Research commissioned by WPP on the world's top 100 most valuable brands has determined that the mighty Walmart is the world's most valuable retail brand. WPP top global brands .
The top 10 retail brands are listed below.
Unsuprisingly yet a little depressingly, 6 of these are the hypermarket/discount retailers (Walmart, Tesco, Carrefour, Target, Aldi and Auchan) which have changed the face of high streets and town centres around the globe. The other four include the two online giants - EBay and Amazon, and the hugely successful European fashion brands H&M and Zara.
The most successful global brands are those which one would expect provide the best justification to customers for their purchase. Looking at this list suggests that this justification is mostly based on reliably being the cheapest and most widely distributed purveyor of said goods rather than much else (with the exception perhaps of the two clothing brands which are both known for being reliably fashion forward in addition to very price competitive) which perhaps is somewhat inevitable, particularly in the challenged economic environment we still find ourselves in.
Peter Walshe, global brand director at Millward Brown adds that 'As shopping becomes more of a multi-channel experience with customers comparing prices in-store and online, retail brands will also need to ensure consistent online and offline shopping experiences'. This is a point I have made in the past, and will become increasingly important as online shopping continues to grow- to succeed, retail brands will need to take great care to replicate the values which encourage their customers to shop with them, across all platforms they trade upon, to ensure customers continue to trust them with their purchases.
Most valuable global retail brands
Rank Brand, Value, Change vs. 2009
13 Walmart $39,421m -4%
15 Amazon $27,459m 29%
17 Tesco $25,741m 12%
42 Carrefour $14,980m 0%
62 Target $12,148m -1%
63 H&M $12,131m 1%
76 Ebay $9,328m -28%
80 Zara $8,986m 4%
83 Aldi $9,328m 1%
96 Auchan $7,848m n/a
Thursday, 29 April 2010
Monday, 26 April 2010
John Lewis does it again: Never Knowingly Undersold
Did you see the new John Lewis ad that aired over the weekend? If you didn't you probably heard someone talking about it- it's been mentioned all over the usual social media channels since airing on Friday. And the response has been overwhelmingly positive- this ad has been extrremely well received, why it has even been reported to have brought a tear to the eye of many who thought they were made of sterner stuff... (No comment, sniff, sniff)
If you missed it, or simply want to watch it again (and who could blame you) here it is: Never Knowingly Undersold
The purpose of the £6m ad campaign from agency Adam and Eve, is to reposition John Lewis' famous strapline 'Never Knowingly Undersold'. The team felt that this had become perceived as simply a legalistic price promise, whereas they wanted customers to understand that its about "the total value we offer our customers, about the quality of the products we sell and the added value customers receive with the service our partners offer” (Craig Inglis, Marketing Director, JLP). John Lewis want the ad to reinforce their commitment to provide great quality, fair prices and excellent service to its customers.
And boy does it work- on so many levels. What could have ended up as a terribly emotionally manipulative 90 seconds is so charming, funny, touching, and beautifully shot, with an inspired soundtrack and reminds us throughout that John Lewis is there for customers throughout every life stage. But importantly- it is very believable. It's us. Past, Present, Future. John Lewis understands us. And that builds trust and loyalty immeasurably.
Well done John Lewis- consider this advert against the last trite offering from M&S with the usual Z list celebs and a French underwear model prancing around to some dodgy old tracks. This worked once. Maybe twice. But the format has been rolled out so many times now and God knows it is real tired now!!! Comparing the two brand campaigns tells you everything you need to know about both retailers.
John Lewis also had an interesting Christmas ad campaign- the 'Sweet Child O Mine' adverts in which
kids played with Christmas presents intended for adults, in order to remind us of that childlike delight you feel when you open the perfect gift on Christmas Day and reinforcing the message that John Lewis was the place to find it.
They aren't afraid of going against the grain when it comes to marketing- many other British brands were indulging in shameless 'Nostalgia Marketing' last year, in which they reminded us of how long they had been around, reminded us of how things had changed since then etc, in order to use their heritage to instil pride and loyalty in us consumers. Again- this was quite powerful the first or second time, but with Sainsburys, M&S, Hovis, and countless others all finding an anniversary to celebrate at the same time, it lost its strength quickly. John Lewis could easily have jumped aboard this bandwagon, but sensibly kept quiet, letting the message speak for itself, with inventive ads to back it up.
