Winning the retail battle in 2015: Report highlights keys for success
UK RETAILERS must focus on seven key pillars for success in 2015, as outlined in a new report, Winning the Retail Battle in 2015, by retail insight specialist Kantar Retail and global law firm Squire Patton Boggs.
The seven key pillars are:
• Consumer insight – responding to the changing face of the UK population
• Shopper insight – understanding continually evolving shopper psychologies
• Technological innovation – being selective about the right tech to exploit
• Multichannel and omnichannel – serving shoppers seamlessly across all channels, especially mobile
• Value – moving beyond price to a new economy of time and ease
• Personalisation and contextualisation – not just of communications but of pricing and service
• Stores – having fewer of them, but making them more theatrical and connected
Kantar Retail director of retail insights, Bryan Roberts, says that a year after the first report with Squire Patton Boggs was launched and in the wake of Mary Portas’ high street review, the number of retail failures has slowed but it is clear that 2015 will still be a challenging time.
“Nevertheless, the British Retail Consortium has reported that many retailers expect sales to grow during 2015 and they will invest in more staff – showing that amidst the tough times, UK retailers are rising to the occasion, and continuing to innovate to remain competitive,” Roberts says.
Matthew Lewis, global head of retail at Squire Patton Boggs in Leeds, adds: “An increasingly important element of any plan for growth is the retailer’s omnichannel strategy. As part of our report we spoke with Stuart Paver, managing director of York-headquartered retailer Pavers, who provided a thought-provoking insight into the multichannel experience.
“It is interesting that while click and collect brings the worlds of online and in-store together, transitioning store staff to deal with the challenges this brings has created issues for many retailers. Many do not have the contractual flexibility that is needed to meet this customer demand and staff are not appropriately incentivised to look at the bigger picture. At Pavers, changing the way in which revenues are allocated has got the company into a position where everyone buys into the overall benefit of omnichannel; for other retailers, the challenge remains if they are to provide a connected experience for the shopper.”
John Lewis MD Andy Street said the winners will be those who correctly anticipate the changing nature of customer demands. “Selectively curated shops will be increasingly critical in the omnichannel race,” he says.
“John Lewis has a huge advantage bestowed by earlier generations – we only have 42 shops, and for national leadership we think we need approximately 65, which is why we are building in Birmingham, Leeds and Oxford. We are following the customer who wants to be inspired, wants to be social, and wants to be advised in store.”
