The “C-Word” in Retail, why EVERYBODY is talking about it, but you don’t know it! (yet)

Having become a father for the first time in January this year, I’ve become a prolific shopper in the past few months, babies really do equal stuff! Given general opinion says that retailing and high street is in decline, I thought I’d take a bit of a look at what retailing can and is doing to thrive at a challenging time for the sector.

What has changed for retailers?

Nobody can argue that mobile has changed the retail landscape, in a ridiculous number of ways:

• the rise of mobile shopping (insert your own stats here, I’m lazy and they change all the time – it’s big) meaning people don’t necessarily have to visit stores as often
• consumers having conscious choice sat right there in their hand, pocket or bag
• the new perceived importance of loyalty over just getting people through the doors
• the ability to use mobile as a tool for getting people in the door again and again
• a host of new technologies hitting retail buyers aimed at measuring customers, communicating with them in real time, driving new experiences, you name it – there’s a mobile led tech out there that does it for retail
• ditto the previous point, but for apps!

This list of course is not exhaustive, I popped these thoughts down whilst waiting for my morning coffee to cool. You may disagree, but I think it’s clear the rise of mobile, has created the biggest impact on retail in, well forever really.

But there’s one word I think should form the basis of EVERY retailer’s strategy moving forwards, and it’s a word that nobody’s talking about. As it’s probably the reason you clicked on this blog, and hopefully read this far, let me hype this a bit further, with a short glossary of terms which I feel are thrown around as strategies by retailers, consultants and the media in general. Indeed, I’ve been as guilty as many in this regard, but none of them really encompasses what consumers (like me) are really looking for…

Ed’s glossary of retail terms/BINGO:

Brick and clicks/clicks and bricks – see multi/omni-channel

Big data – ok so perhaps you can have a big data strategy in isolation, but big data gets bandied about a lot and it’s my list so let’s go with it – you can’t argue there’s billions of customer touch points out there, which amounts to billions of 1s & 0s. What this doesn’t mean though is that just collecting data = a retail data strategy. Data on its own is broadly useless, it’s how it’s mined, and the insights that are gained that make the real difference

Multi/Omni-channel – rolling back the years here, but this just states the obvious now-a-days – people like to buy things in different ways from the same company, quelle surprise

Personalisation - the mecca of all retail marketers is the ability to communicate with a consumer in a highly-personalised manner. All I will say here is I am yet to receive a single personalised, real time communication from a retailer which I’ve acted upon. I’m not blaming them, it’s bloody hard, or maybe it’s just me?

Retail as an experience/Experiential retail – a creative agencies’ dream, a retailer trying to stay relevant by delivering an in-store “experience” to draw customers in to their high-street stores. I’ve seen this done well, and horribly badly. Either way, it’s a short-term fix, against long term challenge, in my opinion.

So come on Ed, which word are you referring to then?

There are a few terms which as you may tell, sometimes get on my nerves a little. Now I don’t dispute that all those areas are incredibly important, they of course are. However, there’s one term which I think explains the modern day (god I sound old) consumer need, and that is none other than the C-Word – CONVENIENCE.

A quick disclaimer I am not referring to convenience retailing here, i.e. smaller format, conveniently located grocery stores, but retailing convenience.

As I mentioned earlier my wife and I had a baby this year, and as a result our lives are enriched in many ways, however they are considerably time poorer as a result. Anyone who’s had kids will know this, and anyone who hasn’t take that as a warning! But in our always connected and “I want it now” lives, I feel the ease and speed of a buying experience is swiftly becoming the key consumer trait that retailers need to build their models around.

Whether I buy online, in-store, by mobile or tablet, the reason I’m shopping in any given place is generally convenience. I expect the store I’m in to have stock of the shirt I want or as a minimum can get it to me quickly, if I’m buying online I want to know I’m paying the cheapest/fairest price and will see my goods delivered promptly to the address of my choosing (and can change this at my leisure).

Possibly this is because I’m a new Dad, and time is tight, but more and more in speaking with both customers and contacts in my working life, and friends and family in my personal life it seems that a convenient journey is the number 1 customer need. So, come on retailers let’s build your strategy around it!

Conveniently (every pun intended) I plan to expand on this theme of retailing strategy thoughts with click bait titles, so stay tuned for my next blog on the “F-Word” that every retailer needs to get their head around to thrive in today’s fast paced world!

I’d love to hear your thoughts, comments and opinions, either in the comments below, or directly via all the normal ways. If you’ve enjoyed this please do like and share it. If not then I guess don’t!