Never Knowingly Undersold. We get it John Lewis- we really do.
If you missed it, or simply want to watch it again (and who could blame you) here it is: Never Knowingly Undersold
The purpose of the £6m ad campaign from agency Adam and Eve, is to reposition John Lewis' famous strapline 'Never Knowingly Undersold'. The team felt that this had become perceived as simply a legalistic price promise, whereas they wanted customers to understand that its about "the total value we offer our customers, about the quality of the products we sell and the added value customers receive with the service our partners offer” (Craig Inglis, Marketing Director, JLP). John Lewis want the ad to reinforce their commitment to provide great quality, fair prices and excellent service to its customers.
And boy does it work- on so many levels. What could have ended up as a terribly emotionally manipulative 90 seconds is so charming, funny, touching, and beautifully shot, with an inspired soundtrack and reminds us throughout that John Lewis is there for customers throughout every life stage. But importantly- it is very believable. It's us. Past, Present, Future. John Lewis understands us. And that builds trust and loyalty immeasurably.
Well done John Lewis- consider this advert against the last trite offering from M&S with the usual Z list celebs and a French underwear model prancing around to some dodgy old tracks. This worked once. Maybe twice. But the format has been rolled out so many times now and God knows it is real tired now!!! Comparing the two brand campaigns tells you everything you need to know about both retailers.
John Lewis also had an interesting Christmas ad campaign- the 'Sweet Child O Mine' adverts in which
kids played with Christmas presents intended for adults, in order to remind us of that childlike delight you feel when you open the perfect gift on Christmas Day and reinforcing the message that John Lewis was the place to find it.
They aren't afraid of going against the grain when it comes to marketing- many other British brands were indulging in shameless 'Nostalgia Marketing' last year, in which they reminded us of how long they had been around, reminded us of how things had changed since then etc, in order to use their heritage to instil pride and loyalty in us consumers. Again- this was quite powerful the first or second time, but with Sainsburys, M&S, Hovis, and countless others all finding an anniversary to celebrate at the same time, it lost its strength quickly. John Lewis could easily have jumped aboard this bandwagon, but sensibly kept quiet, letting the message speak for itself, with inventive ads to back it up.
Never Knowingly Undersold. We get it John Lewis- we really do.
Friday, 23 April 2010
Both Ends of the Spectrum: Good News for Burberry and Primark
It has been reported this week that strong trading results at both Burberry and Primark point to recovery at both ends of the retail market. Obviously this is good news for the sector generally (although tempered by today's announcement that economic recovery is stalling with growth of only 0.2% this quarter vs originally forecast 0.4% - Double-dip recession fears )
But there are things we can deduce from the booming sales for these two retailers specifically. They are about as far away from each other as is humanly possibly in terms of product offering, pricing, target consumer and so on top and bottom of the market, but perhaps in a couple of ways they aren't so different after all. Clearly customers are still clothes shopping, but in a continuing uncertain market, with rising inflation, pay and job cuts etc, there is a need to be more savvy and spend our spare cash more carefully, which can be demonstrated with both retailers if we think about it.
Primark won the race to the bottom in terms of pricing, from the outset. With the range manufactured mostly in the Far East at very low cost, and a fast stock turn keeping in line with current fashion trends, Primark's USP is that they are incredibly cheap and you get a fair amount of trend for your buck. Yes the clothes are very disposable, but due to the price, and the fashionability, these tend not to be items we intend to hand down to our ancestors anyway. Primark also keep advertising costs minimal, because when you have a prominant high street presence (growing all the time) with a message that speaks for itself, and plenty of advocates, why bother?
And as such, when we want cheap fashionable clothes (which in a recession we inevitably do even more so than usual) we go to Primark.
On the other side of the coin, Burberry are doing particularly well in their outerwear, footwear and accessories categories. Yes luxury retailers are benefitting from a tourism boost due to exchange rates; but more importantly: Burberry have an incredibly strong brand. They have an untouchable reputation for quality: their popularity as a retailer for classic pieces is demonstrated by the performance of their outerwear, their macs and trench coats are a key part of the brand's heritage. Burberry also have a more recently acquired reputation for extremely desirable, fashionable classic garments (modelling their current range is the young celeb muse of the moment Emma Watson, I guess the Burberry check days are long forgotten), borne out by the popularity of their footwear and accessories: the lower price point/entry level product typically bought by fashion conscious and younger customers who can't afford £1000 on a dress yet still want to buy into the brand.
