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You've seen them, right? You may be using one yourself.
The typical accounting package that lists expenses in alphabetical order.
How useful is that to retail management?!
Actually, there is an easy way for busy retailers to turn all that line-item data into useful management information. And maybe find those profits that have been hiding in plain sight!
Use The ROI's Retail Expense "Bucketizer." It's online and free to use. (Plus, it makes it faster for you to take advantage of The ROI’s projecting calculators.)
By grouping expenses into these "buckets", you immediately turn your P&L data into management information.
Now, it becomes easy to:
Very quickly, you know where to focus to control expenses...and improve profits!
Best of all, setting up your P&L to include these buckets only needs to be done once. Once set up, it just cranks out the numbers in a way you actually can use. more info here
Many Americans who can afford to save money – thanks to reduced spending on eating out, vacations, and consumer goods – are playing it safe and hoarding their cash, according to recent research by Gallup/Franklin Templeton.* And those who currently are saving at least a little money largely plan to keep saving rather than spending in the near term.
It's a given that your sales volume is a very big deal. Granted, you are analyzing it every day. But here's a slightly different approach which you may find very revealing. Let's start with a couple truisms. The definition of retailing is “selling to the ultimate consumer.” Retailing also is having "the right product at the right price at the right place at the right time for the right customer." But, as retailers ponder how best to manage sales in the current consumer environment, does it really matter whether their "right customers" buy from them in-store or online? Actually, it might! And here’s a simple, free "pilot project" to find out a little more.
So, say you have re-opened your stores. Then what? Did the customers come back? Or, were many of those who did show up just there to say "Hello!" And "We missed you!", but not to buy? Sigh. We are not surprised. And here's why.
What's the #1 thing that the retail industry needs now more than anything else? More towns. That's right, more towns and villages. Look, towns tend to be more residential, even slower and more relaxed.
Even the word conjures up warmth.
And towns, and the people who love towns, are a mecca for the vibrancy of retailing. Think about it: the retail industry needs more towns!
And it's already trending in that direction. Macys, Whole Foods, Nordstrom Rack, and Walmart have announced rolling out small formats, seeking locations closer to residential areas. They recognize that's where their customers are and will prefer to be.
Conversely, there are way too many cities.
Each year at this time, our thoughts turn to turkeys. No, not the ones that will adorn many dining tables on Thursday. But the "turkeys" lurking amidst your inventory. You know; non-selling, distressed, slow-moving, old, unappealing leftovers among your merchandise. But this year, frankly, our worries extend beyond the turkeys. Here are some of the reasons why.
As a result, in this environment, consumers are scaling back their discretionary purchases, and/or choosing to spend on travel, dining out, or other experiences versus retail merchandise. Not an upbeat prospect for retailers, is it?
For retailers, the uncertainties caused by the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic are unrelenting.
So, what should we do with this additional "found time," waiting for the customers? That's a question we CAN answer!
As you are sorting out how best to reopen, we encourage you to be bold about embracing technology. Not just a POS system upgrade with better e-commerce capability. There's much more that warrants your attention.
There's a whole alphabet of resources out there, already being embraced by many: ML (machine learning); AI (artificial intelligence); AR (augmented reality), QR (Quick Response matrix barcodes). All enabling chatbots, robots, digital displays and much else to become "smarter" and more applicable.
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