EDITOR’S COMMENT Jack Cheeseman
March 2023
ertonline.co.uk
10
into action! W
Spring
elcome to the latest issue of ERT! With Spring in the air and lighter, longer days on the horizon hopefully this will lift the mood of the nation after a somewhat bleak and bland Winter period. As I write this, it’s a strangely warm and sunny morning outside – it’s a taster of what’s to come
and I personally can’t wait! I hope you too are looking forward to a bright and buoyant season ahead. The Easter weekend is just around the corner, followed by three bank holiday weekends in May, which includes an extra one that is bound to be full of jubilation and celebration for the coronation of King Charles III – a hugely historic moment for our country and I think it’s safe to say that people will be in high spirits! What will everyone do with all their extra time off?… Shopping, apparently! According to recent research commissioned by Gekko, almost nine million adults are “definitely planning” to hit the shops in the coming months – and that includes 18 per cent of 18-34 year olds. Despite the doom and gloom about cost-of-living, this undoubtedly presents retailers with the perfect opportunity to reap the rewards and increase sales. And 19 per cent of the survey’s respondents also revealed they are likely to spend more on a bank holiday weekend compared to an ordinary weekend, equating to 13 million people!
So it seems that if there was any time for retailers to transform their thinking about retail and how to encourage customers instore, it’s now. Think creatively about how to enhance the customer experience and what you can do locally to be a stronger part of the community and create sustained brand awareness. In fact, our industry experts share their tips and advice on marketing best practice in our special Local Marketing feature in this issue. Turn to page 29.
After two years of lockdowns, working from home and limited social interaction, research and sales data would suggest that consumers appreciate now more than ever the benefits of a good physical retail experience. And we are seeing a big emerging trend towards shopping as a leisure and social activity, so retailers and brands need to complement this by providing an enticing and personal experience instore.
And on that note, if you think your store or your product ranges are the best in the industry, then now is the time to brag about it! Because entries are open for the ERT Awards 2023 – once again bringing electrical retailers and manufacturers/suppliers together to celebrate everyone’s exceedingly hard work throughout the past year.
All the usual categories have returned, including last year’s three new ones – Best Independent Electrical Retailer Shopfront, Best Independent Kitchen Retailer Showroom, and Best Industry Distributor – but as you have probably already seen, we have also introduced a brand new category for 2023!
The Best Independent Electrical Retailer – Custom Install award, kindly sponsored by AWE, will be handed to a dealer that has truly developed its brown goods custom installation offering in line with the growth of its associated product areas, and demonstrated how it has utilised the margin opportunities to develop its business. If you haven’t thought about entering the ERT
Awards 2023 yet, then now really is the time. All the information you need is here:
www.ertawards.co.uk. And I look forward to seeing you all at the event in London on Thursday 9 November!
Email the editor at
jackcheeseman@ertonline.co.uk What do you think ?
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