Tag Archives: Field Marketing

Apr 29 2024
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Let’s take this outdoors

As the great British weather improves our attention moves to making the most of every moment we can enjoy outdoors, in our gardens, balconies or public spaces with friends, family and pets. We do so at home with a view to bring the indoors outdoors and live alfresco to eat, drink, play, listen and watch. As a result, this change in habits opens up new trends for the consumer electronics industry and opportunities across many categories for all retailers.

With the advent of the bifold door, the garden as an additional room to your house is now common and therefore with more families spilling out into the garden, it’s not that unusual to see an outdoor kitchen combined with dining and living spaces which convert into entertaining and cinemas spaces at dusk.

So let’s start with cooking outdoors and the new appliances appearing on the wish lists of would-be chefs looking beyond traditional BBQs and wanting to offer their guests more than the usual fare of burgers, bangers and cremated chicken drumsticks. Peaking into the world of Grilling opens up a plethora of options for homeowners with buying decisions being made for a variety of reasons including their culinary ambitions, the desire to impress guests, the outdoor space available and of course budget.

The Grilling category includes portable grills, smokers and outdoor ovens and in the UK is estimated to be worth around £177 million currently and is expected to reach almost £200 million within 5 years, growing at a CAGR of 3.70% during the forecast period (2024-2029).

One brand leading the way here is Shark Ninja, which offers a range of innovative outdoor cooking appliances to meet the needs of many consumers and in doing so, enhancing their culinary experiences. The Ninja outdoor range, which has been marketed heavily over recent months, includes the Woodfire Electric Outdoor Oven, Ninja Woodfire Electric BBQ Grill & Smoker & the Woodfire Pro Connect XL Electric BBQ Grill & Smoker, which as the name suggests, features smart connectivity allowing the user to control their BBQ & monitor cooking progress on their phone.

Another area for growth is the outdoor Pizza oven market which is anticipated to grow at a considerable rate over the next 5 years. A number of brands are making their mark including Gozny, Ooni and Witt, all of whom offer a modern, convenient, user-friendly take on the pizza oven.  Together with outdoor electric grills, pizza ovens are something home appliance retailers should certainly consider ranging, opening up sales opportunities in other areas of the home.

One step on from the outdoor appliances are actual outdoor kitchens, something that frequently makes me envious. Imagine having an outdoor kitchen equipped with built-in appliances like refrigerators and sinks. Standard in smart Mediterranean villas for decades but now popping up in Acacia Avenue across Britain, this is a trend that for many who sell kitchens, may see their business evolve over time. Believe it or not, the outdoor kitchen category grew globally from $6.3 billion last year to $6.7 billion in 2024 and is estimated to grow to almost $9 billion by 2033.  

So once you’ve whipped up a culinary feast in your outdoor kitchen, what’s next? Well perhaps kick back and set the mood with a smart outdoor lighting system allowing homes to control and customise their setups with ease. These app controlled solutions, from the likes of Philips Hue, can be programmed to change colours, adjust brightness levels and can be combined with your music via an outdoor audio system to enhance the outdoor living experience. We all know that music adds ambience to outdoor spaces and all-weather solutions are becoming increasingly popular, with weatherproof speakers and sound systems specifically designed for outdoor use that are wireless and Bluetooth-enabled, allowing users to stream music from their smartphones or other devices.

To complete the indoors outdoors experience, CE retailers should be adding some outdoor TV options to their ranges, offering their customers the opportunity of immersive outdoor cinema experiences, day or night. The category is starting to build momentum and unsurprisingly Samsung is at the forefront with The Terrace which comes in both 65” and 75” screen sizes and is specifically designed for open-air use. Another brand to watch is Sylvox which has a much larger range of outdoor TVs. Aside from being weatherproof, they are also more durable and resistant to extreme temperatures and feature exceptionally bright, anti-reflection screens so you can enjoy your favourite content even on the sunniest of days.  Bearing in mind the high price points, the large screen sizes and the intended setting for these TVs, I would suggest that offering an installation service would be a real benefit to your customers.

So, British weather permitting, it is entirely possible to create a new heart of the home, outdoors. By transforming your garden into a living, dining and entertainment space, homeowners can truly embrace an al fresco lifestyle. As we head towards summer, retailers can capitalise upon the opportunity by complementing their usual in-store offering with something different, where your customers can let their imaginations run wild!

To read the published article written by Dan Todaro, Managing Director please visit ERT

Photo From Brown Jordan Outdoor Kitchens

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Feb 14 2024
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Love is not all around for retailers: 24 million will skip Valentine’s gifting

  • 54% of UK adults aren’t going to buy gifts this Valentine’s Day
  • Under 35s are more than twice as likely to buy cards, gifts and experiences
  • Limited spend and a growing focus on experience-based gifts should be cause for concern for retailers

New research from customer experience marketing agency Gekko suggests that Valentine’s Day is no longer the retail bonanza of old, with over half of UK adults (54%) not bothering to buy any gifts for their significant others, friends or family members.    

