Fix it Quick: Managing Product Recalls

When you manufacture and distribute a product, there are a number of challenges - we all know this. The choices you make, from design stage, to distribution channel, to location, all impact your bottom line and ultimately how well your product performs. When it comes to emergencies- we are talking here about product recalls - these decisions become even more important, as a poorly handled product recall can impact not only your sales, it can cause often irreparable damage to your brand’s reputation.

Product recalls happen all the time, often for unforeseen reasons, and this is why having a strategy in place to manage this challenge is so essential.

How you approach the management of a product recall will largely depend on the type of recall you are dealing with. For example, a product found to contain something that is a known health hazard requires a very different process than a recall regarding an allergy alert.

With a health hazard recall, product will need to be removed from the shelf immediately, shipped back to the warehouse or directly to Health Canada and examined or destroyed. New, uncontaminated product will need to be sent out and restocked. This needs to be done very quickly in order to avoid lost sales and a damaged reputation. That being said, there is very little wiggle room when it comes to a health hazard recall, as removal is the only option.

Many believe that this is also the case when it comes to labelling issues, ingredient discrepancies and allergy alert product recalls, and assume that product needs to be removed from the shelf, sent back to the warehouse, relabelled and then shipped back to the store. This process is both costly and time/resource consuming. And it isn’t necessary.

What do we mean it isn’t necessary? Well, if there is nothing wrong with the product, and just the label requires attention, why spend money and time shipping the entire batch back to the warehouse? Instead, bring in a team with the experience dealing with product recalls to quickly re-label all product. Makes sense, no? That way, time is not spent with empty space on the shelf where your product should be (meaning no lost sales as a result) and money is not spent shipping product back to the warehouse to do what can be done in store.

So how do you manage product recalls properly? No matter the case, it needs to be handled quickly, but just make sure that the decision you make regarding the process you choose is the most cost-effective and defensive.

Storesupport’s emergency response services can ensure that your product recall is handled effectively and efficiently. Call us today to set a plan in place: 1 877 421 5081.

E-Commerce Impacts - Online vs. Bricks and Mortar

Over the last few years, the impact e-commerce has had on the retail world has been a constant topic of discussion. The competition caused by the growth of online shopping has led to the development of a number of different strategies for bricks and mortar only locations, as well as those offering both the online and bricks and mortar experience.

Check out this great article from the Globe and Mail, “Retail reboot: How e-commerce is forcing an industry transformation”: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/retail-reboot-how-e-commerce-is-forcing-an-industry-transformation/article21602870/?page=all.

So what are these impacts? The article starts by discussing a recent big box store’s decision to change up the footprint of a new store - making it far smaller but with a bigger storeroom to accommodate online orders. This represents a strategic shift in dealing with e-commerce impacts.

However, is it just an online vs. bricks and mortar game? No. Just last year several big name previously online-only retailers turned the tables by setting up physical locations. Others are encouraging those who shop online to pick up in store. These changes speak to the importance still held by the customer experience and the desire for options on behalf of the customer.

So what do these impacts mean? Overall the changes reflect the need to meet constantly evolving consumer demands - now a harder task than ever. The challenges of keeping up appearances, keeping customers happy, and keeping customers loyal, have become much harder than they used to be.

Concerned about how to implement these changes or others without impacting your customer experience? The online and bricks and mortar game is complex and requires a certain finesse, but there are ways to combat those challenges and come out on top.

Storesupport has a suite of services to meet your needs, from people support to merchandising - call us today to find out more: 1 877 421 5081. 

Retail Intelligence - Are You Data Savvy?

In the retail world, maintaining control is critical, especially for brands with products listed at retail. Since you are leaving those products in a retailer’s hands, it is important to keep in touch with what is going on, how these products are preforming, and if they are not, why this might be. This is where retail intelligence and being data savvy come in.

Being data savvy means knowing exactly what is happening on the floor thanks to retail intelligence. For brands, retail intelligence, essentially, means gathering information on a number of different things in order to keep you informed. This is accomplished through a number of different means, primarily a retail audit.

