You’d have to be living under a rock to not be aware of challenging economic conditions being reported on daily. We are seeing the daily reporting play out in retail with people being more careful on what they spend. The number of people emailing and dropping in resumes to retailers has spiked over the last month. We receive resumes here at the office daily, way more than in years.
It’s a challenging economy. FYI, here is some of our advice I have shared with retailers:
- The current economic conditions are not normal. You cannot trade as if they are normal.
- Where possible, pitch Australian made. This lands well everyday, and especially in times of higher unemployment.
- Show value through a loyalty offer with cash off the next purchase. Cash is better understood than points, and big business competitors can’t compete.
- Stock what you know sells for you. Typically, your top 25 sellers are out of stock 20% of the time.
- Make the in-store experience happy and welcoming.
- Quit dead stock. If it’s not sold in 6 months, why is it on your shelves?
- Expand the appeal of your business with products you’ve never stocked before and pitch them outside your business.
- Reset the front 3 metres of your shop weekly. Give the shop a fresh feel.
- Ensure every hour of labour cost on your roster delivers value.
- Ask a supplier pitching a new product these questions:
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- Who is the customer?
- How can I reach them?
- How valuable are they to me over a year?
- How many Google searches are there in Australia every month for this product?
- When they search, what is the search text?
I mention this because suppliers, too, need to adjust their businesses to reflect the economic conditions.
On top of what you read and feel about the economy, retailers have just had to absorb a 3.75% wage increase and a .5% superannuation contribution increase. Add to this a minimum 5% annual increase in rent and a 33% increase in insurance and you can get a sense of the stress some will be under.
Suppliers can help by:
- Ensuring stockists are listed on your website.
- Linking to stockist websites from your website. Backlinks this are valuable.
- Promoting your stockists regularly on social media.
- Ensuring every contact has commercial value to the retailer.
Anything suppliers can do to help newsagents and other retailers make their businesses more valuable is appreciated.
The alternative to the action for retailers and suppliers noted here is to do nothing, to treat things as business as usual. That’s not a smart move in my opinion. Whether our businesses are experiencing challenges or not, there is enough noise out there to indicate action is needed.