Since most of the agencies I work for are Shopper Marketing focused (welcome to Leeds!) I always keep a close eye on the Grocery sector, as do most of my agency mates. Grocery is knee-deep in challenges at the moment (the Discounters, provenance, excess floor space, trying to make Online pay, wafer thin margins, Marmitegate, … Continue reading they Asda to have a plan, right?
Category: retail
who will be the next BHS?
With the news that BHS is set to close it's final store on 20th August, I've been wondering who will be the next BHS - a business that dies because everyone knows their name, but no-one actually buys anything from them anymore. yep, this London branch was trading with signage from two rebrands ago I get the feeling that Marks & Spencer … Continue reading who will be the next BHS?
BHS – the end gets closer?
Update 25/04/16 - BHS has now filed for administration, with 164 stores and 11,000 jobs thought to be at risk. This morning's (03/03/16) news reports that UK retailer BHS have started insolvency proceedings (or 'announced a groupwide turnaround plan' according to their own website) by filing a company voluntary arrangement (CVA). BHS' first go at asking their institutional … Continue reading BHS – the end gets closer?
Sainsbury’s might win The Great Christmas Ad Showdown on views, but Lidl and Asda nailed it
So pretty much every retailer has shown their hand now in The Great Christmas TV Ad Showdown. Judging by online views and my friends with kids, Sainsbury's Mog is by far the most popular. And the grocery gurus I follow on twitter say that cuddly Mogs are flying out of stores. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuRn2S7iPNU But it's actually not … Continue reading Sainsbury’s might win The Great Christmas Ad Showdown on views, but Lidl and Asda nailed it
is this the beginning of the end of Price Match?
Last week, Morrisons simplified their 'Match & More' loyalty scheme to focus on rewarding overall spend with points, completely dropping the Price Match element that sent cardholders vouchers if their shop on certain branded goods would have been cheaper elsewhere. To much less fanfare, last weekend Booths dropped Price Match out of their loyalty scheme too (but they … Continue reading is this the beginning of the end of Price Match?
in retail marketing, the window is back
Last week's piece about Shopper Marketing originally started life as a post about Windows (the glass fronted storefront space, not the operating system) and when I came across this great photo (from Wallpaper via @rbt74 on LinkedIn) of Selfridges' windows devoted to the Apple Watch I realised I still needed to shine a light on the under-appreciated Window. Apple have taken over … Continue reading in retail marketing, the window is back
why Shopper Marketing is the logical starting point for integrated comms
There has been a lot of buzz recently about the resurgence of Shopper Marketing, a discipline focused on actually getting shoppers to buy product, versus the last decade's focus on getting people to love brands. Dilip Soman, author of new book The Last Mile said in a Campaign interview, "Most organisations tend to pay the least amounts of effort … Continue reading why Shopper Marketing is the logical starting point for integrated comms
why bricks and mortar retailers need to keep customer’s smartphones in their pockets
I was in B&Q last Saturday, trying to help my dad to buy a Gazebo. We stood in the 'garden furniture' aisle and found a big brown cardboard box with a product name and a one inch square photo of a gazebo under it and a price label on the shelf. That was it. We were … Continue reading why bricks and mortar retailers need to keep customer’s smartphones in their pockets
twitter shaming lazy retail
I've been following #KeepingChristmasGoing on twitter over the last couple of weeks, which shames retailers that can't quite let go of their festive PoS, store managers determined to shift that last box of baubles and brands who over-estimated the sell-through on their festively themed packaging. Someone at Tesco forgot to take this down https://twitter.com/dresserman/status/569827633317453824 Asda must have over-estimated … Continue reading twitter shaming lazy retail
Kingsman, Mr Porter and the increasingly blurred line between retail and entertainment
'Retailtainment' - making customer's retail experiences engaging and entertaining in order to increase dwell time, purchase intent, brand affinity and loyalty - is a concept that's been around for years. But it used to be focused on making physical retail environments more entertaining. Gradually its shifted into online too but yesterday I stumbled across a great … Continue reading Kingsman, Mr Porter and the increasingly blurred line between retail and entertainment