What can retail intelligence tell you? Here are just a few examples of how top brands use retail audits to stay on top of their retailers:

What are your competitors doing? A retail audit is a great way to find out how your competitors are behaving. Where are they located on the shelf? How much shelf space do you have compared to these brands? What is their brand messaging and how are they displaying it? Are they running a promotion? What is their price point? All of this information can be used by you to improve your own merchandising.

What about your own promotions? Are your promotions on the floor, where they are supposed to be? Are displays well stocked, and stocked with your product only? Don’t spend all that time planning a promo only to see it fall far below expectations thanks to someone else’s actions. 

What are your retailer’s employees doing? This is another important aspect of a retail audit. For example, visible promotions are not very effective if shelves are empty, or if employees are unaware of the location of your product or can’t answer questions about it. Are store staff endorsing your brand or ensuring planogram compliance? All really important questions you need to know the answers to.

A retail audit serves two purposes - both essential to your bottom line. Firstly, a retail audit is preventative in that it ensures things are running smoothly and efficiently, and can allow you to monitor how well things are working and effectively make changes when desired. Secondly, it is corrective, since an audit can not only reveal what is working well, it can also reveal what isn’t working quite as productively.

So, are you data savvy? Missing crucial information can mean big issues - do you know what is happening on the store floor? To find out, please call Storesupport Canada today at 1 877 421 5081. 

Omni-Channel Retailing - Some Stats to Think About

Omni-channel retailing has received a great deal of attention in the media recently, and for good reason. This increasingly popular trend has a lot to recommend it. We are becoming more and more aware that retailers and brands are having to shift their targeting, and as a result of the various channels now available, customers have far more demands - and therefore expectations. Omni-channel retailing is quickly becoming the best way to meet those demands.

Still relatively unconvinced about the effectiveness of this new trend or how it will impact the retail world of tomorrow? Well, we’ve got the stats to prove just how important it is. Check out this great infographic from CK Systems - it has the data you’re looking for:

If you offer omni-channel retailing solutions to your customers - or the ability to shop on their terms - there are a number of things that you need to be thinking about:

• We spoke about higher expectations - 44% of consumers report higher expectations than they had last year.
• One of the most challenging expectations is delivery. Think about this: according to consumers, the Best-in-Class retailers can deliver in 1 day, whereas the average retailer delivers in 9 days - where do you sit on this scale?
• Customer Service is crucial: 62% of consumers actually switched brands in the last year thanks to poor customer service.

If you can’t offer your customer what they want, they may just turn to your competitor. Great customer service and the ability to meet customer demands on a regular basis is crucial - so don’t fall behind.

For more about omni-channel retailing and how to integrate it into your retailing strategy, please contact Storesupport Canada today at 1 877 421 5081.

Target: A Case Study in Customer Loyalty

By now most of us have bid our farewells to Target Canada. The big box giant, after attempting to make waves on the Canadian retail scene (and arguably it did, although in the end these were no more than ripples), fell quite short of expectations and as a result is no more. Target has really proven to be a perfect case study in customer loyalty.

Target Canada faltered, almost from the very beginning, for a number of reasons. One of the biggest was the empty shelves that seemed to constantly loom large for shoppers looking for a deal. Another was the prices; Canadian shoppers entered Target Canada for the first time expecting an American equivalent and were usually disappointed. Those Canadian shoppers who fell in love with the discount superstore from the U.S. continued to have their customer loyalty tested.

By the end of the road, Target Canada seemed to give up, but refused to go out without a bang. Check out this great article from The Huffington Post, “The Unbearable Lameness Of Target Canada's Liquidation Sale”: http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2015/02/07/target-canada-liquidation-sale_n_6633616.html. After building up the hype about the liquidation sales Target would host in order to get rid of stock, customers again found themselves wondering why they’d even bothered.

