From the Co-Founders of The Retail Owners Institute.Tips | Tactics | Insights on the Business of Retailing.
You've seen all those comments, right? All the dire news about the demise of retailing?
It was 20 years ago this week that Amazon went public. Twenty years. And now they are valued at twice the value of Walmart.
As an independent retailer, this is certainly not news to you. The domination of retail first by Walmart and then Amazon is all-too-well known.
Look, we are not fond of what Amazon has done to independent retailers. But, we were struck by a comment by Jeff Bezos in a 2013 interview with Charlie Rose which we had missed earlier.
Bezos asserted, "Amazon is not happening to bookselling. The future is happening to bookselling." In fact, as you know, the future is ALWAYS "happening" to retailing!
Meanwhile, consider how Amazon is continuing to adapt to keep the future from happening to them. They are growing and evolving in wholly new directions – Amazon Web Services, supply chain logistics, air freight, drones, etc, etc.
Hmm. Might Amazon be sensing that there is a limit to what people will buy online?
They are opening their own brick-n-mortar stores, after all. Perhaps their "retail growth curve" is starting to flatten out, causing them to turn elsewhere for growth. Sounds like an opportunity for smart retailers!
Remember this: your customers (and others like them) are still there.
They want to buy things, especially with personal attention from knowledgeable staff.
And they want that in-store experience.
But...they will not give up the information and convenience that the web provides today.
They want it all! (Haven't they always??)
That is the future, whether or not you are ready. Don't let the future "happen to you."
Here's a revealing factoid from Bloomberg News: "Of the people who use social media, one in three makes a purchase every month through a platform such as Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest or Snapchat."
It's a trend you may not like, but heads up, folks. It's a tsunami!
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.
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?
"Are retailers eating themselves alive?"
That was the provocative headline we recently saw.
Then this followed: “Retailers' rising e-commerce sales are taking a big bite out of their brick-and-mortar revenues – a wide-ranging problem.”
Other pundits we've seen call it “an untenable dynamic for these retailers.”
“Huh?”, we scoffed, as we read this about major retailers.
The definition of retailing is “selling to the ultimate consumer.” Why does it really matter whether they buy from you in-store or online?
We are living in unsettling times of rapid change, magnified by news cycle drama.
Maybe it’s the latest natural disasters or the uncertainty of international conflicts. Or closer to home, aging parents, unexpected expenses, or just trying to open a new bottle of aspirin, life can seem more out of control than normal.
This anxiety and frustration can be unsettling to many folks, some of whom undoubtedly are your customers.
And frankly, as the frustrations grow of having less control, some people will seek more control wherever they can.
Where would that be? That’s right. Your stores. You and your staff must be ready.
Aren't we all sick and tired of the perception that retailing is terminally ill? While it’s tempting to simply paraphrase Mark Twain – “The news of the death of retailing has been greatly exaggerated.” – when dismissing the doom-and-gloomers, we think that Dave Gilboa, Co-Founder of Warby Parker, the eyewear retailer, summarized it more accurately in an interview last week on PBS:
“We don’t think retail’s dead. We think mediocre retail is dead.”
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!"