“Congratulations Mrs Morris, you’re three month’s pregnant”
said the Doctor, and promptly handed us a ‘Pregnancy Information Folder’ from the Bounty Parenting Club.
“That’s fantastic news,”, I thought, “one of the happiest moments of my life; there’s a type of loyalty programme I haven’t seen before.”
For anyone working in the vibrant world of retail marketing, data is perhaps the dullest topic to read about. It’s just as tough for me to sit down and start writing about it.
Dudley's not interested either.
In fact, if I want to keep my blog on marketing ideas exclusive, I just have to mention data and that should keep the readers away. The evidence from market research supports this too
I’ve been given a book token as a gift. Sounds rather old-fashioned, doesn’t it? Actually, it’s a hi-tech stored value card, which comes with a tiny receipt, telling me how much has been loaded on it. What do book tokens make you think of, once you’ve been given one?
The UK high street is changing. Yes, it would be naïve of me to think that I’m giving you any great insight with that statement. Retailers have needed to adapt to meet the changing demands of retailers, as everyone knows. HMV, Waterstones, Oddbins, JJB Sports, All Saints and others- regularly in the news for their financial troubles, mostly as they try to get to grips with the current retail marketplace.
So why has WHSmith pretty much stayed the same as it ever was?
iPad fever abounds in the world of retail right now. And it’s easy to see why, with the world cooing over the introduction of Apple’s newest baby. Best Buy has just announced that they are considering iPads (other devices are available) for their staff to use as sales tools. We’ve got one client about to roll out something similar. Today, a new client has called to ask for advice on using iPads for CRM activities and for business in general.
When is it the right thing to do and when is it pure gimmickry? Will it just give them an image makeover in the eyes of their customers or will it actually contribute to the bottom line?
If all the independent retailers shut down, the high street would be a dull place to be. “Not very likely though” I hear you saying, but if you wander through a typical town now, it is very different to just five years ago. Like a David Attenborough documentary, I’m highlighting that some of the creatures we love could, if we are not careful, become extinct.
Thorntons is a tale of woe today. They’ve just announced an 8.5% drop in half-yearly profits, where they blame the bad weather, discounting as a result of weak consumer confidence and problems with their supply chain. They talk of closing more stores and, at best, suggesting flat (i.e. no) year-on-year growth.
I’ve been having a think about the Thorntons business and wondering if this is the whole story.