Of the 46 per cent UK adults that will buy gifts, only 13% plan to spend more than £50 on a gift, with consumers most likely to spend up to £20 on a gift (34%), so not great news for those big-ticket retailers. In fact, people are likely to spend less on significant others than they would on family and friends, which is perhaps due to the changing relationship dynamics in society.

Young love still drives Valentine’s Day with nearly three in five (58%) of those aged between 18 and 35 agreeing that it is important to mark the day with those you love, including friends and family. This age group are more than twice as likely to buy cards, gifts and experiences for loved ones as over 55s (65% v 31%).  

Another trend that was evident in the research is that experiences are becoming far more popular as a Valentine’s Day gift preference, with 37 per cent of adults saying they prefer to give experiences over physical gifts. This includes taking a significant other to dinner (27%) or gifting an experience like gig tickets and wine tasting (6%). 

This shift towards experiences suggests that retailers may need to reframe their strategy to rely less on the gifting moments throughout the year. More than two-thirds (67%) dislike the consumerism associated with gifting days and moments, with nearly three-quarters agreeing that retailers put too much focus on Valentine’s Day.

With most consumers inclined to purchase fewer, less expensive physical gifts, retailers are left trying to entice a smaller share of the market. A quarter (25%) of consumers agreed that discounts would encourage them to buy physical gifts, but ideas that would help make a gift ‘extra-special’ also appealed to consumers, particularly 18-34-year-olds. 15 per cent of UK adults agreed that product personalisation would encourage them to spend, and 12 per cent liked the idea of limited-edition products, increasing to 22 per cent and 20 per cent respectively amongst under 35s.

Daniel Todaro, MD at Gekko, said: “With consumers’ focusing more on experiences and creating memories with their loved ones, amongst growing disaffection with commercialised gifting moments, retailers will have to reinvent their strategies so that they can get a larger piece of the shrinking heart-shaped pie. And while offering discounts is one way to go, it would be best for competing retailers to avoid a race to the bottom. Instead, setting your offer apart can help to drive differentiation, with personalisation, limited editions and even customer service itself all helping to make Valentine’s Day work harder.”

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Feb 05 2024
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Fast Foward – AI Will Dominate in 2024

There is one main trend that has taken the world by storm in 2023 and it will only increase and improve its presence and capabilities into 2024. This is for some, the elephant in the room….AI. Contrary to popular belief, AI has actually been around for many years but not as prevalent as it is now, its resurgence has completely changed the game. From writing entire books and songs to being implemented into consumer electronics and domestic appliances to make the products more intelligent. If you take a look at some of the big players in the market you’ll notice more and more are adopting AI, whether this is for energy-efficient washing cycles or improving picture quality on TV, the use cases are becoming less niche and more general. 

2024 will see a huge shift in focus to implementing AI into many products, some that many may find surprising and will no doubt continue to enter every category. It will be used as a selling point, in the context of productivity. As evident with Microsoft who is actively using AI (Copilot) to carry out a plethora of tasks in a matter of minutes that would otherwise be considered either time-consuming or tedious processes. Alongside this, automation will see a rise in 2024, with AI becoming more intelligent and its capabilities increasing, allowing users to automate many more processes and streamline work, in turn making them more productive in a short period of time.

Integrate this capability with artificial intelligence, which helps track patterns in your laundry, cooking, and cleaning routines. This integration allows the AI to seamlessly update the software of your connected appliances, akin to updating apps on your phone or tablet. The AI features enhance efficiency, optimising processes like a more energy-efficient wash cycle that maintains excellent cleaning results through seamless connectivity.

2024 will also see the rise in sustainable technology which we saw becoming a focus in Q4 2023. The front runners of Google and Apple making their products either out of sustainable materials or providing continuous support to their products for years to come in an effort to reduce e-waste. Gone are the days when your phone would have a 3-year life cycle before needing to be replaced.

This scrutiny on sustainability extends to every device and appliance on our person and in your home and AMDEA, I think, explains it best:

“Over the last twenty years AMDEA members have focused on design and new technologies which have dramatically and continuously reduced energy and water consumption of appliances in our homes. With 170 million essential large appliances in the 28 million homes across the UK, the technology in each machine that contributes to mitigating climate change can collectively make a major contribution to carbon neutrality”

Visit https://www.amdea.org.uk/campaigns/sustainability/ for more information

Another trend that will be sought after by many businesses rather than consumers will be cyber security. With more and more companies falling victim to cyber security breaches with countless consumer data being leaked subsequently, 2024 will be the year companies double down and invest. Research has shown that one in two businesses fall victim to a successful cyberattack in the past three years with the cost of these attacks to the industry expected to grow to over $10 trillion by the end of 2024.

