How bricks and mortar retail can thrive beyond the supply chain crisis

A retail veteran says bricks and mortar stores will survive and thrive and predicts physical shopfronts will be the unexpected darling of a post-pandemic retail recovery.

Dave Strutton, a retailer for more than 20 years, and owner of Howard’s Storage World at Mile End in South Australia, says any death knell being sounded for bricks and mortar retail is hugely premature. Stratton believes lessons learned from the coronavirus crisis can help retailers understand what customers need. He suggests this will lead to a new era for bricks and mortar stores moving forward.

Most importantly, Stratton suggests businesses need to take risks and improve the customer experience.

Instant gratification is back on the menu as shoppers return to retail stores

“Customers have hugely missed the in-store retail experience – browsing products, getting expert help and enjoying the purchase process. There’s an enormous appetite for that which bricks and mortar stores must capitalise on.

“Shopping online and waiting for delivery has its place, but nothing beats the instant gratification of buying the thing you want or need and taking it home,:” he says.

“However, that experience can be soured if you can’t supply the products your customer expects. Our customers know our products and expect us to have them in stock.”

Recognise and plan for trends

“Identifying customer trends – and planning for them – was the most important thing we learned over the last two years’, Stratton said. “We took a calculated risk and placed larger than normal orders in anticipation of delays, unreliable stock landing dates and orders not turning up.”

Strutton says the pandemic exposed retailers who’ve failed to adapt their operations to accommodate the volatility of pandemic supply chains.

“You can’t afford to hesitate and play wait-and-see in this climate. The basic take out from the pandemic and the resultant supply chain crisis was and still is – forward planning is king.”

Try these six steps to see your retail business flourish

Optimise the in-store experience

There’s no substitute for the experience of shopping in real life. After enduring lockdowns and the uptake of vaccinations, customer confidence has returned. Stratton  says brick and mortar stores maintain one crucial advantage over online shopping – the experience – and everything needs to be geared towards that going forward to maximise returns.

Think ahead

Planning for likely disruptions rather than hoping everything will be okay is crucial to retaining your customer base. COVID isn’t going away anytime soon and retailers need to keep that in mind going forward, providing customers with a safe and convenient place to shop.

Analyse your sales history to tailor stock appropriately

Look at your last two years of sales to identify your core ranges and have supply on hand. However good your product range is, the simple truth is that no one will buy an item if they don’t want it or believe they don’t need it, so accurate sales history is paramount.  Scrambling to place last minute orders to fill shelves won’t work in this environment. Retailers are operating in unprecedented times and only those willing to be decisive, aggressive and creative will survive.

 Improve your communication to your customers

Trust is the most important commodity for any business, and it’s something much easier to build in person. Well trained staff, with excellent product knowledge, are paramount in developing relationships and trust with customers. It’s never too late to invest in staff training.

Customer memberships are gold

Two-thirds of Dave Strutton’s sales come from his 64,000 store customer database. He describes this group as his ‘bread and butter’ clients and the most important market segment for his business. They shop more frequently, spend more when in-store and provide invaluable word of mouth advertising. He says during the pandemic, they provided strong shopping data and retailers should be directly communicating to their members right now.

 Hit the stop floor to understand consumer behaviour

Customer feedback and real-time data happens at floor level. Stratton and his staff are in-store talking to and serving customers to understand what they want from the retail experience to help ensure repeat visits. It also builds a personal relationship that you don’t get via online shopping which is so important to many consumers.

“If they’re buying a product in-store they want to take it home that day so you must have adequate stock so you don’t disappoint and undermine confidence.”

“Knowing and understanding your customer is central to managing supply chain issues.”

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