Retailing at the crossroads
Stephen Pate, NJN Network, Charlottetown, PEI, Canada, Feb. 2 2009
The death of a retailer or any business during the recession / depression will be nature’s way of taking out the weak and stupid. Consumers are always right and they get a chance to inflict mortal wounds on the retailers that serve them least. It happens when they stop shopping at stores they don’t like when they are worried about money. Consumers never stop spending money. It’s an addiction they can’t give up. So they just shop more intensely especially where they feel at home and abandon stores who have been treating them like the enemy. Retailers with bad customer service policies, bad inventory, and bad merchandising die on their own sword, the sword of bad customer service. Customers stand on the sidelines, cheering and waiting for the liquidation sale.
The newest trend goes beyond your worst nightmare – removal of bias and discrimination in retailing. Are you ready? The US election of a minority president will arouse the anti-discrimination bias in boomers next. I see bias and discrimination all around me every time I go shopping. More on that tomorrow.
According to NewsFactor Business Report, it’s Boomers who are the best at killing off retailers. Still the largest market demographic spending $400 billion more than any other market demographic they are the kings of retailing. The story features the stupidity of Circuit City which fired all its sales people (too high priced) in 2007. They went to work for Best Buy. Circuit City is gone bye bye.
“Customer service as a differentiator is not new, especially to boomers. We live in a commodity-glutted world. A good cup of coffee isn’t found exclusively at Starbucks. But a latte hand-crafted by your favorite barista somehow tastes better than the one cranked out by the crew member at Mickey D’s. Think about high-end department stores — Saks, Macy’s, Neiman Marcus, and Nordstrom’s. They all carry the same brands, assortments, and quality, but Nordstrom’s is different because its employees are known for unmatched customer service.” NewsFactor Business Report
If you’re a retailer or work in retail, stop and analyze all of your policies to see if they make sense to your customers. Fix the bad ones right away and re-acquaint yourself with the king – the ever spending Baby Boomer.
Treating boomers like the ticket to retail heaven is first, including training for retail sales staff in respect for the big buck boomers. Of course, retailers should show some respect for those minimum-wage slaves before the respect will transfer to the sales floor. Stores that have don’t cater to the aging human experience are next for extinction. As we age vision, hearing, walking and agility decline. Is your store a loud, dimly lit, cluttered denizen of young people? Wrong, boomers won’t even enter with their credit cards. The third suggestion is the store as destination replete with food, sitting areas and the community boomers cherish. If we want it cheap, Wal-Mart and Amazon have that. Actually, Amazon has community so they have low price and community. That’s the competition.
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