By Kevin McAdam
VP Sales, One Step Retail Solutions

Taken from a chapter in Kevin McAdam's new ebook: "Succeeding in the Retail Business During Economic Stress"

The economy has continued to be a hot topic in retail, especially in the related area of technology for retail. But it is the oldest adage in retail that topped a recent survey of consumer trends and buying patterns.

I am happy to see how many retailers are actually taking advantage of the economic slowdown as a time to assess their current technology and look for ways to improve upon it.

Forward-thinking companies see this as an opportunity to not only help weather the current season in the economy, but to then be poised to maximize their profits when the season once again changes and the economy swings back up.

I want to discuss something else though, something that is probably so near and dear to many retailers that its impact is sometimes lessened. It's actually a topic that led the results of the recently released 2007 National Shopping Behavior Study, designed and managed by The Gordman Group. This is an annual study that gauges retail performance from the customer perspective. It was conducted over the 2007 holiday season.

Though the study highlighted the then-coming economic downturn through the findings that 68% of consumers bought the same or less that holiday season than they did the prior one, it also showed some strong points in the market. Although perhaps a bit downplayed, the study "again confirms that the retailers who are gaining share-of-wallet are winning by being in-stock with the right merchandise for their customers. Price continues to be a very weak second to selection."

The right product at the right price at the right location at the right time; it's almost cliché, but yet it is the foundation of any successful retailer. Those that do it well thrive and those that don’t succumb to the tides of consumer confidence, competition, or even something as nebulous as uot;&qthe economy".

It's clear that many retailers are doing this well, and the study highlights some segments of the market that are doing so, like specialty retail. But it's also amazing to me, when I am speaking with retailers every day, how many are just shooting from the hip when it comes to this.

Understand that technology is not an option in this day and age when it comes to inventory control. And it’s not just having the technology that is important; you have to be able to use it properly to get the information about your merchandise, sales, and trends, so that you can make the decisions that will be winners.

We work with very comprehensive point of sale software with which independent specialty retailers can manage their business. When it comes down to it though, that is what we want for inventory control, right?

The issue that comes into play, however, is how well the information about your business, from sales to customers and PO’s to transfers and everything in between, is entered into and captured by the system, so that it can do that adding and subtracting to give you the accurate information to make decisions. That comes down to the users and their level of proficiency with a system.

But that's enough on that. Let me share a few more interesting tidbits that came out of this great study.

• 88% of consumers are very concerned about the environment and are willing to pay for environmentally friendly products.
• 52% of consumers checked the country of origin before making a purchase and 31% did not buy based on it.
• Retailers' advertising had little influence on shopping behavior or timing of purchase. The group of consumers that are spending more money now than in years past are the 18 – 24 year old age group, with 50% spending more this last holiday season than the one prior.
• The two categories in retail that had the highest growth in spending were specialty and “power” retailers. I interpret these as small to mid-sized chains that specialize in specific merchandise to a specific customer.

This should trigger some thought into how to maximize sales and profits from your merchandise. #