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Thursday Nov 12, 2020
Thursday Nov 12, 2020
Hey everybody. It's Bob Phibbs, the Retail Doc. Thanks for joining me this afternoon. You know, the big news was that the election is over and now, what for retail? I've been answering that question all day and I thought I would quickly share some of my thoughts with you, because particularly in the U.S. we have had an awful lot of interest from both sides and the news media, trying to get us to guess what's going to happen and what's next, and has gone back and forth for days now. But honestly, for months we have been dealing with this and what we are noticing as we look forward is that there's going to be an increased pandemic response. That should be good news for retailers because people who feel safer are more likely to go out and spend their money. It's that simple.
We have noticed that around the world as lockdowns have been threatened, as people have ended up finding that they're accounts are growing by leaps and bounds, that people get nervous. We do not like to shop when we are nervous. Fortunately, that's what the game is right now. Number two is people are drawn by another round of stimulus. Hopefully, that's going to help. That certainly helped retailers before and we will look forward to having stability in the supply chains in the near future. That's another thing that we have to be thinking about, what is possible because when we look at the future and be drawn to what could happen in a good way, it tends to affect the way that we run our businesses.
I want you to be thinking as a retailer, is that people want to feel familiarity not friction. We are tired of being drawn into the race by two people who don't know us, of being told what we should think and feel, and no matter what side you're on, and I am trying to be respectful of both sides, to understand that people are going to be coming back to a familiarity of feeling. That's why the holidays are going to be so important. That's why I think we could be on the cusp of a new hedonism because people have not been spending their money and they are going to look at friends and family differently, and how can they show their love?
My question to you as a retailer is, what's one thing you can do to create an inviting, comfortable place for anybody to be in your store? The danger of so many retailers right now is we let people's personal lives get entwined on the sales floor and I think that's really dangerous. You need to be able to pivot conversations, and you need to realize that what did it take for this person to leave their home where they may have felt safer, to actually go out in the world, whether they are wearing a mask or not, but to go into your brick and mortar store? We do not want to hear more headlines. We don't want to hear more division. We don't want to hear more chaos. What we want is the familiarity that comes with shopping, and the reward that comes from discovering something we didn't even know we wanted, but taking it home with us.
I understand that retailers have got an omnichannel experience that we are trying to experience and I get all of that, but as stores reopen, that training of what you should be like and what you should not be like, has to be foremost in your managers' minds instead of just doing more tasks and moving more merchandise from over here and sweeping this and cleaning that. We have got to end up realizing you're going to have to come up with a feeling when people come into your store and your brand. If not, it's going to be determined by your employees who might be feeling more vulnerable, who might be feeling less secure, more secure, doesn't matter, but you can't afford to have that Wild West of feelings on your sales floor, because people shop who are hopeful. It's that simple.
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If you love what you heard on Retail Today, connect with Bob by visiting retaildoc.com or send a message to bob@retaildoc.com. Thanks for listening!
Thursday Nov 05, 2020
Thursday Nov 05, 2020
Amazon acquired Whole Foods several years ago and many felt they would add their technology and transform Whole Foods into the grocery store of the future. The reality is a different story as they open their Amazon fresh stores. What does that portend for grocery and shopping in-store?
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If you love what you heard on Retail Today, connect with Bob by visiting retaildoc.com or send a message to bob@retaildoc.com. Thanks for listening!
Wednesday Oct 28, 2020
Wednesday Oct 28, 2020
GAP made news this week closing up to 80% of their mall stores. Meanwhile Levi's is opening 100. What's the difference and what clues should other retailers take from the comparison? Join me for this episode of Retail Today with Bob Phibbs, The Retail Doctor.
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If you love what you heard on Retail Today, connect with Bob by visiting retaildoc.com or send a message to bob@retaildoc.com. Thanks for listening!
Wednesday Oct 21, 2020
Wednesday Oct 21, 2020
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If you love what you heard on Retail Today, connect with Bob by visiting retaildoc.com or send a message to bob@retaildoc.com. Thanks for listening!
Monday Oct 12, 2020
Monday Oct 12, 2020
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If you love what you heard on Retail Today, connect with Bob by visiting retaildoc.com or send a message to bob@retaildoc.com. Thanks for listening!
Thursday Oct 08, 2020
Thursday Oct 08, 2020
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If you love what you heard on Retail Today, connect with Bob by visiting retaildoc.com or send a message to bob@retaildoc.com. Thanks for listening!
Wednesday Sep 30, 2020
Wednesday Sep 30, 2020
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If you love what you heard on Retail Today, connect with Bob by visiting retaildoc.com or send a message to bob@retaildoc.com. Thanks for listening!
Wednesday Apr 01, 2020
Wednesday Apr 01, 2020
Now that you have more time than you might have liked, take the time to research your top 10 or 20 customers on their LinkedIn or Facebook profiles and see what charities they support, or in their social posts, and then send a note or a video thank you for their business. Then, add a line, "I was looking online and you know what I discovered about you? You like..." and then fill in whatever that is, and then share something you have in common before you sign off with your thanks. That's one way to show your customers that they are more than just money coming in to you, that there's actually a relationship.And on that note, this has got to be a pause in the flash briefings from me as I take a look into the effectiveness of these daily briefings, which I've done for a long time. I encourage you to check out my podcast "Tell Me Something Good About Retail" where every week I interview some of the most exciting retailers, brands, and movers and shakers for the retail area. In the meantime, do good work and remember, we're about as happy as we make our minds up to be.
If you love what you heard on Retail Today, connect with Bob by visiting retaildoc.com or send a message to bob@retaildoc.com. Thanks for listening!
Monday Mar 30, 2020
Friday Mar 27, 2020
Friday Mar 27, 2020
Staying connected is really tough at this time in our retail lives. So what I want you think about today is if you have employees you’re paying to stay home right now don't forget that you should still be checking in with him every day. Make it a schedule and expect them to be on Zoom on time, dressed, and ready for work. If they are not being paid but they’re home, maybe you’ve laid them off, don't forget that you still want to hold on to these people so they come back to you.
So one thing I've done is done once a week is just invite them to a virtual lunch or an official cocktail hour and everybody brings whatever it is important time and you're just being people at that moment. Know that if you're not paying them you're not paying for this - it's a way to try to keep some normalcy in it.
When the all-clear is given, which will happen at some point, you want these people to come back in a good mood and they're going to remember the courtesies that you gave them for being of service now.
If you love what you heard on Retail Today, connect with Bob by visiting retaildoc.com or send a message to bob@retaildoc.com. Thanks for listening!