In the context of the independent retailer whilst you may think that these trends do not necessarily apply to your business immediately, don’t delay to understand their importance. Generationally the relevance of sustainability is huge as will the shift to AI in the context of improved functionality, ease and sustainability.

AI is our friend, not a foe. It not only helps us magically enhance the photos we take on our smartphones, it helps us save money on our wash cycle and improve our cooking skills and so much more. Get to grips with it and understand it as you won’t be able to avoid the conversation in the context of your range, sales process and customer experience. It’s going to dominate in 2024 and that was evident from IFA and will be again at CES this coming January.

To read the published article written by Dan Todaro, Managing Director please visit ERT Online

Photo by ThisIsEngineering

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Dec 08 2023
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Has Black Friday lost its gloss?

When Black Friday first emerged onto the scene just over a decade ago, retailers could expect queues out the doors, and on some occasions even fighting in the aisles as consumers sought bargain deals. When Cyber Monday entered the fray, retailers’ websites regularly crashed under the strain of excited bargain hunters.

While these events used to provide a boost across the board, there are now clear winners and losers as Black Friday discounting loses its shape and starts to merge into the Christmas shopping. With marketing and sales events starting earlier each year, is now the time for a re-think?

Pressure on retailers

It has been a tough year for retailers. Again, we have seen big names disappear from the high street, and for those that remain the environment is challenging. Increases in production and supply chain costs muddled with competition from big online retailers are reducing profit margins, leaving leaders with tough decisions to make.

Many larger retailers can afford to discount their products as brands support margins and economies of scale apply. However, it is not the case for smaller independents who have to take the hit. They feel they need to take part in Black Friday to compete, and unfortunately, this is adding to the strain they face in keeping their doors open.

Poor deals result in underwhelming sales

Those retailers who can afford to offer site or store-wide discounts are still doing well, but the deals available on Black Friday are not what they once were. Many offers are only applied to end-of-line items or overstock that were heading to the sales anyway.

As a result, many consumers are left underwhelmed. With the cost-of-living crisis, consumers have been spending more carefully than before too. While Nationwide announced a 2 per cent increase in transactions, Barclaycard transactions were down 0.6 per cent year-on-year, suggesting that consumers were happy to spend, but less comfortable with borrowing than they have been in previous years. This hesitation to spend means that consumers are often only prepared to spend on items they were already planning to buy.

The offers created are typically determined by scale and buying power of the retailer, so while large retailers can offer bigger discounts on more products, small retailers are forced to be more selective, leaving them with a smaller piece of the pie, or with severely cannibalised margins.

Lack of differentiation makes Black Friday pointless

We started out with just Black Friday – just one day of epic discounting – and over the years this has expanded to include the weekend, and the following Monday (which is, of course, now known as Cyber Monday), then the weeks before and after, and now the entirety of November, it seems.

Not only has the Black Friday discounting period expanded, but Christmas promotions, supported by seasonal adverts, also seem to start earlier and earlier. It is tough to see any differentiation or even a gap between when one event ends and another begins. Diluting Black Friday only serves to make it disappear into the ether.

The expansion of the sales window means retailers can take a chunk of the seasonal revenue in November as there’s no longer the frenzied buying for Christmas in December. And for consumers, there’s no panic to buy over black Friday weekend as they know there will be other sales, which is understandable and makes commercial sense.

Do consumers care if Black Friday dies?

Recent research from PwC reveals that online interest in Black Friday has dropped from 61 per cent in 2022 to 44 per cent this year. This is mirrored by Google Trends data, which reveals that ‘Black Friday’ as a search is less than half as popular as it was four years ago. With waning consumer interest, it’s clear that Black Friday just doesn’t hold the same intrigue it used to.

Rather than thinking about what we could do to rejuvenate Black Friday, perhaps it’s time to think about whether we should. Black Friday certainly isn’t working for all retailers, in particular independent retail, and it is starting to lose consumers too. It no longer delivers the same benefits for consumers: excitement, buzz and big bargains, or the same, sizeable sales uplift for brands. In some cases, it is coming at the expense of the customer experience, which threatens the long-term performance of brands.

Is it actually worth retailers’ time and effort? My hunch is that it has detracted from the millions invested in Christmas advertising campaigns that now seem almost irrelevant, and blend in as white noise as we skip through the ads to go make a brew.

