nickshanagher

People jump to conclusions often with little evidence to back up their decisions, Daniel Kahneman observes in his book Thinking Fast and Slow. “For some of our most important beliefs we have no evidence at all, except that people we love and trust hold these beliefs,” he writes. Independent retailers must bear this in mind as they read national newspapers. Expect to see all sorts of self-interested story-telling dressed up as truth. Some of this will damage your business. For example, discount retailers are now in fashion. “The more consumers are led to focus on price, the more we benefit,” Roman Heini, joint managing director of Aldi UK told the FT this week. Is it true? I don’t know. You have to make your mind up. Worse. Greens newsagents in the heart of Mayfair has shut its doors. After nearly 20 years of buying his newspapers and magazines there, Tyler Br û lé, the FT’s Fast Lane columnist was forced to shop elsewhere. “This small drama on Marylebone High Street repre

Too many marketers focus on the pay-off that their product or service offers the consumer and miss the point about the architecture of how people decide what to buy. “When for example we must assess what price we are prepared to pay our decision is determined not only by the value we associate with that product but also by our expectations of what such a product should cost,” says Enrico Trevisan in The Irrational Consumer. His book explains how to apply behavioural economics to your business strategy. It deserves a space in every marketing toolkit as he teaches you the same things that you may have read in Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman in a way that you can quickly apply to your plans. Trevisan is a partner with Simon-Kurcher & Partners, world leaders in price consulting, and his economical use of language helps you to focus on how to use the insight instead of admiring the genius of unlocking how people think. For wholesalers seeking to influence indepen

Successful local convenience shopkeepers know that they are having to consistently raise their standards as more shoppers abandon the out-of-town big box in favour of buying a little locally and more frequently. But as standards rise and as Tesco moves into every nook and cranny it can find, shopkeepers also know they have to be outstanding at something. Sourcing local food suppliers is one route and if you are passionate about serving good food as part of your mix then Food DIY by Tim Hayward is a book that deserves a place on your desk. Do-it-yourself, Hayward advises in this attractive, substantial and easy-to-read book. While Hayward’s target is the person who is rejecting “shop bought” food, I suspect there is a substantial cross over with the customer base for some local shops. Hayward promotes “getting your hands gloriously dirty” at a time when skills like “baking, processing and curing are in danger of being lost forever.” While Hayward promotes grasping back food prod