Let’s be honest; it’s not only high street retailers who are struggling in the consumer marketplace. Many business owners have faced defeat, both online and off, and this is largely because of the threat posed by the competition.
However, it could be said that high street retailers do have more to worry about. You need only walk down your nearest high street to understand why. Those ‘closed’ signs are commonplace, wherever you go. And why is it that more and more high street retailers are closing? It’s largely because of the online competition, as many of today’s shoppers prefer the comfort and convenience of e-commerce.
Still, all isn’t lost. Many stores have remained open, and if you’re reading this article because you’re a high street retailer yourself, you should try to be optimistic. So, rather than giving up, take the necessary steps to protect your business. You can do this in the following ways.
#1: Do more to market your business
If there is less footfall on the high street, then it stands to reason that more needs to be done to market your business. Potential new customers will never hear about you if you don’t, and you won’t have a chance to reconnect with the customers who used to pay you a visit. So, consider the online marketing techniques we highlighted recently and try our suggestions. Ensure your store has a presence on both online and offline business directories too, and set up a website, be that to act as a secondary source of sales or to showcase your offline store. By getting the word out there, you might well see a rise in customers.
#2: Deal with customer frustrations
While the online competition is obviously a worry, you need to know that you might see a drop off in customers because of some very common frustrations. One example is wait times. If they are forever waiting in a queue, they are understandably going to question why they bothered shopping with you in the first place. If the layout in your store is confusing, your customers are going to leave if they can’t easily find what they are looking for. And if you don’t accommodate a range of payment options, then you are creating a potential roadblock for some of your customers. So, think about your store. Could you employ an extra member of staff to alleviate the problem of large queues? Could you improve the layout of your store, perhaps with better signage? And could you fall into the latest payment trends, perhaps with a smart payment terminal to accept multiple payment types? Make the relevant changes, as your customers might look upon your store more favorably.
#3: Give the customers something extra
There are some experiences online retailers can’t easily offer customers, and these include hands-on demonstrations, product tutorials, and same-day deliveries. High-street retailers can offer each of these things, so there are still incentives for customers to shop offline. Could you offer the same? And could you provide refreshments for your tired and weary customers? And how about a seating area? High street shopping has often been seen as a social experience, so by giving groups of customers the opportunity to hang out in your store for longer could benefit your business. So, think about the customer experience. The more you can offer the consumer, the greater your chance of surviving in business.
We wish you every success!