To read the published article written by Dan Todaro, Managing Director please visit BDaily

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Nov 07 2023
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IFA 2023 – A Core Ingredient in the Evolution of CE

Once again IFA 2023 was the place to be seen for all technology brands and not just those from the CE category. With the show sold out across 26 halls covering 130,000 sqm of exhibition space, filled by 2059 brands from 48 countries, there is no other show that competes. IFA 2023 affirmed its position as the de facto CE showcase, forecasted to host 180,000 visitors from 144 countries over 5 days.

The fact that we have witnessed all markets contract in every category, shrinking by an average of 7% and in particular CE which is down 12.4% globally. The EU market outlook is looking increasingly positive at a more palatable contraction of 4.5% year on year. No doubt this is making the rest of the world a bigger problem for those whose presence is not as prevalent in the EU market, compared to other brands. The economic reality is that the globe is in a  Polycrises, a simultaneous occurrence of several negative global events such as war, extreme weather events, food and energy Inflation which is compounded by increased Interest rates and social unease, unsurprisingly stops people from spending. Therefore the need for a brand to increase its voice rather than remain silent is critical and to do this with a new perspective. Doing so through a new lens that better understands the pain points consumers are experiencing and appeals to the user’s pleasure points. Perhaps achieved through ethical practices, practical time and cost-saving innovations that help ease the pain on a macro level, rather than add to the global situation. That’s why IFA as a cultural hub, is so much more than an exhibition, its place is essential to the industry as the centre stage for the globe’s CE brands not just to brag but to demonstrate how to solve the problems we share as we coexist on this planet. Making IFA a core ingredient in the evolution of the consumer electronics industry.

All brands, big and small, were in attendance with 350 of those 3059 brands being CE startups from across the globe. These included all manner of concepts and categories and there were several robotic floor care startups displaying and showcasing, however, one that caught my imagination was Dreame’s Revolutionary Flagship Robotic Vacuum L20 Ultra with Industry First AI-Driven Mop Extend™. Which is definitely worth a look. However one of my most memorable chats was with the haircare brand SharkNinja and its ultra compact SpeedStyle hairdryer. The irony is, as a follically challenged man, I’ve not owned a hairdryer for 30 years yet I was enthralled by its functionality, design and huge potential consumer appeal, it’s going to be a Christmas wish list essential item.

The themes were consistent across every manufacturer and focussed on Sustainability – Renewables – Connected by AI and  Premium. Let’s start with the latter as while aspiring to be a premium brand is admirable there, in relative terms, there can only ever be a few brands who genuinely sit in the category otherwise it defeats the terminology of ‘premium’. It’s down to the consumer’s perception of what constitutes premium based on how much they are prepared to pay for your products and brand. What you and I may think of as being premium may well not be the view of others and is likely to vary greatly, depending on whether you’re Gen Z or Gen X.

These generations and to be fair, everyone now, wants quality as standard and brought to them at a reasonable price, as well as being produced ethically in all aspects including the manner in which those products are brought to market. Whilst GfK expects the global CE market to still be in the red by the end of this year, the trend is for consumers to replace appliances, as home tech becomes increasingly more innovative, making even those devices and appliances of five years ago look exceptionally dated in look and functionality. Today many want technology which most now consider commonplace in the home, not luxury or the unattainable.

Almost all appliance brands included smart connectivity in their product line-ups presented at IFA 2023, which enables you at a basic level of connectivity, to control your appliance from your phone, hub or television. Personalisation is the next step in the development of your smart home where you can not only change the panels and the lighting of your cooling appliances such as the LG MoodUP Instaview Freezer but also create your own wash program and save it as your personal wash cycle as LG have also done as part of their wider LG THINQ UP 2.0 concept. Taking cooking to new levels of perfection as Haier has done with the ID series featuring a unique style and the exclusive Bionicook technology. With the ID Series, you can not only view what’s cooking in your oven with its built-in camera but also see it on your phone or TV and the built-in screen on the oven’s facia. It’s opening up the options for personalisation in your home tech to meet the needs of the household to a unique level of personal satisfaction.

Combine this with AI, assisting in noting your trends on laundry, cooking and cleaning, which enables it to update the software on your connected appliances as you would update the apps on your phone or tablet. The AI functionality improves the efficiency of, for example, a more effective wash cycle so that it uses less energy while still giving you a great wash thanks to the connectivity and the hOn app which allows users to get the most out of their Candy Machine. Increasing innovation and enhancing sustainability credentials which for many brands also extends throughout the entire product, and not just its materials. With almost all brands now adopting a policy where a percentage of all products are made utilising recycled materials and not just its packaging. At the forefront of this message was both LG and Samsung who were championing this throughout their product categories. Taking the initiative a step further, linking these credentials into the aspirational brand qualities, which many consumers are now looking for in a true premium brand.

