Big retailers are expanding beyond their lanes, are you?

Two stories over recent days reinforce the extent of change in retail and remind all of us in local indie retail to consider change as well.

As I have written here previously, trading outside what has been traditional for your retail business is key to attracting new shoppers, to opening the appeal of your business beyond what has been usual for you.

Yesterday, Bunnings announced the addition of 1,000 pet related lines.

Bunnings gears up to be dog’s best friend with expanded pet range
Emma Koehn

Hardware giant Bunnings is hoping shoppers will add dog food and toys to their shopping lists when heading in store as the retailer launches a significant expansion of its pet merchandise business.

Bunnings will throw down a competitive challenge to specialty pet retailers, which have boomed since the COVID era, when it expands its range from a couple of hundred items to close to 1000 products from late March.

This is a smart move because the majority of pet related purchases are habit based and habit based shoppers are tremendously valuable. Their regular shop is valuable in the context of what else a business operates.

It’s kind of I told you so but around 5 or 6 years ago I suggested the pet category to newsagents.

The other move in by Chemist Warehouse, into optical.

Chemist Warehouse and Peter Larsen join forces to ‘disrupt’ optometry industry

MYLES HUME
February 15, 2023, 3:18 pm 847

The first store in Melbourne is the start of a mass rollout to take place in the coming years.
Australian pharmacy retailer Chemist Warehouse has entered the optometry market, opening its first store in the Melbourne suburb of Malvern and appointing prominent industry figure Mr Peter Larsen as its managing director.

On 15 February, Optometrist Warehouse announced it had opened its first location at 120 Glenferrie Road, with plans to “disrupt the industry” in the coming years.

“Initial expansion plans include the opening of a handful of stores in 2023, followed by a mass network rollout which will see Optometrist Warehouse become a household name and the go-to optometry service provider within the Australian market,” a press release stated.

I noticed the Chemist Warehouse move as one of their first locations is two doors from one of my shops.

These are thought out moves, designed to reach new shoppers, to strengthen existing, well-established, businesses. In each case they target product / service categories served by vertical businesses, specialty businesses focussed only on these niches. It’s those narrow-focussed businesses that are at risk.

This is why I think it is vital that any local indie retail business draws shoppers for many different reasons, and not just the usual 3 or for product or service categories that we see are typical in a newsagency business.

So, my question today is what moves are you making to attract new shoppers? You have to have made or be making moves because you need new shoppers, especially new shoppers who would not usually shop your shop.

Across at my newsXpress business we have been focussed on this for years – the need to attract new shoppers, especially the need to attract and serve habit based shoppers.

It’s not too late. There are plenty of opportunities. The moves by Bunnings and Chemist Warehouse should wake some local retailers up, and help them see the opportunities out there.

Retail is changing in 2023 at a faster pace than in recent years. We need to change.