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Category Archives: Terrific Retail Insights

Advertising is like buying a draught horse

Advertising is like buying a draught horse
Menswear retailer Barry Souter has been in the retailing business long enough to have learned a thing or three about advertising, about what works and what doesn’t. Based in Christchurch, New Zealand, a wonderful city that has faced huge challenges in recent years, his MY Menswear store, like the people he serves, has remained resilient…
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9 Tricks Zara uses to give you a burning desire to buy their clothes

9 Tricks Zara uses to give you a burning desire to buy their clothes
Zara is one of the best-known and most successful fashion retailers in the world. Since opening their first store in Spain in 1975, they have grown to become an enormous, over 2,000-store chain, with a presence in 96 countries. I came across this fascinating article about the company titled 9 Tricks Zara uses to give…
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The psychology of price

The psychology of price
Expecting customers to make decisions based on rational thinking often results in lost opportunities and lost sales for all sorts of businesses. Let’s take a business we can all relate to, a retail store trying to entice customers to buy slow moving stock. Imagine you are this retailer and you ask your staff to prepare…
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Why I’m not loyal to my health food store

Why I’m not loyal to my health food store
Twice a month, every month without fail, my local health food store texts me and tells me I’m an idiot! How offensive is that? Here’s their actual words from the texts at the beginning of each month: “Super Tuesday Tomorrow so come on in and enjoy 21% OFF store wide excluding food, items already on special and some practitioner…
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What do you know about ALDI?

What do you know about ALDI?
I’ve never understood the success of ALDI, having checked out their stores over the years when visiting the UK and more recently in Australia, I just shake my head in disbelief. I do have two items, that I am thankful of that I specifically went into Aldi to buy. The first is an owl to…
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Big brands losing the battle with big retailers

Big brands losing the battle with big retailers
Here’s a link to a fascinating article by UK based international retail consultant Alan Treadgold on why established big name brands such as Kraft and Heinz are struggling. Many moons ago, when I first knew Alan, he was Director of the Australian Centre for Retail Studies at Monash University. His observations are always worth noting.
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Australian Retailing under the microscope

Australian Retailing under the microscope
It’s always interesting to see ourselves as others see us, so I read with interest UK Home Improvement and Gardening commentator Steve Collinge’s recent review of DIY and related retailing in Australia. The full article is well worth a read. Click on Disruption just around the corner. Below you will find a few facts and…
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Spelling out the Benefits Part 7: Painting word pictures

Spelling out the Benefits Part 7: Painting word pictures
Buying is an emotional experience. Once you have gathered the information about your customer’s needs and why they want to buy you’re ready for the next step.  This is where you paint a word picture for your customers that enables them to see themselves using it, or wearing it, showing it to friends, hearing their…
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Spelling out the Benefits Part Six: Comparing two products

Spelling out the Benefits Part Six: Comparing two products
Every product has certain features and benefits.  In helping customers come to a decision your job is to point out the appropriate benefits of the products they are considering. A word of warning here – Never run down one product or price to promote another. Instead point out the extra value of the alternative.  Don’t…
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In the absence of benefits…

In the absence of benefits…
Here is a cautionary tale from Marketing Maestro, Winston Marsh. As I wandered through a shopping centre the other day I spied a vendor who had hired a spot in the mall for a week or so. They sold saucepans and, as I fancy myself as an accomplished chef, I wandered over to see what…
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