July 2, 2013
Will More Americans Shop Indie This Month?
On July 4, Americans across the country and in places around the world will celebrate their national day of independence. Independent retailers are hoping that Americans will celebrate that spirit of "going it alone" by shopping in their stores and on their websites all throughout July as part of Independent Retailer Month.
The national campaign is dedicated to showing Americans the value of doing business with the small retailers in their own communities. 
While some of the facts and figures on the Independent Retailer Month are a bit dated, they all reach the same conclusion. Dollars spent with local retailers provide more direct benefits to the communities where purchases are made than when an equal amount of dollars go to chain store.
Independent Retailer Month is not the only promotion to support the small guy. American Express’ Small Business Saturday has taken root over the past couple of years, encouraging consumers to "shop small." This effort also reinforces the advantages of spending money with local merchants.
A RetailWire article last November pointed to five steps small merchants could take to keep shoppers coming back after responding to promotions such as Independent Retailer Month and Small Business Saturday:
- Focusing on customer service
- Providing incentives to return
- Making use of social media to connect with new shoppers
- Establishing systems to learn about and communicate with customers
- Making use of mobile systems for payments, inventory tracking, etc.
BrainTrust
Recent Discussions
Discussion Questions
Do you think educating Americans on the economic value of shopping with independent merchants is the key to making programs such as Independent Retailer Month work? What do you think local retailers need to do to keep shoppers coming back after the first visit?
Poll
I support local retailers. That said, the idea of “educating” customers to shop with locals is a bit dubious. Great retail is great retail. It answers the customers’ question, “What’s new?”, in an engaging environment that encourages shoppers to take it home that day.
Just because you are local doesn’t mean I should have to settle as a customer for poor service, surly attitudes or dirty, disorganized or frumpy stores. Great local retailers are great local retailers but local retailers are not all cut from the same cloth.
Customers vote with their feet without any education — do them right and they return, do them wrong and they’re on Amazon. In a world of ordinary, it’s about being exceptional which knows no zip code.
The value of independent merchants is not necessarily tied to having the lowest price in town — often just the opposite. Educating consumers on the merits of long-term loyalty is critical, especially in the areas of customer service and specialized assortments. But, a campaign like this, spread out over a month, is less likely to be successful than the “rallying cry” of Small Business Saturday driven by the national marketing muscle of American Express.
One key to long-term engagement with the customer is the merchant’s ability to exceed expectations in the first place. The “trial” visit becomes critical, whether it was driven by price incentives or not.
With national chains dominating paid advertising and investing heavily in social media, it’s important for independent retailers to make themselves heard. Independent Retail Month can help make some noise for independents by educating consumers about their importance.
Local retailers need to back up the July advertising push by focusing on personalized service and unique items for sale. This should be supplemented with easy payment options and social media dialogue.
This focus needs to extend beyond one month. Customers will return when they realize benefits throughout the year.
It is very difficult to go up against the goliath’s in retail, and it takes an enormous effort just to remain profitable these days. In a poor town, it makes it twice as hard, and the big box stores certainly know how to draw in the masses for cheap pop and chips.
What are indies’ solutions to retaining a viable business these days? The merchandise you sell must be the right mix at the right price, just for starters. Consumers want value — in most cases extreme value — for the goods they buy, and the perception of the big stores is tough to overcome.
However, that being the case, a store owner must provide a reason for folks to shop their stores, and having unique “got to” have products is a good start.
The customer experience inside the store must be positive or forget them coming back, but opportunities are there to drive sales, with the right products, and a knowledgeable staff to help make the sale.
With the internet, home delivery, dollar stores, and mass discount stores, the indies are searching for survival tips, and I wish all of them well as I have been at this game for over 47 years and hope to be around for many more. Stay educated in your field of expertise, and make the positive changes necessary to keep profitable, until the economy gets better, which could be 2-3 more years.
All things being somewhat equal I think there are many Americans who — given a choice — would prefer to buy local.
The problem with Independent Retailer Month — or Day, or Year, or Decade — is that it tends to preach to the converted, i.e., its greatest appeal is as an affirmation or reinforcement of existing behavior.
As to what independent retailers have to do to ensure a second visit — the list is pretty much the same as for any retailer. Just being local won’t make up for poor quality, high prices, poor selection or terrible service.
It’s perhaps too easy to forget that one of the reasons Walmart was initially so successful was that many local merchants had been abusing their monopolies for decades. So, being an independent is — in and of itself — never quite enough. You also need to be a good community citizen and an excellent retailer.
Retailers, large and small, need to offer a consistent, compelling shopping experience. The “loyalty” of shopping the independent will not endure if the national retailer provides a better experience.