So what’s different this year is that people are asking more questions and drilling down on the specifics. While 74% said they will search online before buying, search data also shows sustained growth in terms containing questions — up 25% compared to the past three years during the same period — and searches for “which is best” and “where to buy” continue to garner momentum in the shopping category on Google Trends. Those searching online, we know like to shop in-store when it is a considered purchase. So make sure you feature on that where to buy ist.

Whilst the wealth of bands at IFA 2023 were vast, you could not miss one brand in particular whose branding adorned the neck of almost everyone with its very clever lanyard sponsorship. That brand was Hisense who was this year, IFA’s headline sponsor and gave the opening keynote delivered by its Global President,  Fisher Yu whom also announced the brand’s sponsorship of the Euro 2024 Football tournament due to be held in Germany. When you are a brand that not only makes TV but also appliances and applications, it’s easier to integrate your devices and with VIDAA at the heart of the ecosystem, Hisense products and its fellow brand stable mates can integrate via the VIDAA interface making the TV in your home, the hub of the household that connects your smart home ecosystem. Making the screen the focus of your living space where you control your appliances around the house via your Smart TV. With ViDAA now in 180 countries and connected to 22 million devices, the task for Hisense is perhaps slightly easier than it may be for other brands in the CE sector. Coupled with the shift from content to services the next step is how to monetize this conversion and its integration with responsive and predictive AI, to further enhance the user’s experience and lifestyle. Easier done when you own the platform and make the devices it connects to.

It’s fair to say that the outlook for retailers is exciting with increasingly more innovation in all categories and an enhanced social responsibility tone that now takes on many more subject matters. These include AI and sustainability which are now common parlance in the sales approach by brands to their target consumers, old and new. For those amongst us who ignore the trends that come out of IFA, do so at some risk, as these trends will inevitably become standard messaging across every category and brand within the year, not the distant future. It’s crucial for the success of all within the industry to embrace, understand and develop these trends to create meaningful consumer conversations.

To read the published article written by Dan Todaro, Managing Director please visit ERT

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Nov 02 2023
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Are pop-up shops marketing gold or is it time to fold?

Pop-up shops are literally popping up everywhere and they’ve been hugely popular with consumers, but can you have too much of a good thing?

And does it still work as a good use of marketing spend or is consumer fatigue setting in?

The Guardian today reported that pop-up shops have increased by 18% this year, no doubt fuelled by the plethora of empty shops around the UK and available at accessible rates.

But are they still working for brands? When there’s so many, do they drive intrigue, awareness or bring in incremental revenue, or have we reached a point of consumer fatigue?

Pop-ups require significant investment, so it’s crucial to think about the objectives you need it to deliver. If it’s purely an exercise in increasing sales, you may be sorely disappointed.

If your pop-up is in a high footfall area, it’s more likely to increase brand awareness and if your business doesn’t ordinarily have a high street presence, it can elicit valuable feedback on your product or brand.

And of course, pop-up shops are also a great way to create talkability and shareability on social media, offering consumers and influencers the ability to create eye-catching content that will see your brand splashed across their channels.

But to achieve this and avoid consumer fatigue, your pop-up needs to be more than just a shop. It needs to be creative and novel, relevant and aligned with popular culture, and add value to the everyday customer experience.

Inspired creativity

Think about how to pack a punch for your brand with collaborations that are creative, add that novelty factor and give customers an experience they can’t get elsewhere.

We saw this in the Summer with Anya Hindmarch’s The Ice Cream Project. Instead of hosting a pop-up shop to sell handbags, Anya Hindmarch came up with the idea of creating exclusive ice creams using her favourite cult food brands including Heinz Tomato Ketchup, Lea & Perrins and Coca-Cola.

Linking back to her village and café, it was clever, novel and had people queuing round the street. It had that all-important talkability and shareability, which raised awareness of the Anya Hindmarsh brand in general and the creativity at its heart.

Link to popular culture

In June we worked with sports lifestyle brand ’47 on a pop-up in Soho, just in time for two Major League Baseball (MLB) games coming to town.

With the increased awareness of the MLB, ’47 was perfectly primed to welcome fans of the US sport, giving them another way to soak up celebrations beyond the ballpark.

With no UK store, it was timely, relevant, and it fulfilled the unmet appetites of US fans living in the UK as well as Londoners intrigued by the spectacle coming to their city.

Plus, with the start of the NFL season in September the ‘47 pop-up is getting a fresh surge in custom.

Be timely

Ensuring that there is appetite for the type of pop-up shop you have in mind is essential. Do you have customers who will come out specifically for your pop-up?

Does the trend or pop-culture moment you are linking with have enough fans? If your audience will not be excited by your pop-up, it’s time to think again.

Recently, we saw SHEIN, the global fashion brand, opening a pop-up shop in Birmingham with queues weaving around the Bull Ring.

