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special report


Monday February 4 2019 THE NATIONAL MOTORCYCLE MUSEUM, BIRMINGHAM


Countdown to Christmas


Housewares buyer turned retail consultant Caroline Rowell shares 10 observations and suggestions for the upcoming festive season


negative… and that’s before we get onto the domestic turmoil of the two major parties and of course, Brexit. All these factors play into how customers will be shopping this Christmas, from the level of spend to the type of product they will be buying. My main takeaways from this are: • In the main people will spend carefully this Christmas, looking for true value in what they buy;


• They will be looking for fun, innovative product that makes them smile or feel nostalgic;


• They will be looking for a release from the external pulls;


Halloween which - combined with half term - is a significant marking point, when families seem to metaphorically shake themselves and set about Christmas. I know that your festive planning will have started


A


before the last carol was sung last year but the key to any retail success is flexibility, and this is never truer than at Christmas (suppliers, please take note). So, 48 days to go until the majority of households


stir, what to do?


1. Review the market – the whole market “No man is an island” John Donne once said and unfortunately, no business is immune to the greater goings-on of the economic and political worlds. In short, we are in general earning less than we did 10 years ago, inflation is stirring, the international environment feels aggressive and


nd we’re off… at the time of writing, it’s 103 days until December 25. Interestingly, it’s 48 days until


• They will be looking to enjoy the Christmas experience. And the more they enjoy it, the longer they will spend in your shop, and the more they will buy.


2. Check competitors’ 2017 promotional activity Be aware of ‘what happened when’ last year, and have your responses planned now. There is little to make us think that there will be a great deal less discounting this year.


3. Shopping patterns change at Christmas Call it tradition, fun or escapism, but from the first jingle bell the general taste level drops significantly, and items that never see the light of day at any other time of year come out of customers’ cupboards, drawers and attics - and additions to them will be sought. This is truly the time to look through your


prosecco-tinted glasses when placing orders for must-have products and stocking fillers. Don’t dismiss any last-minute purchase opportunities.


4. Gifts are for every day, not just for Christmas It’s been a growing trend for the past few years, but people also want to buy presents with a purpose - not just gimmicks that will be discarded within 24 hours of unwrapping. ‘Form and Function’ is something that we used to


quote 20 years ago. But the likes of Joseph Joseph have made it mainstream now, and in doing so, have allowed kitchen product to be covetable. Aligned with the kitchen now becoming the natural hub of the home, serving as an open-plan room for family living, people are more house-proud of their kitchen-dining space and are very willing to accessorise it. With this in mind, look at your core range and how you display it. What are your hero products that


14 | housewareslive.net • HousewaresLive.net


you can’t do without? What can be pulled out into new positions on the floor to attract new customers - or indeed regular customers, who might be so used to their presence that they would ordinarily look through them?


5. Provenance & Experiences The Millennials are shoppers who are less interested in collecting ‘stuff’ but instead want to experience things, know where their product has come from, and know what the supplier - or you, as the retailer - stands for. This trend is perfect for independents. One of the biggest accusations levelled at online retailers is the anonymity of the process: you can’t handle the stock, you can’t taste the foods, and you can’t talk to the salesperson. In my experience, moving from a central buying


environment to working on a smaller scale on the sales floor of an independent retailer, is daunting but so rewarding Even on the busiest ‘event night’, the customers


were determined to enjoy themselves. They were happy to talk through a product, or their plans for certain recipes, or to seek advice on gift ideas for their gourmand son-in-law. I can’t think of an example when such an encounter did not lead to a sale, and then to further add-on sales. Regular customers then recognise you at a later date, and from there an ongoing relationship develops. Plus, if you support your local small producers and craftspeople, they are sure to support you in return with demos, tastings, small minimum orders and swift replenishment.


6. Stand out from the masses Narrow sourcing is a real danger to the high street. Customers shop around more widely than ever before, through retailers’ websites and their bricks- and-mortar offers. They will easily recognise the same product across different channels. Your opportunity is to take key products and range them in such a way that they present a different look to the others, ideally complementing items from your core range.


7. Make Christmas less intimidating Many people consider the whole Christmas dinner scenario too daunting and stressful to handle: the cooking, table setting and so on. As a focused home retailer, you have the


opportunity to convince them that the event is not beyond their reach, and that with the right


twitter.com/Housewaresnews September/October 2018


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