So they also have a USP- for those with a higher budget, Burberry is the go-to luxury brand for quality, style and sheer convetability. Those who want 'investment pieces' (which again, in a recession we do) shop at Burberry.
Finally, this suggests that there is still money to be made on the high street, we are still shopping (Keep Calm and Carry on and all that) but we are being more selective and going for brands with something unique to offer us... The inevitable next question is: where does this leave the mid-market brands? In a crowded sector of the market that has seen a number of recent casualties, these retailers will have to try extra hard to find the point of difference that will keep us coming back for more.
I wonder what that will be...
But there are things we can deduce from the booming sales for these two retailers specifically. They are about as far away from each other as is humanly possibly in terms of product offering, pricing, target consumer and so on top and bottom of the market, but perhaps in a couple of ways they aren't so different after all. Clearly customers are still clothes shopping, but in a continuing uncertain market, with rising inflation, pay and job cuts etc, there is a need to be more savvy and spend our spare cash more carefully, which can be demonstrated with both retailers if we think about it.
Primark won the race to the bottom in terms of pricing, from the outset. With the range manufactured mostly in the Far East at very low cost, and a fast stock turn keeping in line with current fashion trends, Primark's USP is that they are incredibly cheap and you get a fair amount of trend for your buck. Yes the clothes are very disposable, but due to the price, and the fashionability, these tend not to be items we intend to hand down to our ancestors anyway. Primark also keep advertising costs minimal, because when you have a prominant high street presence (growing all the time) with a message that speaks for itself, and plenty of advocates, why bother?
And as such, when we want cheap fashionable clothes (which in a recession we inevitably do even more so than usual) we go to Primark.
On the other side of the coin, Burberry are doing particularly well in their outerwear, footwear and accessories categories. Yes luxury retailers are benefitting from a tourism boost due to exchange rates; but more importantly: Burberry have an incredibly strong brand. They have an untouchable reputation for quality: their popularity as a retailer for classic pieces is demonstrated by the performance of their outerwear, their macs and trench coats are a key part of the brand's heritage. Burberry also have a more recently acquired reputation for extremely desirable, fashionable classic garments (modelling their current range is the young celeb muse of the moment Emma Watson, I guess the Burberry check days are long forgotten), borne out by the popularity of their footwear and accessories: the lower price point/entry level product typically bought by fashion conscious and younger customers who can't afford £1000 on a dress yet still want to buy into the brand.
So they also have a USP- for those with a higher budget, Burberry is the go-to luxury brand for quality, style and sheer convetability. Those who want 'investment pieces' (which again, in a recession we do) shop at Burberry.
Finally, this suggests that there is still money to be made on the high street, we are still shopping (Keep Calm and Carry on and all that) but we are being more selective and going for brands with something unique to offer us... The inevitable next question is: where does this leave the mid-market brands? In a crowded sector of the market that has seen a number of recent casualties, these retailers will have to try extra hard to find the point of difference that will keep us coming back for more.
I wonder what that will be...
Thursday, 22 April 2010
Are you Twittering On?
See All Her Faces is now on Twitter!!!
The growing influence of social media on the retail sector is a theme we have touched in in various contexts, and so it follows that we need to jump on board ourselves!
Find us on See All Her Faces on Twitter and become a follower! We will be tweeting on retail news and views, some of which will be followed up in more depth on the blog, so we have your fix of retail updates and opinions covered.
Remember you can also become a follower of the blog or subscribe to the feed, for live updates.
We look forward to you joining us!
The growing influence of social media on the retail sector is a theme we have touched in in various contexts, and so it follows that we need to jump on board ourselves!
Find us on See All Her Faces on Twitter and become a follower! We will be tweeting on retail news and views, some of which will be followed up in more depth on the blog, so we have your fix of retail updates and opinions covered.
Remember you can also become a follower of the blog or subscribe to the feed, for live updates.
