7 Ways to Crush it in Convenience Retail in 2019
2018 was simultaneously record-setting and full of change for c-stores. In-store sales reached a record high of $242.2 billion, and total sales went up by nearly 9 percent, driven mostly by increasing fuel costs. Despite this, growth in convenience retail is slow. Consider that in-store sales only increased 1.7 percent in 2018, attributable to declines […]
Five Below: What’s Behind this Discount Retailer’s Success?
Despite the name, things are really heating up for Philadelphia-headquartered discount retailer Five Below. Wordplay aside, the numbers speak for themselves. In 2018 alone, Five Below opened 125 new stores, and had opened an additional 35 in the first quarter of 2019, with plans for 145-150 more before the year is over. Adding to its […]
3 Types of Data You Need for Killer Clienteling in Fashion Retail
Clienteling was once a practice used exclusively by luxury retailers. Savvy in-store style advisers would keep a book of their most reliable, spend-happy clients, and establish long-lasting connections with them to maintain loyalty. But in today’s competitive retail landscape, all shoppers expect to be fawned over. Shoppers patronizing upmarket apparel brands (think: Theory, Rag & […]
The 7 Most Common Obstacles to Brick-and-Mortar Execution
Even the most customer-obsessed brick-and-mortar stores suffer from execution problems that obstruct sales and damage the shopping experience. As your retail chain expands its footprint and as you add more SKUs to your assortment, it becomes harder to understand how pervasive these issues are and how much they cost you. We’ve worked with retailers that […]
How to Increase Basket Size in Your C-Store
Given how challenging it is to get customers to venture past the gas pump and into c-stores, convenience retailers must ensure that once shoppers are in store, they’re purchasing as many items as possible. Yet, nearly 45% of c-store shoppers spend five minutes or less in stores, according to recent findings from GasBuddy. This is […]
Food Retailers: Know This Before Investing in a Grocerant
Competition continues to eat away at grocers. With the dawn of the new European discounters, online shopping, meal kit delivery and a general disdain for eating at home, there’s a lot to content with. Small wonder grocers’ market share is down 15% over the last decade. Phil Lempert, the self-styled Supermarket Guru, says the key […]
5 Click-and-Collect Pitfalls to Avoid (and Some Successes, too)
Click-and-collect (otherwise known as Buy Online and Pick Up In Store or “BOPIS”) has been steadily growing in popularity over the last few years. Research by Order Dynamics and Bell Howell found that during the 2018 holiday season, click-and-collect grew by more than 46%. The numbers tell us that BOPIS isn’t going away anytime soon, […]
Ready to Reduce In-Store Apparel Returns? Try These Tactics on For Size
Brick-and-mortar retailers are stuck between a rock and a hard place when it comes to return policies. From your customers’ perspective, online purchases make for seamless returns. E-commerce returns are often free, with labels included in the shipment box. Brick-and-mortar retailers, hungry to attract and retain shoppers, are increasingly expected to offer flexible return policies […]
4 Cutting-Edge Technologies to Curb C-Store Theft
C-stores have unique challenges that make them ripe for crime. Products are easily accessible. Footprints are small. Many stores have a handful of employees. And many operate around the clock. It’s no wonder, then, that c-stores are popular targets of grab and go or armed robberies. And that doesn’t even take into account casual shoplifting, […]
How Nike Slayed 2018, and Takeaways for Fashion Retailers
2018 was a year full of wins for Nike, on the field and off. The brand’s iconic swoosh was ubiquitous at the 2018 World Cup before a television audience of nearly 3.6 billion people—the third-most-viewed television broadcast of all time. By Nike’s count, 60% of the athletes competing in the tournament’s opening round wore Nike […]
