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There's a lot of optimism in the air these days. Covid-19 lockdown restrictions are being eased. More people are becoming vaccinated. Upbeat economic news is reported. Unemployment figures are improving. Restaurants are preparing for diners to return. And of course, given that we are now starting to compare sales results to the meltdowns of 2020, dramatic percentage growth is being reported and forecast for the balance of the year. These positive and optimistic news reports all are very welcome. Retailers are eager to see customers return. But what should retailers expect? To brace yourself for the myriad changes.
No matter where your store is located – whether in a mall, in a downtown business district, or a suburb, you undoubtedly have different neighbors.
In other words, everything has changed. Which means it is absolutely essential, whether you have one store, 25 stores, or 100+ stores, for senior management to be in a store each day, seeing for yourself what is happening. "On the selling floor, from 11 to 4" must prevail. Why? You must be able to respond more quickly to this new and challenging environment.
You will find yourself energized by all this, plus surprisingly informed by participating in the retail activity. What better way to "listen to the shopper"? The best merchants are also leaders of their organization, and lead by example. There can be an enviable ripple effect among your staff that will serve you well. And wear a smile. It will brighten the selling floor! Your customers – whether long-standing or new – will relish the results of it.
It's a given that your sales volume is a very big deal. Granted, you are analyzing it every day. But here's a slightly different approach which you may find very revealing. Let's start with a couple truisms. The definition of retailing is “selling to the ultimate consumer.” Retailing also is having "the right product at the right price at the right place at the right time for the right customer." But, as retailers ponder how best to manage sales in the current consumer environment, does it really matter whether their "right customers" buy from them in-store or online? Actually, it might! And here’s a simple, free "pilot project" to find out a little more.
Find out how revolutionizing it can be to have freedom from old merchandise!
This year, the stars align. The 4th of July is on a Thursday!
We see it as a gift for retailers from the calendar gods. Four days, Thursday through Sunday. What a great opportunity for a true blow-out sale event!
That message is emblazoned – in sunshine colors - in the windows of Nordstrom's flagship store in downtown Seattle. And yes, on a drizzly January day in Seattle, it was a welcome sight this morning. A nice pep talk for us all. And a fitting message to follow our reflections on the year we just experienced. Since March 2 of 2020, our From The Co-Founders commentary has been focused on the pandemics. Revisiting those was quite the "year in review" experience.*
That headline from Chain Store Age* brings smiles to retailers. Consumer confidence is a key indicator of retail sales, and this increasing confidence as we head into the holiday season is very welcome indeed.
But of course, there is no one-size-fits-all upside here.
The just-released "2021's Main Street Business Survivor Study" from the Pandenomics series conducted by the PYMNTS.com folks* focuses on the "Main Street Survivors:" those small to medium sized businesses "that have weathered the pandemic's fallout."
Vital lessons. What have these "survivors" done differently than the rest of SMB businesses? Here are the major findings of their study. We think that you'll see many of the survival steps you have taken, or be prompted to adopt some others.
Your results are likely to be consistent with these patterns.
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