Black Friday Boom? Canadian Retail Trends

It used to be the norm to hear about Black Friday and associate it exclusively with the U.S. However, this trend has changed recently and Canadians are taking to stores during this busy season and seriously altering typical Canadian retail trends.

 

Check out this recent article from the Toronto Star: http://ow.ly/DwDNG. According to the article, November is the new December in Canadian retail: “Over the last couple years, Canadian retailers have been offering more and more late November discounts in an effort to reduce the flow of Canadians’ spending money south of the border on Black Friday sales that traditionally kick off the U.S. holiday spending season. While many Canadians are still attracted to the Black Friday spectacle, similar discounting at Canadian retailers has proven extremely popular.”

Additionally, Canadian retail trends have seen November sales grow from 8.2% of full-year sales a decade ago to 8.7% for 2013. And even though December remains the most important month sales-wise, this importance is declining: December accounted for 9.3 percent of annual sales in 2013 compared to more than 10 percent a decade ago.

So what does this mean for you? Well, most importantly, are you taking advantage of Black Friday as a way to increase sales and ramp up customer loyalty? If you are not, you should be. But you can’t just offer discounts and hope for the best. Things like sufficient people support to ensure high levels of customer service as well as highly attractive and attention-grabbing merchandising are considerations to take seriously.

For more about Canadian retail trends and how to take advantage of what is going on in the Canadian marketspace please contact Storesupport today by calling 905.847.6513.

From Browser to Buyer: Retail Displays that Grab Your Customer’s Attention

It is common knowledge that the amount of time you have to grab a consumer’s attention in-store is very minimal. Making your retail displays work for you takes more than just attracting attention – it also means keeping their attention – which can be incredibly difficult.

Check out this great infographic from Business 2 Community: http://www.business2community.com/infographics/increasing-retail-sales-store-display-mobile-0794001.  The information contained within it may shock you! However, it may also make you re-think your retail display strategy!

 

-        6 seconds: The time it takes for a consumer to switch to a competitor when they can’t find their usual brand on the shelf.

-        76%: The in-store decision rate (or the total of unplanned and brand-switch purchases).

-        13%: The percentage of time customers spend looking at in-store displays.

-        3 minutes: The maximum amount of time customers will spend waiting in line before becoming aggravated by the wait.

-        90%: The percentage of shoppers who use their smartphone for pre-shopping activities.

Retail displays are a huge factor when it comes to influencing buying behaviour – so they have to be well thought-out and planned.

Whether you are a retailer or a brand at retail, don’t leave your retail displays to chance. Let Storesupport help you execute your retail display strategy, one that takes note of these findings and secures real results. Call us today at 905.847.6513.

 

Empty Shelves = Lower Brand Loyalty: How Are You Preparing for the Holiday Season?

It is no secret that empty shelves can wreak havoc on brand loyalty. When a customer heads to your store intent on making a specific purchase but finds that particular item unavailable, their first instinct is always going to be looking for it somewhere else. If this happens often enough, you could be facing a significant decrease in overall sales as customers consistently choose your competitor (with shelves well stocked) over you. 

Walmart is one such company currently dealing with the ill effects of empty shelves. According to a Bloomberg News report, people quickly notice those empty shelves and are no longer staying quiet about the issue: people noticed “that many items were not being replenished, leaving some shelves bare. Hundreds of e-mails poured in from once-loyal customers complaining they could no longer find what they were looking for and so were shopping elsewhere.”

One of the biggest reason for these empty shelves? Well, according to Walmart employees, merchandise has been left piling up in aisles and in the stock room largely because the corporation doesn’t have enough people to ensure it is where it needs to be, when it needs to be there.

The issue of empty shelves becomes even more essential to deal with during this seriously busy time of year. Holiday shopping often necessitates an increase in your overall staff, and to ensure sufficient stocking capabilities this is really important.

So what are your options? Last week we spoke to the pros and cons of hiring seasonal workers. As much as this may seem like the only viable option – it isn’t. Hiring additional people support from a merchandising company – a team of retail experienced, professional, fully trained, and available on short notice for a short period of time, gives you the best of all worlds – without the cons. If you are concerned about keeping shelves stocked during the holidays, this might be something to seriously consider.

For more about keeping store shelves well stocked over the busy holiday season, or throughout the entire year, please contact Storesupport today. We have the people support that makes dealing with stock issues, quickly, easy. Call us today at 905.847.6513.

Holiday Staffing Challenges: Pros and Cons of Hiring Seasonal Employees

Retailers get ready! The holiday season is fast approaching, and that means getting prepared to face the rush of shoppers. This is a great time of year to ramp up your sales – but the hordes can actually have a negative impact on your bottom line if not handled properly. One of the best ways to ensure customer service levels remain high during this time of year is to increase your labour pool – but there are pros and cons to hiring seasonal employees. 

So, is hiring seasonal employees a short term fix for long term gain, or do the cons outweigh the pros? 

Pros:

 

-        Manage workload – increasing your pool of available labour helps to significantly increase customer service levels. Not only can you ensure shelves remain stocked and line-ups manageable, you can also use these additional employees to ensure that the store remains tidy and that customers can ask questions and receive answers rather than becoming frustrated and leaving for the competition.  

-        Cost savings – since these temporary workers are just that – temporary – you do not have to worry about the costs associated with hiring full time employees (benefits, etc.) or promises of salary increases down the road. Most of these employees understand that their positions are only good for a finite period of time and therefore don’t expect an increase or promise of more.  

Cons:

-        Training investment – even though these employees are only there for the short term, you are obviously not going to send them out on the floor with little to no training. Therefore, one of the most common challenges here is that you invest in these employees (both time and money) only to see them leave after the holiday rush is over. 

-        Lack of loyalty – it is a well-known fact in the retail world that short term workers are not nearly as loyal as those you hire for the long term. Most are aware of the fact that their employment contract is short, and so they may not be super concerned with how their work impacts your bottom line. Of course not all seasonal employees act on this knowledge-but can you risk even a few that do? 

Regardless of the pros and cons, going without that extra people support over the busy holiday season is often a really bad idea. If shelves are empty, line-ups long, and customers can’t get the service or attention they want, not only will your current sales suffer, but so too will your customer loyalty.  

A smart alternative to hiring seasonal employees is to turn to a merchandising company that has experience providing retail support and can offer highly trained, loyal staff on a short term basis. This means that the pros associated with hiring holiday staff are there, without having to worry about spending the time training employees that are not actually committed to your company – it is the best of both worlds! 

For more about professional people support versus hiring seasonal employees please contact Storesupport today by calling 905.847.6513.