As we grow as a nation of online shoppers we realise that the convenience of shopping online isn’t always that convenient. In 2010 more people did their Christmas shopping online than before, with people preferring the convenience of online shopping and being able to compare prices to get a more competitive price. Unfortunately in the UK the snowy weather came earlier than expected putting pressure on retailers to deliver gifts before Christmas. By mid December a lot of retailers had updated their delivery messages to include not guaranteeing a delivery before Christmas. 17% of people who ordered online did not receive their gifts before Christmas day, and as the uncertainty grew that people might not receive gifts before Christmas 25% of people said they spent less and/or opted for shopping on the high street.
For online retailers who didn’t advise that the weather was causing them delays, along with possible timescales their customers were left with a bit of a sour taste in their mouth and ongoing this may affect the long term relationship between the customer and retailer. The impact 2010 Christmas will have on how people shop for 2011 will be interesting as it is expected that people will start shopping even earlier for gifts to guarantee they have their gifts for Christmas.
The other aspect that influenced 2010 Christmas shopping was the VAT increase which came into effect on the 4th January although some large retailers have not passed on the increase this still affected the way that people shopped coming up to Christmas and is still influencing how people are shopping now.
How will this affect future Christmases? Researchers believe that 2011 is going to be a tough year for retail, and consumer confidence is low with people being more cautious of spending as prices rise due to the VAT increase and also due to the rise in costs of goods, from increasing utility bills, fuel and possible interest rate rises. Already the retail industry has seen the impact with large retailers seeing the result, John Lewis has seen a consistent drop over the last two weeks, although seeing good sales up to Christmas through a new tv advertising campaign. Retailers will need to look at how their business could be affected through 2011 and possible ways to lessen the impact on their business.
Surviving 2011 in Retail:-
Get social, make sure people know who your company is and what they are about there are different ways you can get involved with your customer base and future customers through social media sites like Twitter and Facebook. This gives you a direct way to communicate with your customers and promote your products to a wider range of people. Marks and Spencers do a deal of the day tweet on Twitter which they have been successful with, is this something that you could add to your own strategy.
Are you online? Is your company a store with an online presence? Have you looked at your website recently and think that it is still a good representation of what your company is about? Install Google Analytics to get a greater understanding of how people are using your site and where. If you feel you should be getting more from your website talk to a design agency and see what they would suggest to improve your site, they may also be able to help you with SEO and PPC.
Look at different advertising and promotions you could do, depending on your advertising budget through TV adverts, billboards, radio and newspapers. Promoting your company in different mediums can give you a wider reach.
Look at your store, do you think it looks inviting are people looking at your shop window and then coming inside. When people are in your store is it inviting? Are they wandering around?
Attend events to get an insight into what industry leaders are saying and how they are reacting to the change in consumer mindset. This is also a great opportunity to network with people and learn from their own experience. The Retail Week conference is a great idea to get a better understanding of what is happening in the industry and with a range of speakers talking on a range of topics.
Understand your customer, find out how your current customers are reacting to your brand and your products. Do they like what you offer and why? How would they like to see your brand and products improve?
Understand your competition, is your competition doing something new or better than you? Look at how you can create a better business than your competition, visit their website and their store see how their business works differently to yours.
There are many ways you could look at making your business a success in 2011, the above is just to give a general idea of what is achievable.
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