Do your retail sales blow hot & cold?
Well, with the sun shining today in the UK and for most, at least, the winter snow receding into memories if not from the balance sheets, it reminds me of a more than relevant story.
Anyone remember the tale from when they were younger about the wager between the North wind and the South wind on who could remove the quickest the coat from the man walking in the country.
To cut a long story short, the north wind blew with all his strength and might bringing in the “Beast from the East” in an attempt to literally blow the coat off the man and the man off his feet. However the stronger and colder the wind the closer the man clutched his coat and so the North wind failed.
In turn the South wind blew gently at the man with the warm air from the equator and Saharan Africa. The day became so warm and pleasant that the man removed his coat willingly and the South wind won.
So what does this have to do with retail?
Well, to transfer the story to the daily struggle to get the customer to spend in our stores we can use variations on the brute strength of sales promotions or we can coax the customer to spend through creating a pleasurable environment.
Whilst both can work, depending on the particular circumstances, the future in physical stores is increasingly reliant on creating the attractive, enjoyable, exciting and pleasurable experience.
Indeed with the proliferation of low price strategies and aggressive promotions the only sustainable route to success is to add additional value that can only be gained from store design, visual merchandising, music, smell and interaction, customer service and engaging events and theatre.
And in the cold light of day, not only is price reduction becoming an ever-more blunt tool, but its impact on margins and profits brings the final cold day ever closer.