myRetailer.ca

Appearances are everything, even in the retail business

Customers love finding deals. Stay competitive by making your special sales and pricing deals visible from outside your store. Customer perception can make or break your business. Take control of how your customer feels about your retail store. Often times it doesn’t matter what reality is, perception is what holds true in the marketplace.

When we opened our new store in Moncton, NB, we constructed a brand new modern facility with the best of everything.  Although it created a superior shopping environment and huge operational efficiencies, one effect that we underestimated was how it affected customer perceptions on price. (more…)

Holiday shopping season could see upswing: Survey

An international retail body has predicted an uptick in Canadian retail sales over the upcoming holiday season, according to a report released Tuesday. New York City-based International Council of Shopping Centers, Inc. projected a year-over-year sales increase of 2.0 to 2.5 per cent for the traditional holiday shopping season, which spans November and December.

Read Full Story

Canadian Retail Sales Rise in September

Retail sales in Canada exceeded analysts’ expectations in September, indicating that the country’s economic recovery is well underway, Canwest News Service reports. Canada’s retail sales rose one percent during September to $34.9 billion, the seventh increase in nine months, according to Statistics Canada. Economists had predicted retail sales to rise by 0.6 percent.

Read Full Story

Women’s Executive Network announces Canada’s Most Powerful Women in 2009

The Women’s Executive Network (WXN)(TM) is pleased to announce the recipients of the prestigious 2009 Canada’s Most Powerful Women

Read Full Story

Canadian manufacturing and U.S. retail sales show recent improvements

Nationwide manufacturing sales in September were down 18.6% compared with the same month a year ago, according to Statistics Canada. However, the situation has been improving since May. On a month-to-month basis, Canadian manufacturing sales in September were +1.4% versus August. This was almost entirely due to a gain in the motor vehicles category (+16.4% month to month). Auto sector sales touched bottom in January 2009.

Read Full Story

Stores brace for ‘new frugal reality’

The new frugality that has swept over North American consumers is showing up in the malls. Major U.S. retailers are reporting disappointing November sales results, pointing to a tough holiday season that will require aggressive promotions to lure consumers.

Read Full Story

Canadian dollar may creep lower over next 12 months

Canada’s currency will drop slightly in value against the U.S. dollar in 12 months but may have a brief fling with parity in the interval, according to a Reuters poll of market strategists released on Wednesday.

Read Full Story

Final Sale! Inventory Blowout! End of Season!
There’s a reason why Retailers use these Signs.

image provided by Flickr

A colleague of mine was telling me today about how his staff mistakenly placed an order for twice the number of “Mumsettias” (a holiday potted flower mix with mums and a poinsettia in it) than what they really wanted. A mistake on their part, they had to find a way to deal with the extra inventory. Mumsettias are a holiday, potted flower that usually sells for $9.99 each. However because of the mix up, last Friday he changed his roads sign to read the following:

Oops…
Too many Mumsettias.
Reg. $9.99
Now $6.97

…and sold out completely by 3pm the next day.

Customers are looking for deals. They don’t care how or why there might be a deal, they just want to feel that they are getting bargain of some sort.

In this case, he basically admitted to making a mistake, which resulted a somewhat urgent need for him to give away more than he normally would have in order to sell through his inventory. In the message, he was able to convey that message, making it more believable and giving a reason for customers to come in and take advantage of this particular deal.

Why do you think that Going Out Of Business Sales are so successful? You could advertise 30% Off Everything all you want, and see some results. However if you advertised, Going Out Of Business Sale. 30% Off Everything. Your response will be ten times larger.

Why? It’s because people need to really feel that they are getting a deal. A simple 30% off might be a store promotional campaign, however a going out of business sale is a real deal to customers.

So what kind of reason do you have or can come up with to hold a sale? Some ideas could include:
- Inventory Overrun
- Inventory Clearance Sale
- End of Season Clearance
- Bought Too Much, Need to Move Product

The possibilities are huge. Find a reason why you are in a panic to sell merchandise, or why you have this rare opportunity for customers to save money. This will help build excitement and drive traffic into your store.