The brand has exploded in popularity, and it was the first time that consumers had been able to physically engage with the brand in the UK, offering them something new, and the added awareness and talkability created demand from new customers – the hype was immense.

It is particularly sad to see an empty pop-up shop – and if you don’t have the audience or creative for the experience to go viral, then you need to invest in creating the demand yourself with additional marketing.

This adds to the cost, so it is important to understand what you are trying to achieve and what success would look like in terms of ROI before you commit.

To read the published article written by Dan Todaro, Managing Director please visit MediaShotz

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Oct 25 2023
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The collaboration advantage: A new frontier for competitive businesses

When the going gets tough, the tough get going and businesses are having to dig deep right now. Whether it’s big businesses like FANGs (Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, Google) or start-ups – we’re seeing the business economic model in full swing. Lay people off, put more pressure on those staff that remain because of squeezed costs and paddle as hard as you can to keep your head above water.

As the saying goes, a problem shared is a problem halved, so why aren’t we tackling more of these challenges collaboratively? Collaboration is nothing new, but when we think about it within a business context, it’s often talked about as a people strategy – how do we get people to work better together to improve our outcomes?

So how can we work better together as businesses to do the same, especially within SMEs? If we look at this cross-sector – retail, FMCG, technology etc – there will be thousands of businesses investing money in the same things, whether it’s R&D, resource, product innovation, supply chain, marketing, national/international expansion, or business process.

Change the narrative

We need to encourage collaborative discussions to happen and change our language. Often when businesses meet, it’s one selling to the other, rather than enhancing the narrative of how can we help and elevate each other.

If we look at the way we physically work these days, with so many more shared offices, there’s never been more of an opportunity to collaborate. According to Statista, the volume of flexible office workspace in the United Kingdom is expected to have nearly doubled between 2019 and 2023, reaching 167 million square feet in 2023.

However, if you walk into a WeWork, TOG or similar managed building, I wonder how many businesses are collaborating rather than just sharing a physical space? We need to be bold and brave – if you don’t ask, you don’t create opportunities and facilitate a group culture that goes out and gets.

Never rely on Government

We’ve seen how ineffectual the Government really is at supporting businesses to flourish, particularly SMEs, including the hike in corporation taxes, failure to reduce business rates or even introduce an online sales tax to level the playing field with the likes of those registered offshore.

So where do we look and how do we take the initiative? Perhaps industry trade bodies can do more to support and, let’s be honest, almost every sector has one. Many are great at celebrating success, offering training courses and providing a forum for solving industry problems but they could play a far greater role in bringing organisations together in a commercial, rather than a ‘club’, approach to help solve their individual problems.

Ask your trade body to create a collaboration work stream and be the one to set it up. You may only need to ask one question and there might be someone right there, right now, that could save you a lot of money. It’s a way of moving from a competitive advantage to a collaborative advantage. We can all learn and win that way.

Start simply with finance and marketing

Sharing just one thing could make a big difference so start simply. Sharing financial and admin resources is an easy route into collaboration. But I really think SMEs are missing a trick when it comes to sharing marketing costs. Marketing is the budget that SMEs always wish they had more of – more visibility often means more sales – yet it’s the one that gets squeezed the most in turbulent times. I think there are so many ways for businesses to do this.

Social media brand collaborations on platforms like Instagram have opened new audiences for SMEs. Think about how you could partner up with a like-minded brand for a ‘real-world’ marketing campaign. It will make media far more accessible if you share the cost, for example, of an out-of-home campaign.

An SME doing this really well is the cereal brand Surreal. The brand is looking to disrupt the cereal space and recently partnered with like-minded businesses Numan, Cheesegeek and Gymbox for a throwback to Daft Punk in an online mock-up ad. Four simultaneous ads read ‘Harder, Feta, Faster, Stronger’ for those in the market for erection medication, online cheese, high-protein cereal, and an unconventional gym brand. It was super fun, and engaging, created a huge amount of talkability and was cost effective too!

If you’re purely an online brand, think about creating a collaborative pop-up shop that will drive in-person trials for your brand and product. Do it collaboratively with complementary brands that alone could never afford to be on Oxford Street. Yes, the busiest shopping street in the UK, is achievable.

If you’re on the high street, why not create a marketing committee that maybe works alongside your local Business Improvement District (BID) and challenge them to do more than just turn on the Christmas lights? Retail is 365, not just for the holidays. Get everyone to work together to fund a local marketing campaign, it could be a discount Wednesday or a 10% off day every month at every door irrespective of the retailer, independent or multiple.

There’s no doubt that collaboration comes with challenges but, if you pick partners wisely, with the same goals, culture, and values, it could be just what you need to develop and thrive in today’s tough economic climate.