We look forward to you joining us!
Monday, 19 April 2010
Nothing Beats a Good Sale: The Outnet Success Story
One of the most interesting changes that the internet has made to the world of retail has been the relative ease with which new brands and and designers can start trading. Without the overheads associated with running and staffing stores, all one theoretically needs to do business is a decent transactional website, a means to store and deliver stock, and of course a cracking product range won't do any harm....
But of course with every up there up there is a down, so if ecommerce is the relatively cheap means by which you start your retail business- it will be the route for plenty of other competitors also....
This then leaves new businesses with the age old challenge- how to let people know about and the great things you are doing? With a saturated internet retailing market, magazines and supplements are awash with reccomendations for savvy shoppers, so many so that it is difficult for us to remember to have a look when surfing the net after a hard day's work (or maybe during a hard day's work.. heaven forfend). Of course there are additional opprtunities to promote your business through new media, but as everyone else jumps on board, again there are challenges involved in trying to stand out from the crowd....
Which brings me in a very roundabout way, to what I thought was a very smart marketing move indeed- by The Outnet. This website (The Outnet ) is the spin-off outlet site of the rather more well-known luxury fashion website Net-a-Porter, whose owner Natalie Massenet recently made £50m from her 18% stake following the sale of the site to Richemont, the Swiss luxury goods group- which gives you an idea of how successful the site has been.
Outnet is only recently established, and recently celebrated it's 1st birthday, with the Mother Of All Sales. Potential customers were invited to sign up to the website to get an invite to the online sale- designer products in which would all be sold for £1- limited to one per customer. Yes I did say £1.
Needless to say the sale was massively popular, selling out within hours as thousands of customers got a bargain of a lifetime, and thousands more were disappointed as the site continually crashed due to volume of traffic (I missed out on a pair of Philip Lim 3.1 trousers and I'm still sore about it)
Undoubtably the cost of reducing all those goods to sell at £1 would have been a considerably expense, and one that someone in the Finance department was probably having sleepless nights about, but I can't help but think this was a marketing move of sheer brilliance for the fledging site.
The sale generated considerable media exposure- both before and after, which will have increased the awareness of the brand in the market place hugely. (Look- we're talking about it now!) But most importantly- in order to be invited to the sale, those who were already in the know had to register with the website- given those golden details- name and email address, that mean that Outnet have a much larger potential customer base now, to contact with information, sales and exclusive offers, to build a strong relationship that they hope will encourage us to shop with them when goods aren't £1...
A young retail business will flounder quickly without exposure and a customer base. These things are difficult to come by- yet Outnet has proven that sometimes the best solution is the most obvious- Nothing Beats a Good Sale.
But of course with every up there up there is a down, so if ecommerce is the relatively cheap means by which you start your retail business- it will be the route for plenty of other competitors also....
This then leaves new businesses with the age old challenge- how to let people know about and the great things you are doing? With a saturated internet retailing market, magazines and supplements are awash with reccomendations for savvy shoppers, so many so that it is difficult for us to remember to have a look when surfing the net after a hard day's work (or maybe during a hard day's work.. heaven forfend). Of course there are additional opprtunities to promote your business through new media, but as everyone else jumps on board, again there are challenges involved in trying to stand out from the crowd....
Which brings me in a very roundabout way, to what I thought was a very smart marketing move indeed- by The Outnet. This website (The Outnet ) is the spin-off outlet site of the rather more well-known luxury fashion website Net-a-Porter, whose owner Natalie Massenet recently made £50m from her 18% stake following the sale of the site to Richemont, the Swiss luxury goods group- which gives you an idea of how successful the site has been.
Outnet is only recently established, and recently celebrated it's 1st birthday, with the Mother Of All Sales. Potential customers were invited to sign up to the website to get an invite to the online sale- designer products in which would all be sold for £1- limited to one per customer. Yes I did say £1.
Needless to say the sale was massively popular, selling out within hours as thousands of customers got a bargain of a lifetime, and thousands more were disappointed as the site continually crashed due to volume of traffic (I missed out on a pair of Philip Lim 3.1 trousers and I'm still sore about it)
Undoubtably the cost of reducing all those goods to sell at £1 would have been a considerably expense, and one that someone in the Finance department was probably having sleepless nights about, but I can't help but think this was a marketing move of sheer brilliance for the fledging site.
