The retail business environment is changing quickly, how are you keeping up?
Today’s post is our SafeSourcing archives
The landscape of retail operations is changing faster than anyone thought possible. With the change we are seeing new businesses born and quickly grow to huge levels and we are seeing long established companies who are unable to adapt begin their descent in total collapse. The biggest reason for this is who the customer has become and how the changes and habits and in their “non-purchasing” lives have added to these huge changes. So what are you doing to take advantage of these changes and keep your business relevant?
Will you sacrifice sales to do the right thing? – We all know that the lifeblood of a company’s survival is their sales. If the sales aren’t happened the expenses don’t get paid. Cuts are made and people lose their jobs. This idea is so engrained into our way of thinking that the mere thought of purposely losing sales is retail heresy. Several companies are finding that when they create programs for customers to facilitate the sale of existing used product to other customers, thereby losing those sales, that they actually increased sales during that time due to the fact that the sellers were buying newer products, extending service agreements and spreading the word that these companies worked with their customers to do the right thing rather than focus solely on making a buck.
Focus on the experience – We now live in a world where people’s lives are filled with social experience. From the time they wake up they are checking news, sports scores, Facebook posts and Tweets before they even get out of bed. All throughout there day these connections remain intact as they follow what is going on in the world and experience the news through a multitude of channels. Retailers must take a cue from this change in lifestyle not only in the US but all over the world and create experiences for their customers both online and in their stores. This may mean disproportionately investing in store floor sales staff or investing in new web design that does not always funnel the customer straight to a buying decision.
Work with, don’t fight technology – Technology changes everything and has been doing so for a long time. It has removed some aspects of the corner store experience but it has created others such as selection, value and competition. It has allowed companies to develop, manufacture, and sell more creatively and more efficiently than have ever been able to do and with fewer resources. Every technology may not be right to adopt for your business but the awareness of what those technologies are and how you could benefit from them is something every retailer should embrace. You don’t have to be the first adopter but being the last could put you out of business fast.
At SafeSourcing we understand and help companies every day embrace ideas like these and help them find partners and solutions that can help them leverage new trends and technology. For more information on how we can help your business or on our “Risk Free” trial program, please contact a SafeSourcing Customer Service Representative. We have an entire customer services team waiting to assist you today.
We look forward to your comments.