To read the published article written by Dan Todaro, Managing Director please visit Business Leader

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Oct 04 2023
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‘Inevitable’ fall of Wilko explained – ‘atrocious’ online to ‘ghost ship’ stores

“They were occupying an ex-Woolworth’s size store with 2,500 square feet, if not bigger, and paying excessive amounts of rent, excessive amounts of rates, with very little support from the government,” Daniel said. “The average basket value was low and they were never going to make a huge amount of money as margin, when you consider all of their overheads including salaries.

“But they didn’t appeal to a mass audience and they didn’t make themselves known to a younger audience, who ultimately probably would have enjoyed shopping there on the basis that it would have fitted in with their budget, but it just did not appeal to them in that way. It puts shoppers off to walk into a giant store that is half empty. They could have sectioned off 500 square foot of the store and put everything in there to create a more appealing shopping environment rather than feeling like you were in a ghost ship.”

But it was ultimately their failure to have a strong online presence that left Wilko ultimately vulnerable, Daniel added: “Their online offering was atrocious, it was appalling,” Daniel said. “In the space of nine months, they borrowed 105 million pounds. Was there no consideration of that money that they borrowed to help develop that online proposition and create a new audience. You have to question where did this money go?

“As an organisation, they were struggling to appeal to a certain demographic, couldn’t sell enough of their low-end products to make enough margin to keep these stores going – so did no one think about investing part of that to just develop some kind of online proposition?

The general demise of the high street also played a big part in Wilkos downfall with the loss of big high-street stores such as Debenhams, which entered administration twice throughout its 242 years but finally collapsed for the final time in 2020. Other big high street losses included Sir Philip Green’s retail empire, Arcadia Group, which included brands such as Topshop, Topman, Burton, Dorothy Perkins, Miss Selfridge and Evans. It fell into the hands of administrators in 2020, under the weight of a £750million debt pile. Another brand previously owned by Sir Philip Green and one of the most famous on the street, BHS, had fallen into administration a few years before in April 2016.

“Once one starts to fall, it’s a domino effect for town centres because if they’re not drawing that portfolio, then it’s very difficult to draw somebody to the town, park up and wander through,” Rick said. “Then there’s the demise of the town where a lot of people were saying that it’s dirty and people were generally being put off because the shutters were up, the wrong people were in the towns, and its demise was setting in from the big boys leaving those locations. It’s just generally been a slow strangulation of the High Street and when one goes its a domino effect.”

Daniel agreed, adding: “Wilko was never a destination store – you didn’t come into town to shop at Wilko, you wandered into Wilco after visiting the bank or going to M&S or the post office. Debenhams’ loss decimated certain towns where it was literally the anchor store in the most prominent position in the high street. Part of their downfall was that there wasn’t the footfall. The high street needs help, not just from the government and local council, but from responsible retailers too.”

When the pandemic hit in 2020, people were forced to use online to order shopping and deliveries, only hammering home Wilko’s failure to make it online. “Places like Wilko had the benefit of a broad offering of toothpaste, pet food and everything, but their model is where the problem lies and instead people went to places like Asda online and got there, instead of the high street,” Rick said. “Wilkos didn’t have its foot in the market early enough for it to capitalise on it when things started to go wrong.”

Even when the cost-of-living crisis hit, Wilko, as a budget high-street store, may have been expected to survive – but there were other competitors out there. Rick explained: “Places like The Ranch have sprung up over the years and been able to give Wilko clients an offering not only just in store but online.

“In these times, it’s about sifting the wheat from the chaff and inevitably those that are strong, and have good contingencies and can weather the storms will always prosper out of this. But unfortunately Wilkos from one reason to another reason, to another reason just couldn’t weather this type of storm.”

For Wilkos’ former employers, Daniel said he hopes they are redeployed into other stores, but in reality, fears they will “fade into the rest of the unemployment figures”. This, he says, is only more reason why the government needs to get involved in saving the high street.

“Do you really want another lead wave of redundancies happening on your High Street, which is then going to further impact your entire local economy and what it costs the taxpayer to then support them?” Daniel said. “This is a very short sighted view that this government is taking that will actually cost more in the long run than if you had done something to support the High Street and to help the high street thrive and survive, as opposed to letting it die.”

To read the published article written by Dan Todaro, Managing Director please visit Mirror

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Sep 05 2023
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Display Systems

Over the years, retail display systems have undergone significant transformations, driven by advancements in technology, evolving consumer preferences, and the need for retailers to create immersive shopping experiences. In the past, retail display systems primarily consisted of basic shelves and counters where products were neatly stacked or arranged, but lacked the ability to capture consumers’ attention. In today’s world, retail displays aren’t just about enticing shoppers to come in-store. Instead, they’re about drawing attention, displaying information, and setting products apart from the competition. With fewer people watching traditional TV, in-store displays also need to do the extra work of informing and selling to potential customers.