The sale generated considerable media exposure- both before and after, which will have increased the awareness of the brand in the market place hugely. (Look- we're talking about it now!) But most importantly- in order to be invited to the sale, those who were already in the know had to register with the website- given those golden details- name and email address, that mean that Outnet have a much larger potential customer base now, to contact with information, sales and exclusive offers, to build a strong relationship that they hope will encourage us to shop with them when goods aren't £1...
A young retail business will flounder quickly without exposure and a customer base. These things are difficult to come by- yet Outnet has proven that sometimes the best solution is the most obvious- Nothing Beats a Good Sale.
Friday, 16 April 2010
Gordon Brown on Retail...
The election is hotting up, and after yesterday's history-making live leadership debate, the leaders who would have your vote next month are doing the rounds to keep up the momentum built by that unprecdented exposure yesterday evening.
Today it's Gordon Brown's turn, to appeal to the retail sector, and Retail Week have been granted an exlcusive interview, in which he discusses the Labour's manifesto for retail.
If you don't have a subscription to access the article, a brief synopsis below. Thoughts welcome.
Did the temporary 2.5% VAT cut make a difference to trading, did it just add complexity into business processes and eat into profits as many retailers absorbed the eventual increase?
Have small businesses been given sufficent support to open, to flourish, to continue trading during a difficult period?
And most importantly, and the question which has divided opinion the most- is the NI rise a new idea, in order to protect spending at this vulnerable time, or does it constitute a tax on jobs, which will have an impact on employment? Over 100 business leaders, including many well-known retailers such as Sir Stuart Rose have denounced the potential move by Labour as potentially damaging to the economy due to th eimpact it will have on jobs, and have further mocked Gordon Brown's claim that they must have been misled to think such a thing. Yet, a number of the country's leading economists have now publicly come out in favour of the move, in order to protect growth as we exit the most painful recession in recent times... Who is right?
Well I guess, in the words of Channel 4's Big Brother: You Decide. On May 6th
Today it's Gordon Brown's turn, to appeal to the retail sector, and Retail Week have been granted an exlcusive interview, in which he discusses the Labour's manifesto for retail.
If you don't have a subscription to access the article, a brief synopsis below. Thoughts welcome.
- Retail sales have improved and food inflation is down.
- The temporary VAT cut put money back in the economy when it was much needed
- Small businesses will continue to be helped with schemes like the Enterprise Finance Guarantee and Time To Pay, a cut in business rates and more lending from banks
- We need an NI hike to pay for all this
- Taking money out of the conomy in it's still fragile state is too risky.
Did the temporary 2.5% VAT cut make a difference to trading, did it just add complexity into business processes and eat into profits as many retailers absorbed the eventual increase?
Have small businesses been given sufficent support to open, to flourish, to continue trading during a difficult period?
And most importantly, and the question which has divided opinion the most- is the NI rise a new idea, in order to protect spending at this vulnerable time, or does it constitute a tax on jobs, which will have an impact on employment? Over 100 business leaders, including many well-known retailers such as Sir Stuart Rose have denounced the potential move by Labour as potentially damaging to the economy due to th eimpact it will have on jobs, and have further mocked Gordon Brown's claim that they must have been misled to think such a thing. Yet, a number of the country's leading economists have now publicly come out in favour of the move, in order to protect growth as we exit the most painful recession in recent times... Who is right?
Well I guess, in the words of Channel 4's Big Brother: You Decide. On May 6th
Friday, 9 April 2010
From Paris With Love...
As we all know, the rise of ecommerce continues unabated, as online becomes an increasingly important sales channel for retailers.
There is huge competition on the internet as more and more businesses continue to come online, and existing online retailers strive to constantly improve their product offering and customer shopping experience. And of course in a crowded market points of difference make the difference between driving sales, and driving customers away. Whilst there are plenty of ways in which retailers can do this online, there is one simple way that they can increase brand loyalty and trust and poach customers from competitors in the process.
The bone of contention that is the humble Delivery Charge; or as I would rather call it, The Convenience Surcharge.
