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The Elephant in The Room By Ritchie Sayner Advanced Retail Strategies Once upon a time not so long ago, pre-Covid for sure, the biggest
a problem since now all the customer has to do is open a search
worry a retailer had was that the store down the street might carry
engine on any device and see the same item that you carry and more.
the same vendors. Heaven help us if they had the nerve to sell
You try to convince yourself that your customers will shop locally
them for a few dollars less.
and support your store. That all sounds good until the price changes.
Fast forward to 2021 and those concerns pale in comparison to
Now the same item is available, in some cases, for 30 percent to
what the independent retailer contends with today. What retailer on
60 percent less than you are selling it for, the shipping is free, and
planet Earth wouldn’t take the competitive challenges of yesteryear
the item arrives at the customer’s doorstep the next day. Sorry, but
versus dealing with today’s Internet-driven issues?
that customer loyalty thing just went out the window.
Dream Becomes A Nightmare
OK, so you accept the fact you now must compete with Amazon. But wait, there’s more ... as the commercial goes. You now discover
Consider the following scenario: You are at a market and discover
your new vendor has the very styles you carry on their website. And
what you believe will become a “hot” line for your store. You are
they are NOT directing customer inquiries back to you in most cases,
promised “exclusive” rights to the line in your trading area to give
they are selling direct to the retail customer - YOUR customer!
you an opportunity to develop the brand. Your customers love the
If that isn’t enough, some vendors are starting their own “rent
line and your competitors are champing at the bit to buy it should the opportunity present itself.
the runway” type services. One store I work with notified me that items she had in her store for only four weeks could be found
All is good until one day you discover (or worse yet, a customer
on the vendor’s rented site. Her initial reaction was to cancel all
does) that same hot line is available online. Needless to say, that’s
future orders from the vendor. Who could blame her? The reality
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>> May/June 2021
