What do your shoppers need that you could provide them but don't do so at the moment? This is an important question to always ask yourself.
Corner shops used to specialise and groups of specialist outlets would locate near each other in a parade, encouraging more shoppers to visit them all. However, improvements to product packaging, looser regulation, and supply chain developments mean that there are fewer and fewer areas where a specialist can survive unchallenged.
Shoppers increasingly expect an integrated offer "in which they can mix-and-match among delivery channels", says Andrew Higginson, chief executive of retailing strategies at Tesco.
As his company has a UK-wide network of stores, a web site, clubcard, smartphones, a catalogue, a credit card and a bank, you can see why he would view the world this way.
The new services that Tesco wants to develop offer higher margins than grocery. Because of its size in the UK it is able to attract lots of new customers cheaply and use its existing infrastructure to serve them. It also has the ability to "reward loyal customers with deals".
Most interesting, the shoppers who buy services spend more with the retailer and are much more likely to stay loyal.
This last point is important for local shops to understand. On the one hand, it suggests that the more Tesco gets people to buy from it, the more loyal they become, which means that you may lose sales. On the other hand, the wider your repetoire with your customers, the more loyal shoppers should be to you.
Yet again, the best advice is to copy a good idea when you see it. Be a specialist in knowing what your shoppers want and building their trust.
Corner shops used to specialise and groups of specialist outlets would locate near each other in a parade, encouraging more shoppers to visit them all. However, improvements to product packaging, looser regulation, and supply chain developments mean that there are fewer and fewer areas where a specialist can survive unchallenged.
Shoppers increasingly expect an integrated offer "in which they can mix-and-match among delivery channels", says Andrew Higginson, chief executive of retailing strategies at Tesco.
As his company has a UK-wide network of stores, a web site, clubcard, smartphones, a catalogue, a credit card and a bank, you can see why he would view the world this way.
The new services that Tesco wants to develop offer higher margins than grocery. Because of its size in the UK it is able to attract lots of new customers cheaply and use its existing infrastructure to serve them. It also has the ability to "reward loyal customers with deals".
Most interesting, the shoppers who buy services spend more with the retailer and are much more likely to stay loyal.
This last point is important for local shops to understand. On the one hand, it suggests that the more Tesco gets people to buy from it, the more loyal they become, which means that you may lose sales. On the other hand, the wider your repetoire with your customers, the more loyal shoppers should be to you.
Yet again, the best advice is to copy a good idea when you see it. Be a specialist in knowing what your shoppers want and building their trust.
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