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We've often explained that The ROI is like the local public library. It’s brimming with information and resources. But, there is no one starting point, no set pathway through The ROI. Just like you have no one issue.
Given that usage pattern, we decided to essentially make it official. We've now departmentalized The ROI much like a library.
Why did we do that? To make it easier and much faster for you to get whatever you need.
Our library has nine specialized Retail Resource Centers awaiting you at RetailOwner.com.
We’re sure you will have fun exploring each of these nine Resource Centers. Each one is filled with its own collection of The ROI’s proprietary resources: how-to articles, webinars, calculators, etc available nowhere else.
And BTW, The ROI’s library is very retailer-friendly. No fines for overdue books. No insistence on keeping quiet. Open 24/7. Available on-demand, whenever you need it.
Be sure to check it out!
No matter what merchandise you sell - whether it's tires, apparel, books, housewares, office supplies, whatever - every retailer has to give the customer what they want.
Right now, customers want “Steak, cheap”, not “cheap steak.”
Customers also are eager to shake off the doom and gloom of the winter. They are more than ready for a fresh new outlook. (Aren’t we all?)
Consider these upcoming calendar events:
The spring ahead to Daylight Savings Time is this weekend.
The “official” March 21 start of spring is just two weeks away.
What a great opportunity for you to welcome a fresh, positive, upbeat Springtime State of Mind!
Combine that fresh attitude with some well-priced promotions – remember, “steak, cheap” – and you have the makings of a fine start to your spring season.
Retail IS detail. And some of those pesky details are increasingly cropping up to torment online sellers. For example, there's the matter of managing returns. As Chris Jarvis wrote in DMM/ShoppingCenters.com*:
Meanwhile, the pure-play online retailers are confronting the ever-demanding customer expectations.
We believe there are not one, but three(!) pandemics occurring simultaneously right now. Of course, the COVID-19 virus elevated the word "pandemic" to a status that identifies even a generation of babies. But the other two pandemics are equally paralyzing: the nationwide (even worldwide) protests of racial injustice, and the severe unemployment from the economic collapse. Indeed, three concurrent, worldwide sinkholes. We call it the "pandemic trifecta of 2020." So, what's an intelligent retailer to think now?! Here's one idea that we believe can help you have more confidence in your immediate decisions. Think beyond this week and this month.
Just this morning we saw yet another article speculating about the staying power of online shopping, in this instance, grocery shopping.
Of course, it's not just media pundits who are looking for answers to this question about online versus in-store shopping. Retailers are living with this issue, and they have to make decisions.
We’re familiar with a middle-aged woman who recently applied for a sales job at a local “dress shop.” She’s a very pleasant person with an above-average family lifestyle. She sure didn’t need the income.
Another woman we know prides herself on going to her favorite supermarket almost every day. She wouldn’t have to; she wants to. Why?
Maybe you don’t agree with us, but we think that we’re all going through a period of uncertainty, worry, sadness and concerns that seem to put a damper on much of normal pleasantries.
This gloom is getting old and those who can are seeking places where they’ll find smiles. And independent retailers specialize in smiles! 😊
The Retail Owners Institute® has developed a retail strategy for "Inventory Management Going Forward." As we often do, it was recapped as an unassuming chart (see above) identifying the Five Stages of Merchandise Mix Management, from "Before COVID-19" to the "New Normal?"
Incredible value! 👀
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