In a world in which Internet-savvy customers are more informed than ever before about pricing and products, how can small independent retailers compete? According to a new white paper, dealing with informed customers in a highly competitive market is a challenge that must be met with some new-world solutions. Among these, small store merchants need to:
— Set themselves apart from the competition
— Be more knowledgeable about products than ever before
— Show customers how value is much more than a number on a price tag
— Develop alternatives to traditional advertising methods
— Learn how to obtain merchandise in appropriate quantities and competitive prices
— Keep up with the speed of technology
— Learn how to keep customers and employees happy
— Learn about business finances, strategic planning and other management issues
The paper, “Challenges of the Future,” explains that retailers are affected by national trends, such as the aging of America, the growing Hispanic population and rising healthcare costs, and uses examples from 17 different retailers to show new ways of surviving these trends. It is a free resource underwritten by the NRF Foundation (the education and research arm of the National Retail Federation), the Illinois Retail Merchants Association and George H. Baum Community Charitable Trust of Morris, IL. The brainchild of Jim Baum, a long-time member of NRF’s Independent Stores Board, it was created to help independents identify major trends affecting retailing, understand major obstacles in the marketplace, and find resources to help them succeed. The paper is available for download at www.retail-revival.com.
For more information contact Scott Krugman or Ellen Tolley at (202) 783-7971, e-mail [email protected] or [email protected], or visit www.nrf.com.