers across Europe and the Americas and I feel we are starting to see changes take place in retail land. I had the opportunity to spend some time in Ireland a country that has been particularly hit by the global financial crisis over recent years. The last time I visited the country the retailers were feeling that they could not

I have spend the last few days in the Netherlands working with retailers. The Dutch have an eye for detail when it comes to retailing. I visited a bed retailer and love this sign ….. a wake up call for all of us.

The Czech retail industry is low on the sigmoid curve and therefore still looking at innovative ideas. The retailers are prepared to dare to be different. Something many of us are now afraid to do.

The Floriade in Holland, held every ten years will soon be closing. This is an expo dedicated to lifestyle retailing and the consumer. The Dutch love their French fries and eat them out of a cone. It is a common shape that the consumer is familiar with. As a result a Dutch bulb company has copied the shape to design a package for the retailing of bulbs. Lovely idea and

Retailers in 2012 have to deal with an ever changing consumer who is shopping in a different way. As a result we have a new trend, “Showrooming” This is where the consumer walks into your store looks at the products you have on offer and then takes a photo with their smart phone and compares prices with other retailers. You may feel this is rude, but it is not going

I often talk about attracting the 35 year old consumer, but according to the latest retail survey by Neilsen I may need to rethink my thinking as will all retailers. In a White Paper entitled “ Introducing the Boomers Market : Marketing ‘s Most Valuable Generation” it states that 50% of the market will be over 50 in five years in the USA yet only 5% of the marketing budget

I am a Facebook fan when it comes to using it for business. Having said that most of my clients are not using Facebook successfully in their message strategies. Hopefully the following tips will help; Fans are Passionate – Remember if someone becomes a fan it is because they are passionate about you and what you do Find out what they will respond to on your page .It could be

Hells Gate in British Columbia is a tourist attraction in Fraser Canyon, apart for being an awesome place to visit, they also have some interesting merchandising ideas in their shop. They use wooden boxes with flair. I like the idea and many retailers could do a similar thing

It is the fourth of July I time when Americans love to shop. In fact Politicians are encouraging them to shop. But what are they really doing this 4th of July? They are barbecuing rather than shopping! The average American will spend $191 on the celebration, down from $216 last year according to research carried out by the national retail Federation and Visa. Half of those surveyed will watch fireworks

According to Scarborough research on July 2nd 2012. This is what Americans have been doing around their home in the last twelve months. 27% Gardening and landscaping 26% Painting and wallpapering inside their home 13% Carpeting and flooring 12% Remodelling the bathroom 10% Painting the outside of the house The garden industry may be concerned that they have dropped from the number one hobby in the USA to the 12th,

The USA retailers are more confident than I have seen them in some time. They feel the consumer is starting to spend again and that the future will see an improvement in the economy …. time will tell. Working with retailers it is becoming increasingly clear that the lack of product knowledge training is affecting the bottom line. I have been in a number of situations where a so called

Fred owns an independent music store in St John’s Newfoundland From the outside it dares to be different, it stands out from the crowd. Each CD has a had written sign from Fred or one of the team telling the consumer what the writer thinks about the CD and music. He has new and second hand CD’s, in fact he has a treasure trove! He is an independent that stands

Take a walk past an Apple store before the store opens and you may see the team adjusting the products before the doors are opened. Except they are not just tidying the store up. They are adjusting the iPad’s to the correct angle ….. to help you see the screen … wrong! To force you to pick the iPad to look at the screen. They realize that once you pick

Father Day arrives in USA and new research shows the changing habits of the consumer. The National retail federation in the USA has been carrying our t spending for Fathers day. It used to be that dad got a power tool or some other manly present,but that is all changing. The experience driven gift market is where the money is going,the same as it did at Christmas time in Australia.

Travelling around the hills of Ontario at present in Canada. It is strawberry time and it is wonderful to see seasonal retailing in action. Many retailers have lost the art of seasonal retailing and the excitement that can create in the marketplace. Providing anticipation for the customer can help generate the marketing hype. Farm retailers have a wonderful opportunity to create this, it is something other retailers could copy.

Retailers seem to be doing it tough and there seems no light at the end of the tunnel. What do they need to do to grow sales? Look at many retailers and their approach is to reduce the price, but how long can this go on for? Working in the USA, Canada and Australia over the last few weeks, I have started to identify five opportunities retailers need to be

Over the last few months I have been promoting the importance of a “Bricks and Clicks” strategy in your business. This does not just apply to retail stores it also applies to magazines. Australians are the biggest buyers of magazines in the world but that industry is changing as well. Pick up a copy of the June, 2012 edition of “Better Homes and Gardens”. A magazine that already links a

Some ideas are so simple. Look at this sign I saw in Palmer’s Garden Centre in Palmerston North in New Zealand. What a great way to grow sales!

Tim Atherton, the Financial presenter was at the same conference I have just attended and presented after me. His advice was as a retailer you can grow your net profit by 25% and this should be your aim. How do you do that? Increase your average sale by 1%, plus increase your customer count by 1%. Increase your conversion rate by 1% and reduce your costs by 1%. In challenging

Today I had the opportunity to walk around Sydney looking at the retailing taking place. It became clear retailers are being faced with making a decision. A decision which has three options; Option One – Do nothing and face the consequences. The consequences for many retailers is a slow death! Option Two – Play the discount game and sell a commodity at a price. All the text books will tell

Attending a conference on the Gold Coast, Australia, has highlighted to me how important Product Placement is in relation to product messaging .Coca Cola was used as an example and that they like 8 messages on the product before the customer gets to the product. They have found this increases sales dramatically. How many retailers and suppliers have a carefully planned strategy on product messaging and product placement. I still