Retailers can integrate digital displays, interactive screens, and even augmented reality (AR) elements into their fixtures, which allow for dynamic content presentation, enabling retailers to communicate the unique features and benefits of a new product or brand in a more engaging manner. They can showcase product videos, customer reviews, and engaging content, fostering a deeper connection with consumers.

In the world of considered purchases, using tech well can add to the experiential and immersive experience that shoppers increasingly expect from their high street visits, helping to engage and excite consumers. Retailers such as John Lewis are striving to meet this need, with new concepts presented at their Horsham store earlier this year, including a “wonder trial” interactive treasure hunt and a Clarins express skin service, to provide a ‘multi-sensory one-stop destination for fashion, beauty, tech and home design’. Visually appealing and shareable displays are also highly effective for generating ‘hype’, allowing retailers to capitalise on social media and influencer marketing to amplify the excitement around a new product or brand. Shoppers are more likely to capture and share their experiences on social platforms, effectively spreading the word and generating organic buzz.

To read the full article by Rupert Cook, Business Development Director please visit A1 Retail

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Aug 21 2023
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Curating the Customer Journey Through Training

When independent stores raise the issue of needing more support from brands to compete against multiple and online retail to remain competitive, there’s no support more valuable than training. Without the sales skills to confidently identify the customer’s needs to sell the benefits of a product that is right for them, you can’t really blame the brand if you aren’t selling more products than forecasted.

Most brands will offer training to your staff and this is free, so if you aren’t taking advantage of it, why not and if you are, do so some more as it’s there to help you and the brand in equal measure.

Allowing your salespeople access to brand ambassadors or training representatives is a positive start to your team’s training journey. Put personalities aside, they aren’t there to be your friend, let them do their job and train your team to develop their core competencies to improve the process of selling consumer electronics. Too often I hear criticism of training teams even before they’ve been allowed to do what they are skilled at doing; training your sales team.

On the whole, every brand will have created modules to be delivered in person or online that are specifically designed to engage with your staff and help them better understand not only the differences in technology options across a range but also the approach, many of which will be incorporating soft skills, how to sell.

Those of you who appreciate the value of training and see the benefits it drives to the store’s bottom line should take what the brand has to offer, perhaps even developing this further by incorporating it into your own training program.

Think about what’s important to you and your customers, be it high-end, entry-level, ease of use or bells and whistles, curate journeys your staff can communicate effectively during the sales process, that embraces the free training your brands have on offer to you. Work with your supplier to develop training that meets the needs of your business, take it beyond generic and make it bespoke to you and your challenges based on your customer profile.  By working with the brand ambassador they will be happy to adapt to make it relevant to you and your needs, after all, they will be rewarded for helping you develop sales.

I am a true advocate of training as an essential part of great retail experiences because it’s what my organisation does and research like our Mind the Knowledge Gap Research helps us understand better. Did you know that:

  • 1 in 10 shoppers have cancelled a planned, considered purchase due to poor in-store advice, This equates to some £15bn in revenue overall over the past year.
    • Gen Z [those now in their 20’s] are most likely to seek out experts
    •  37% of shoppers in the consumer electronics category revealed they would be prepared to spend more if they received excellent and knowledgeable in-store advice
    • 1 in 4 DIY shoppers (25%) were so disappointed by the advice they were put off making an expensive purchase altogether, with 11% pulling the plug on the purchase and walking out of the store.

Unsurprisingly, staff training is not only good for your profits but also morale and the increased motivation of staff enables them to want to learn and do better in their roles especially if it’s linked to personal and career development. It is proven to improve Productivity, Efficiency and Accountability.

Now more than ever, enhancing the customer experience is critical to create theatre in order to take the consumer through the varied steps of the journey from demo to sale. To do this, retailers need to develop the staff’s skill set to be the very best they can be – and this all starts with training.

A key element of success in store, especially in the considered purchase sector,  is the engagement of shoppers with any retail sales advisor. Therefore for a retailer, the need to have proactive, helpful, skilful, knowledgeable staff, capable of providing a personalised experience is key in the battle to convert shoppers into customers in your store.

Curating the customer journey through training enables you to enhance the overall in-store experience, complementing your displays and in-store environment to bring it to life as an experience. Tailored alongside offers and promotions it can be the difference between a sale or not.

If there is one key driver that should be running through a retailer’s training approach, like a stick of rock, is that the experience you offer in-store with fully trained and engaged staff is something the online experience can’t ever replicate.

To read the full article by Dan Todaro, Managing Director please visit ERT Online

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