From the Co-Founders of The Retail Owners Institute.Tips | Tactics | Insights on the Business of Retailing.
This Year's Peak In-Store Shopping Days
So, when will in-store shopping peak?
With Christmas Eve being on a Sunday, watch for it to peak on Friday the 22nd and Saturday the 23rd. Why? Two main reasons:
The "traditional" reason: Those are the days when most men - and women who shop like men - actually do their buying.
The "digital disruption" reason: The deadlines for buying online and having guaranteed delivery by Christmas will have passed. At that point, the customers will show up in stores, and depend on stores to come through.
When the customers do show up in your stores, they are on a mission! Not browsing (they did that online); just buying!
Those retailers who are anticipating these changes will be much better positioned to effectively schedule their staff. You can schedule now in anticipation of the Friday-Saturday-Sunday morning crunch.
And therefore, having "paced" yourself and your staff, you will be much better able to deliver great customer service on those crucial, crunch time shopping days and evenings.
What better way to keep the Ho! Ho! Ho! in the Holiday Season?
You’ve heard about the robust sales numbers on Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday, right? Now ICSC – the International Council of Shopping Centers – has sponsored a research survey about Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday to delve into them a bit more.
And what they found sure surprised us. For example, who were the biggest fans of physical retail and shopping centers? Millennials. Yep, those "digital natives", folks ages 18 – 36 chose to make their purchases from physical retailers (or through websites operated by physical retailers) rather than shopping pure online retailers such as Amazon.
This looks promising!
"Consumer confidence hits 18-year high" is a welcome headline to retailers. In The ROI's view, consumer confidence is one of the most reliable indicators of retail sales trends.
And just as the Conference Board was reporting that their consumer confidence index was at the highest level since September 2000, the National Retail Federation reported that consumers anticipate their Holiday spending to be 4.1% higher than last year. This corresponds with the NRF's economic forecast of Holiday spending increases of 4.3%-4.8% over 2017.
Quick: Imagine an online shopper. Did you imagine a man or a woman?
Full disclosure: We thought that online shopping would be dominated by tech-savvy males. Didn't you?
Well, we thought wrong!
We have a mental image of a wide-open plain with hundreds of prairie dogs, cautiously poking their heads above ground. Looking around, they slowly realize they can actually venture out into the world once again. And venture forth they do. One by one at first, then more and more. Enthusiastically. Energetically. Excitedly bounding about, encouraging others to share their sense of adventure and fun. And that’s what we imagine is next for independent retailers. Here’s why.
A data analytics firm has identified four types of holiday shoppers, and advises marketers to have an appropriate strategy for each one.
Well, of course, none of this is news to retailers! But we think it could make a good topic for your next manager’s meeting. (And, it might be news to some of them!)
You've seen them, right? All the stories about how strong this year's Holiday sales are expected to be.
Meanwhile, the department stores – Kohl's, J.C.Penney, Macy's – keep reporting sales declines. And malls, seeing less foot traffic and fewer shoppers, are scrambling. So, where will those robust retail sales come from?
Pat Johnson and Dick Outcalt, The Co-Founders of The Retail Owners Institute®, have been called "The Zen masters of retail finance!" Since 1999, they have been assembling their proprietary content into a unique self-help website. The Retail Owners Institute is an unmatched resource that assists retailers worldwide with basic financial training, assistance and easy-to-use tools. Their engaging and empowering how-to resources about the financial levers in retailing are informative, fun(!), and retailer-friendly. Their promise: "Everyone will 'get it'!" Pat and Dick are recognized experts in strategic retailing. Working only as a team – Outcalt & Johnson: Retail Strategists, LLC – they have been consulting, publishing, and speaking professionally throughout North America since 1990. They focus exclusively on retail, or wherever retail is involved. They work with CEOs, CFOs, boards and owners of retail operations, as well as manufacturers or wholesalers expanding into retail. And they also are Retail Turnaround Experts.
Since 1999, empowering retailers and store owners to "Turn on your financial headlights!"