Small retailers need to offer services that the large companies cannot easily duplicate. Prices will always be matched by competitors. You must differentiate with services and unique store staff. The human touch is the final frontier “indies” in which still have the upper hand.
I’d add a sixth step small retailers can take — having a completely unique product mix. There’s a store up the street that’s an international gourmet market on the first floor, and a general store selling household items one level down. It’s unlike anything you’ll see elsewhere, and it’s hopping all the time. The more publicity this campaign can get, the more shoppers will respond.
Local and independent retailers have never had an advantage like they have today. A presence on the web and good use of social media helps level the playing field. A small local retailer can compete with larger national chains.
Consumers will go to the places that make them feel best about where they do business. Some feel good about supporting local and independent businesses, but these businesses must step up and deliver an experience that will make the customer want to come back, regardless of being local/independent.
I am always interested in Tony Orlando’s take on these subjects since he is the one in the trenches actually fighting the fight.
I often wonder how the independents survive over the long haul. The answer to me is customer loyalty. How is this achieved? It is by continuing to offer the products wanted at close to a competitive price. Then top it off with outstanding customer service. Stew Leonard is the best example I can think of. But, including Tony, there are countless others. Let’s find them and support them.
One of the first things out the window of a small company is the original business plan. As business prospects enter the store or office in hopes of fulfilling a need or want learning their similarities is a must no matter where the journey takes you. Embracing this challenge and actively working to find and deliver the goods/services your customers will buy is a mandatory effort with constant change. A case in point is one retailer I patronized many moons ago that changed from a soda shop to a luncheonette to a stationary store to an office supply and finally sold as an office equipment wholesaler. Another business down the street morphed from an appliance store to an entertainment center before being sold for retirement. During the course of these changes I had the pleasure of being seated with the partners of these two businesses at a chamber of commerce dinner meeting. The meeting was the usual kind with a lot of hobnobbing and political hoopla. Ours was one of the larger tables with most of the successful local businesses in the area seated together. The table atmosphere was very cordial, subdued and quiet. In anticipation of something much different I mentioned this in passing to one of the retailers I was seated next to. He abruptly informed me that he never learned a thing without first listening and observing. His colleagues that witnessed this exchange simply nodded their agreement without an utterance. This short lesson payed me well through the rest of my sales career.
Although I agree that the education on the value of shopping local, in its current form, may be preaching to the converted, I do believe that education is still important to getting more consumers through the doors of local/independent retailers. I find it hard to believe that absolutely everyone is aware of the benefits of shopping local. However, getting those new customers through the door is only the first step. As others have mentioned, education and a desire to shop local will only be enough for those consumers who have the resources to look beyond higher prices, bad customer service, or any form of negative experience. For the average consumer, the desire to do good needs to be augmented with additional value. That value doesn’t necessarily have to come in the form of lower prices, but can be, for example, excellent personalized customer service, community involvement, or partnerships with other local business, to name just a few. In other words, the kind of value that only a local/independent merchant could provide.
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I support local retailers. That said, the idea of “educating” customers to shop with locals is a bit dubious. Great retail is great retail. It answers the customers’ question, “What’s new?”, in an engaging environment that encourages shoppers to take it home that day.
Just because you are local doesn’t mean I should have to settle as a customer for poor service, surly attitudes or dirty, disorganized or frumpy stores. Great local retailers are great local retailers but local retailers are not all cut from the same cloth.
Customers vote with their feet without any education — do them right and they return, do them wrong and they’re on Amazon. In a world of ordinary, it’s about being exceptional which knows no zip code.
The value of independent merchants is not necessarily tied to having the lowest price in town — often just the opposite. Educating consumers on the merits of long-term loyalty is critical, especially in the areas of customer service and specialized assortments. But, a campaign like this, spread out over a month, is less likely to be successful than the “rallying cry” of Small Business Saturday driven by the national marketing muscle of American Express.
One key to long-term engagement with the customer is the merchant’s ability to exceed expectations in the first place. The “trial” visit becomes critical, whether it was driven by price incentives or not.
With national chains dominating paid advertising and investing heavily in social media, it’s important for independent retailers to make themselves heard. Independent Retail Month can help make some noise for independents by educating consumers about their importance.
Local retailers need to back up the July advertising push by focusing on personalized service and unique items for sale. This should be supplemented with easy payment options and social media dialogue.
This focus needs to extend beyond one month. Customers will return when they realize benefits throughout the year.
It is very difficult to go up against the goliath’s in retail, and it takes an enormous effort just to remain profitable these days. In a poor town, it makes it twice as hard, and the big box stores certainly know how to draw in the masses for cheap pop and chips.