Smart retailers are beginning to recognise that subjecting customers to a prohibitive delivery cost (it can vary from anything from a couple of quid to hundred of pounds), is becoming less and less palatable to us consumers. Such delivery charges are barely justifable when we know that as the online portion of a retailers' business grows (as inevitably is the case with most) economies of scale dictate the the cost of delivery reduces. A large number of retailers operating in Europe are able to ship goods to your home in the UK cheaper than many UK retailers can, which leads the cynical amongst us to suspect that this convenience surcharge is simply being used as an easy way to increase profitability at our expense.
As such in order to retain and grow our business, sensible UK retailers are already starting to offer more reasonable options, such as free delivery, free delivery over a threshold amount, or collection in store, but this is certainly not the case for all. Whilst I can still get a chaise longue shipped from Paris to North London cheaper than getting a sidetable delivered from Laura Ashley's local depot , we still have a problem.
And we won't have it. Retailers who don't pass their delivery cost savings onto customers, or those who won't take a hit on the bottom line to keep our purchase costs reasonable are being terribly short sighted- as we will vote with our feet (or rather our mouse) and simply shop elsewhere.
Mon Dieu!
There is huge competition on the internet as more and more businesses continue to come online, and existing online retailers strive to constantly improve their product offering and customer shopping experience. And of course in a crowded market points of difference make the difference between driving sales, and driving customers away. Whilst there are plenty of ways in which retailers can do this online, there is one simple way that they can increase brand loyalty and trust and poach customers from competitors in the process.
The bone of contention that is the humble Delivery Charge; or as I would rather call it, The Convenience Surcharge.
Smart retailers are beginning to recognise that subjecting customers to a prohibitive delivery cost (it can vary from anything from a couple of quid to hundred of pounds), is becoming less and less palatable to us consumers. Such delivery charges are barely justifable when we know that as the online portion of a retailers' business grows (as inevitably is the case with most) economies of scale dictate the the cost of delivery reduces. A large number of retailers operating in Europe are able to ship goods to your home in the UK cheaper than many UK retailers can, which leads the cynical amongst us to suspect that this convenience surcharge is simply being used as an easy way to increase profitability at our expense.
As such in order to retain and grow our business, sensible UK retailers are already starting to offer more reasonable options, such as free delivery, free delivery over a threshold amount, or collection in store, but this is certainly not the case for all. Whilst I can still get a chaise longue shipped from Paris to North London cheaper than getting a sidetable delivered from Laura Ashley's local depot , we still have a problem.
And we won't have it. Retailers who don't pass their delivery cost savings onto customers, or those who won't take a hit on the bottom line to keep our purchase costs reasonable are being terribly short sighted- as we will vote with our feet (or rather our mouse) and simply shop elsewhere.
Mon Dieu!
Thursday, 1 April 2010
Are you Being Served?
Easter is drawing near, lending itself predictably to thoughts of fresh starts, new beginnings, and of course obscene volumes of chocolate...
So it seems a good time to consider what the next development steps for UK retailers might be, in their ongoing drive for sales, and market share. And now more than ever, it's all about building the brand, baby.
Trendwatching.com are calling this concept the 'Brand Butler'. They say "It has never been more important to turn your brand into a service. Jaded, time-poor, pragmatic consumers yearn for service and care, while the mobile online revolution makes it possible to offer relevant services to consumers anywhere, anytime"
What they are proposing is a holistic strategy that focuses on faciliating and assisting in customers' liftstyles and decisions, rather than simply 'selling' to them as we have done since immemorial. And the ways available to us to do that allows us to build meaningful customer loyalty (always the focus in a difficult market) through becoming a part of those lifestyles and decisions....
Does it all sound a bit invasive and 1984? Perhaps, but customers are comfortable with the trade-off, so the struggle is finished.. We love Big Brother...
The key elements of this concept as I see them?
1. The Digital Revolution.
Smart retailers need to look at new and creative means of getting the brand message out to users in the multi-media space, as consumers become increasingly digital in their social habits, and traditional avenues of advertising and exposure become less relevant. A useable transactional website with a good product offering is now taken for granted by consumers as a minimum requirement, so the real game changers are things like IPhone apps, Facebook pages, and Twitter accounts. Whilst the impact of mobile retail in and of itself will require a seperate blog post, in summary, these tools increase exposure of the brand to the consumer, which helps retailers to get their message out (which a lot of the time is half the battle) and builds loyalty through information and deals, and additional services, and when done well, increase brand credibility and improve customer experience with solutions that fit our modern anytime/anywhere multi-media lifestyles.
