We're all doomed!

That's right- It's all over the papers this morning- retail sales positively collapsed last month, with the largest year on year slide since 1995, according to the BRC-KPMG Sales Monitor.
Total sales were down 1.9% on the year, but the bad news doesn't stop, with like-for-like sales down a whopping 3.5%, and internet sales growing at their slowest rate since records began (which admittedly sounds a little more dramatic than it actually is, given that 'records' only began in 2008...!)

Big falls on areas as diverse as clothing, homeware, electrical, food and drink, books... with the only growth category being... somewhat mysteriously, footwear (although it should be noted that those were frequently discount driven purchases).

But why so glum, shoppers? Well, whilst the late timing of Easter is a factor, this is only a small part of the story, as high inflation, low wage growth, increasing fuel and utility costs, higher VAT, falling house prices, and uncertainty about future job cuts and tax rises all contribute towards a reduction in not just consumer's disposable income, but their confidence and willingness to spend money also..

That's all far too depressing for a Tuesday morning, so where is the sunshine amongst all this rain?
Well- with the feel-good factor running high in the coming weeks with the royal wedding, and more bank holidays then you can shake a stick at, retailers can hope for some much needed good news as optimistic customers prise open their dusty wallets, probably for bbq gear, burgers and booze, summer clothing, memorabilia and so on..

Also... Research group Springboard report that footfall in town centres and High Streets across the UK rose by 7.8% in March compared with the previous month, leading their Chief Exec Steve Booth, Springboard's to observe that "Whilst it is early days, this starts to tell a positive story about how consumers are returning to their local High Streets".

Thus, there is hope yet, although it is now clear that it is no less than our duty to enjoy each and every one of  those imminent bank holidays- so party like it's not 2011, your retailers need you!

Familiarity breeds.. content....

Some interesting research from ForeSee Results.

They found that social media interactions are a primary influence for only 3% of visitors to e-retail sites!!!! 

Their results indicated that the more traditional techniques are much better drivers to retailer's websites- with search engines influencing 13% of visitors, and promotional emails 10%....
But the key finding was that familiarity with the site, company or brand is still by far the most common influencer of a website visit (46% of site visitors)

I.e. if the customer doesn't already know about you, your rush to colonise Facebook and Twitter isn't going to make any difference.. And if they do know you? Well that highly influencial group of visitors are also the most satisfied (75 on a 100 point scale) and the most likely to recommend (76)
And guess which are the least satisfied customers (64)? that's right- the ones who visited your site after receiving a message directly from the company on a social network!!!

So the moral of the story. For you the retailer, social media is a useful in your toolkit in order to build loyalty- but within your existing customer base- it will bring few newcomers to your brand, and those it does, are likely not to be impressed. So make sure people know about you, before you 'poke' them. As it were...

Are you a FLORA?

The Sunday Times recently christened FLORA: Fashion Loving, On the run, and very Retail Aware.

These days it all about versatile quality outfits- no more superfast trends, cheap clothes, high turnover items, we're talking quality clothes that will last and won't date- the elusive 'key pieces' that make the outfit, make the wardrobe. Wearable clothes with a fashion twist.

For the ultimate trouser, boot, coat, dress, shirt- inspired by the timeless minimalism of Celine, look to the likes of Whistles, Zara, Cos, Next to deliver "fashionability thats about.. sensibility"... And not a pair of  £2 Primark jeggings in sight. Just call me Flora..

More than just meatballs....

West End retailers are reporting a big surge in sales of products from Scandinavia, with  a 400% YOY increase and 20% sq footage increase, boosting sales. Homeware, food and clothing from the region are now worth an estimated £300m a year.
Trend experts attribute the surge in popularity to our increased demand for functional, stylish, and sustainable products in these straitened times! Reliable Scandinavian favourites such as H&M and Ikea have paved the ground work for the love affair by introducing us to Scandinavian products, but some of the new names performing well in central London include Cos Skandium, BoConcept, Day Birger, and have the potential to be just as big.

And you thought it was just Meatballs and Loganberry jam!

Shopping as a Team Sport

If you follow me on Twitter or Facebook, you'll have noticed that my new big thing is a nifty website called Groupon. In a nutshell, Groupon negotiates huge discounts (and I do mean huge) with popular businesses who are keen to find new customers, with an unmissable 'deal of the day' for each major city. In fact they are so choosy about making sure their offerings are exceptional, that Wall Street Journal reported that said that Groupon reject seven out of eight deals they are offered...

The details of deals  are sent to the 2.5m fans via their free daily email, who then have a limited period (hours to days) to sign up or miss out. And if your Groupon deal recomendation leads others to sign up, you'll get your account credited, thereby encouraging you to buy, and recommend even more... Yes it's quite addictive...
But the important bit is that it's also part of a growing consumer trend being called 'Collaberative Consumption' that you may notice is starting to change the way you buy.

 
But what is collaberative consumption I hear you cry...? Well the collaborative consumption online hub describes it as "the rapid explosion in swapping, sharing, bartering, trading and renting being reinvented through the latest technologies and peer-to-peer marketplaces in ways and on a scale never possible before", as in Groupon's case- where they invite local businesses to offer you discounts, and you bring together a community to take advatange of them and get further money off too. And there are plenty of  other examples of how trading online is bringing people together and saving us money (EBay, the online marketplace that puts perfect strangers in touch with each other to do a deal together, was a very early example... Holiday house-swaps, Zipcar car sharing scheme etc)
 
And why are we bothering? Well, whilst in these austere times we are finding more and more creative ways of saving ourselves and each other a few bob, we're also all trying to chip in together and consume less because we know we can't just keep buying more and more stuff, especially stuff we're not even using much... The average power drill is used for just 12 minutes over it's entire lifetime!
 
Much better to hire a DVD from Lovefilm's recommended movies (basedon ratings from your fellow 'Lovefilm' community) than buy one in Tesco, and so on. So embrace the new phenomenon, connect with your consumer community to borrow something, do a deal, swap stuff..... Pitch in, and save a few quid too- what's not to love?