2012 saw an unprecendented number of retailers close or tighten up their store portfolios across a wide range of sectors, but are there any general lessons that can be learnt by retailers both in the bicycle trade and beyond? GfK’s Business Group Director Andrew Phipps provides some insights...
Comet went into administration, Best Buy closed in January and Argos is shedding 75 stores
JD Sports bought up some of the Millets and Blacks stores in January
WHILST THE recession may now officially be over, depending on which economists you believe, the challenge facing retailers in persuading shoppers to open their wallets and spend in their stores remains. Consumer confidence continues to stagnate at almost record low levels and the predisposition to make a major purchase as anything other than must-have, or in replacement circumstances, continues.
No-one can have failed to have been moved
by the sad demise of a number of established High Street retailers in the past 12 months and the corresponding impact this has had on thousands of peoples’ lives. The landscape is extremely competitive and the ability to take advantage of the vast amounts of consumer information that exist have led to direct price comparisons being the norm and price matching being almost a cost of doing business. As shoppers evolve, so must retailers; the
“For retailers to survive and prosper, they need to have a unique
proposition or the widest assortment of products at attractive prices.” Andrew Phipps, GfK
lack of a cohesive Omni-channel business is a cardinal sin in the current retail environment. Shoppers want ease of access to products, simple delivery or collection options, appropriate pricing as well as the ability to return in store if bought online and vice versa. There are unfortunately many retailers that believe that m-commerce is for next year and that they should not spend their time on such forward thinking ideas. In my opinion, this is a short-sighted view. It is no surprise that the retailers that have seen growth this year and continue to go from strength-to-strength are
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the ones that have spent time on creating an m-enabled website and distinct apps for mobile and tablet devices. It is important to recognise that everyone with a smartphone has a shopping centre in their pocket; the ability to shop whenever, wherever and for whatever one chooses is an ability that would have seemed like science fiction a few short years ago. Being part of that shopping centre has to be the aim of every retailer in the land, and being in prime site in that centre, as opposed to languishing in the metaphorical basement, is key. Having a great website across different platforms is fundamental, but not helping people find the website via search is another sin that is, to say the least, disappointing. Retail will continue to
evolve over the next 12 months and it is an incredibly exciting time to be a retailer and in turn to
be a shopper. There is no reason why there should be more consolidation, but a natural convergence of retail via on and offline platforms should be expected. For retailers to survive and prosper, they either need to have a unique proposition and be a destination of choice for certain products, or have the widest assortment of products at attractive prices. 2012 may have been an Olympian year, but in keeping with the Greek mythological theme, 2013 is likely to require Herculean efforts on the behalf of retailers to further engage shoppers and to take advantage of any small flickers of growth we may hope to see in consumer confidence. www.gfk.com