2. A little bit more.
Retailers require a point of difference in a crowded, still uncertain market, and progessive businesses have to come up with new and exciting ways to delight the customer and keep them coming back. This of course means high quality customer service, but also that elusive 'little bit more' by which the retailer can assist the customer's lifestyle not just their purchase. A fantastic example of this is new fashion retailer GIVe, established by the legendary George Davies, of Next, Asda and Per Una fame. This visionary has already recognised that in order for the venture to be successful in current climates "Service will be paramount to the whole retail experience in every GIVe store", which for him means experienced Style Advisors, free alterations and bespoke made to measure services. This things make our purchase decisions and indeed lives a little easier (we are prepared to kill for a properly fitting pair of trousers after all) which is what being a 'Brand Butler' is all about.
3. All change please.
Consumers will require the latest products, trends, information, and services immediately. This means quick stock turn with a quickly evolving and relevant product range, and access to up-to-date product and general information, and deals and offers in line with competitors. These says we can afford to be impatient. We want it all and we want it now.
Infilitrating our lives in new ways, and guiding us in our lifestyle choices and decisions will be the way in which retailers will win our continued business and support- You Must Love Them...
So it seems a good time to consider what the next development steps for UK retailers might be, in their ongoing drive for sales, and market share. And now more than ever, it's all about building the brand, baby.
Trendwatching.com are calling this concept the 'Brand Butler'. They say "It has never been more important to turn your brand into a service. Jaded, time-poor, pragmatic consumers yearn for service and care, while the mobile online revolution makes it possible to offer relevant services to consumers anywhere, anytime"
What they are proposing is a holistic strategy that focuses on faciliating and assisting in customers' liftstyles and decisions, rather than simply 'selling' to them as we have done since immemorial. And the ways available to us to do that allows us to build meaningful customer loyalty (always the focus in a difficult market) through becoming a part of those lifestyles and decisions....
Does it all sound a bit invasive and 1984? Perhaps, but customers are comfortable with the trade-off, so the struggle is finished.. We love Big Brother...
The key elements of this concept as I see them?
1. The Digital Revolution.
Smart retailers need to look at new and creative means of getting the brand message out to users in the multi-media space, as consumers become increasingly digital in their social habits, and traditional avenues of advertising and exposure become less relevant. A useable transactional website with a good product offering is now taken for granted by consumers as a minimum requirement, so the real game changers are things like IPhone apps, Facebook pages, and Twitter accounts. Whilst the impact of mobile retail in and of itself will require a seperate blog post, in summary, these tools increase exposure of the brand to the consumer, which helps retailers to get their message out (which a lot of the time is half the battle) and builds loyalty through information and deals, and additional services, and when done well, increase brand credibility and improve customer experience with solutions that fit our modern anytime/anywhere multi-media lifestyles.
2. A little bit more.
Retailers require a point of difference in a crowded, still uncertain market, and progessive businesses have to come up with new and exciting ways to delight the customer and keep them coming back. This of course means high quality customer service, but also that elusive 'little bit more' by which the retailer can assist the customer's lifestyle not just their purchase. A fantastic example of this is new fashion retailer GIVe, established by the legendary George Davies, of Next, Asda and Per Una fame. This visionary has already recognised that in order for the venture to be successful in current climates "Service will be paramount to the whole retail experience in every GIVe store", which for him means experienced Style Advisors, free alterations and bespoke made to measure services. This things make our purchase decisions and indeed lives a little easier (we are prepared to kill for a properly fitting pair of trousers after all) which is what being a 'Brand Butler' is all about.
3. All change please.
Consumers will require the latest products, trends, information, and services immediately. This means quick stock turn with a quickly evolving and relevant product range, and access to up-to-date product and general information, and deals and offers in line with competitors. These says we can afford to be impatient. We want it all and we want it now.
Infilitrating our lives in new ways, and guiding us in our lifestyle choices and decisions will be the way in which retailers will win our continued business and support- You Must Love Them...
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