Retail Barometer: 2017 In Review
What promotional activities have you used to generate custom?
PPE has been harping on about the benefits of social media for many years while reporting these results, and so it’s great to see a full 100% of respondents stating that they have been properly utilising one of the most positive aspects of the new age – free online marketing. Time is money for sure, but 10 years ago you couldn’t tell 10,000 potential customers that you were stocked up ready for the next movie launch. Increased social media
100%
Seasonal promotions
43%
40% Enhanced window 31% displays
37%
Local advertising
23%
Local events
23%
Staff training
12%
How did supermarkets, discount stores and mass digital retailing affect your trade this year?
3%
38%
34%
13%
12%
It doesn’t seem that many years since the biggest scandal in the party trade was a major retailer flogging 100,000 paper plates to Asda – in fact PPE still remembers it being the talk of The International Party Show. Some light nostalgia there. Now the market reports that those supermarkets aren’t the biggest issue, it’s the sheer number and magnitude of online traders.
■ Significant effect
38%
■ Slight effect 12% ■ No real effect
13%
■ The internet is more of a threat
34%
■ Supermarkets hurt more than the internet
3%
Which main factors had a positive effect on your business this year?
It’s somewhere between curious and perverse that digital commerce is hurting the high street, yet the top positive effect for retailers this year was developing websites to drive traffic and sales to the shop. The power of licensed product continued to be a key driver, despite it being much wider spread as opposed to singular spiked growth as with Frozen or Minions, for example. Developing a website
1st
Licensed product/films
2nd
Social media
3rd
Trialing new products
4th
Reduction in local competition
5th
Which of these main factors had a detrimental effect on your business in 2017?
Unsurprisingly, the challenges at retail came from the web and from the general state of the economy forcing costs up across the board. Making excel sheets line up used to be the preserve of the very big business, but now every single going concern must know their numbers to the penny. Mass e-commerce growth
1st
Party products in supermarkets
2nd
Increase in overhead costs
3rd
The UK retail economy
4th
Other factors
5th
Category Focus Taking categories as a whole, what have been your best-selling product areas throughout 2017?
Balloons and new balloon innovation (helped very nicely by the Unicorn fad) have seen the category top spot for 2017, with a virtually equal placing for costumes – just behind. With face-paint and special effects continuing to grow, retailers report a slight change in trend with consumers putting together their desired look, not just taking a packaged costume from the rack. 1
Balloons
2
Costumes
3
Face-paint and special effects
4
Partyware
5
Greetings/Gifts
All Seasons Which party seasons / events have generally increased or decreased over the past year?
Halloween’s weekday slot is going to affect trade for a few more years yet, but still represents a huge chunk of turnover even if it was between evens and down this year. Christmas and New Year’s Eve were late hits for a large number of respondents, with Book Week. Halloween Increased Remained the same Decreased
4% 29% 67%
Festivals Increased Remained the same Decreased
27% 62% 11%
Christmas Increased Remained the same Decreased
27% 40% 33%
Valentine’s Day Increased Remained the same Decreased
14% 57% 28%
New Year Increased Remained the same Decreased
36% 36% 28%
Book Week Increased Remained the same Decreased
52% 26% 22%
Hen & Stag Increased Remained the same Decreased
24% 48% 28%
Carnival Increased Remained the same Decreased
17% 50% 33%
Birthdays Increased Remained the same Decreased
50% 41% 9%
Saints Days Increased Remained the same Decreased
3% 41% 56%
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2018 PROGRESSIVE PARTY EUROPE
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