The article features of number of Twitter images of customer’s experiences, from empty shelves, to higher prices masquerading as sales, to aisles that were almost impossible to navigate due to the mess. In the end, people did turn up for what they assumed would be great deals, but many just left after a largely lackluster event.

If Target Canada can teach us anything after only 2 years here, it is that customers need to feel as though their needs and wants matter. Customer loyalty is becoming increasingly difficult to retain, and even the slightest hitch in today’s retail sphere can have major impacts.

Storesupport has the tools and tips to help you boost your customer loyalty. Call us today at 1-877-421-5081.

In The News: StatsCan on Retail Trade

Late last month StatsCan released their numbers for December 2014, and they were not great. According to the report, “Retail sales fell 2.0% to $42.1 billion in December. This was the largest decline since April 2010.” This isn’t so startling when gas is removed from the equation - that brings the number to 1. 3%, but it is still a fair drop, especially since holiday shopping should have kept numbers at least what they were for the previous month.

Here is a graph displaying the growth and subsequent decline of sales - December’s drop is undeniably drastic.

Following gains in the fall, sales at food and beverage stores declined 0.5% in November. The decrease was largely attributed to lower sales at supermarkets and other grocery stores (-0.4%) and beer, wine and liquor stores (-1.0%). This was tempered by an increase in December: up 1% at food and beverage stores, 4% at beer, wine and liquor stores, and 3.1% at specialty food stores.

Retail sales in the clothing and accessories, electronics and appliances, and the sporting goods sectors also saw a drop, a hard fact to swallow considering holiday sales should have been up, at least in these sectors.

Ontario wasn’t alone either; retail sales were down in every province for the month of December, although Ontario did the see the largest drop (-2.3%) dollar wise.

We are hoping that these sales are not a sign of what is to come - but if they are, you need to be ready. Getting a leg up on the competition means a number of different things, whether you are a brand or a retailer - but keeping up brand loyalty and ensuring a positive customer experience are two important places to start. These two things go hand-in-hand with your merchandising strategy and your people support.

For more about boosting sales by increasing loyalty and the customer experience, Storesupport can help. We’ve got the tools you need to beat the competition and banish falling sales. Call us today at 1-877-421-5081.

You can review the full StatsCan report for December 2015 here: http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/150220/dq150220a-eng.htm. 

Merchandising and Retail Trends: Retailing 2015

We are well into the New Year now, and PricewaterhouseCoopers has released their report on the retail industry for the coming months, “Retailing 2015: New Frontiers.”

If you are at all up-to-date with what is going on in the retail world, you will likely recognize that this title is quite apropos. With the vast and major changes within the retail sphere, it can often feel as though we are entering the unknown.

According to the report, big changes are in store for the retail industry: “the retail industry is becoming more complex and changing at an ever-increasing speed.  Shifting demographics, household downsizing, more educated consumers, new channel formats—among other trends—require that the industry quickly adjust and modify existent models, approaches and processes to satisfy the needs of future customers in order to be successful and profitable.”

Here are some of the key take-aways:

Targeting - Baby Boomers have almost completely upset the balance of things. Ok, not really, but they have had a serious impact. The generation gap now makes tailoring offerings to customers’ specific wants/needs imperative, rather than the mass appeal approach of the 1980s.

Strategic Outsourcing - adapting to the ever evolving demands of customers has led several companies in the industry to outsource everything from talent (people support) to software development. And, according to the article, cost efficiency isn’t the only benefit; outsourcing can help keep management’s attention focussed on key business issues.

Importance of Technology - technology has become important on so many levels in the retailing world, this is not new - but the way that it is used is. Operational efficiency will come to rely heavily on technology, including real-time data delivery and management.

Want more on retailing in 2015? You can download the full PDF here: https://www.pwc.com/es_CL/cl/publicaciones/assets/retailing2015.pdf. 

Stay in-the-know. Don’t let major shifts in the industry leave you at the back of the pack. Storesupport can help keep you up-to-date and current. Call us today at 1-877-421-5081.