What are indies’ solutions to retaining a viable business these days? The merchandise you sell must be the right mix at the right price, just for starters. Consumers want value — in most cases extreme value — for the goods they buy, and the perception of the big stores is tough to overcome.
However, that being the case, a store owner must provide a reason for folks to shop their stores, and having unique “got to” have products is a good start.
The customer experience inside the store must be positive or forget them coming back, but opportunities are there to drive sales, with the right products, and a knowledgeable staff to help make the sale.
With the internet, home delivery, dollar stores, and mass discount stores, the indies are searching for survival tips, and I wish all of them well as I have been at this game for over 47 years and hope to be around for many more. Stay educated in your field of expertise, and make the positive changes necessary to keep profitable, until the economy gets better, which could be 2-3 more years.
All things being somewhat equal I think there are many Americans who — given a choice — would prefer to buy local.
The problem with Independent Retailer Month — or Day, or Year, or Decade — is that it tends to preach to the converted, i.e., its greatest appeal is as an affirmation or reinforcement of existing behavior.
As to what independent retailers have to do to ensure a second visit — the list is pretty much the same as for any retailer. Just being local won’t make up for poor quality, high prices, poor selection or terrible service.
It’s perhaps too easy to forget that one of the reasons Walmart was initially so successful was that many local merchants had been abusing their monopolies for decades. So, being an independent is — in and of itself — never quite enough. You also need to be a good community citizen and an excellent retailer.
Retailers, large and small, need to offer a consistent, compelling shopping experience. The “loyalty” of shopping the independent will not endure if the national retailer provides a better experience.
Small retailers need to offer services that the large companies cannot easily duplicate. Prices will always be matched by competitors. You must differentiate with services and unique store staff. The human touch is the final frontier “indies” in which still have the upper hand.
I’d add a sixth step small retailers can take — having a completely unique product mix. There’s a store up the street that’s an international gourmet market on the first floor, and a general store selling household items one level down. It’s unlike anything you’ll see elsewhere, and it’s hopping all the time. The more publicity this campaign can get, the more shoppers will respond.
Local and independent retailers have never had an advantage like they have today. A presence on the web and good use of social media helps level the playing field. A small local retailer can compete with larger national chains.
Consumers will go to the places that make them feel best about where they do business. Some feel good about supporting local and independent businesses, but these businesses must step up and deliver an experience that will make the customer want to come back, regardless of being local/independent.
I am always interested in Tony Orlando’s take on these subjects since he is the one in the trenches actually fighting the fight.
I often wonder how the independents survive over the long haul. The answer to me is customer loyalty. How is this achieved? It is by continuing to offer the products wanted at close to a competitive price. Then top it off with outstanding customer service. Stew Leonard is the best example I can think of. But, including Tony, there are countless others. Let’s find them and support them.
One of the first things out the window of a small company is the original business plan. As business prospects enter the store or office in hopes of fulfilling a need or want learning their similarities is a must no matter where the journey takes you. Embracing this challenge and actively working to find and deliver the goods/services your customers will buy is a mandatory effort with constant change. A case in point is one retailer I patronized many moons ago that changed from a soda shop to a luncheonette to a stationary store to an office supply and finally sold as an office equipment wholesaler. Another business down the street morphed from an appliance store to an entertainment center before being sold for retirement. During the course of these changes I had the pleasure of being seated with the partners of these two businesses at a chamber of commerce dinner meeting. The meeting was the usual kind with a lot of hobnobbing and political hoopla. Ours was one of the larger tables with most of the successful local businesses in the area seated together. The table atmosphere was very cordial, subdued and quiet. In anticipation of something much different I mentioned this in passing to one of the retailers I was seated next to. He abruptly informed me that he never learned a thing without first listening and observing. His colleagues that witnessed this exchange simply nodded their agreement without an utterance. This short lesson payed me well through the rest of my sales career.
Although I agree that the education on the value of shopping local, in its current form, may be preaching to the converted, I do believe that education is still important to getting more consumers through the doors of local/independent retailers. I find it hard to believe that absolutely everyone is aware of the benefits of shopping local. However, getting those new customers through the door is only the first step. As others have mentioned, education and a desire to shop local will only be enough for those consumers who have the resources to look beyond higher prices, bad customer service, or any form of negative experience. For the average consumer, the desire to do good needs to be augmented with additional value. That value doesn’t necessarily have to come in the form of lower prices, but can be, for example, excellent personalized customer service, community involvement, or partnerships with other local business, to name just a few. In other words, the kind of value that only a local/independent merchant could provide.