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What Does the Retailer of the Future Look Like? · Inside Retail

• 0:03
  SPEAKER_04: Amy, welcome to the Inside Retail podcast, live from Autumn Fair.
• 0:09
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you for having me, Jackson.
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_04: How are you doing?
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_01: Amazing.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_01: I've had an amazing day so far.
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_01: This is the first day of Autumn Fair.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_01: We kicked off the counter talk stage with Pitch Live, which is ultimately the jewel in the crown of the um event.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_01: I absolutely love it.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_01: There's a buzz in the air, retail community are coming together, and they are cheering on the brands that are pitching, and ultimately it's a brilliant opportunity for people that are exhibiting.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_01: So it's brilliant.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_04: For those who who missed it, give us give us the 60-second synopsis of Pitch Live because it's great to watch.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, it's fantastic.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_01: It is like a Dragon's Den version of exactly uh what we see on TV, but it's nicer, it's more community-led, um, it's lovely, it's where brands have applied to uh be shortlisted, and we get three finalists per category.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then we get like a Dragon's Den style pitch.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_01: So each brand has like four minutes to pitch, they get asked questions by industry experts, and then they get given some really great feedback, feedback that you would normally get behind closed doors, so it's really valuable opportunity for them.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_04: So I've got two questions for you, Amy.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_04: Firstly, who are the judges?
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, who are who have we got?
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_04: Who have we got on the lineup?
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_04: Who are the dragons?
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, amazing.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_01: So the dragons today were Jeff Banks himself.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_01: Can you imagine?
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I have grown up Living Legends.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely, and I've grown up with my background in retail and fashion.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_01: I have literally grown up, you know, looking at exactly what he's doing, you know, and and um having him in my eye.
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then we had Sharon Good from Good Results PR, she's brilliant.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_01: She knows what she's doing, it was brilliant, another definitely.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then we had Estella Um Auroro, who is the head designer at Georgia Asda.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_01: And again, it was such a fantastic panel.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_01: The audience were in such a treat today.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_04: Who was the scariest dragon?
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_01: Definitely Jeff Banks.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_04: Was he?
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_01: Definitely, but you wanted to listen to him, you wanted to hear, you know, you wanted to absorb everything that he's giving you because it comes from so much experience, right?
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so yeah, I was hanging on to every word, and so were the audience, by the way.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_01: You can see it, you can tell when people are engaged.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_04: Definitely.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_04: What was the best bit of feedback that you think you heard from the judges?
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, all of them had something really great to say, and they've all got slightly different commercial backgrounds, right?
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, Sharon Good from PR, she was absolutely brilliant in giving feedback to all of the brands.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_01: Jeff Banks, of course, has got a fashion background, so he was really into, particularly um when he was giving feedback to the winner of the show.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_01: Ultimately, they were rain rain jackets, um, and he really knew his stuff and he knew his fabrics and he knew his material, he knew his technology.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then we had Estella who comes from a design background.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, all three of them gave some amazing feedback from different commercial backgrounds, but it all came together really beautifully.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_04: Amazing.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, it's so fun to watch um pitch live.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_04: Um, and we're gonna talk today about oh, knocking my microphone already.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_04: Uh we're gonna talk today about um the future of retail and what that means for retailers.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_04: Before we do that, Amy, just give us a bit of insight into your background, the retail huddle, how that started, because it's a yeah, really cool story.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so yeah, I'm Amy Roberu, I'm founder of Retail Huddle, and Retail Huddle is a business platform that helps independent retailers and brands to start, grow, and scale.
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_01: That came about because I spent 20 years in the world of retail buying myself.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I bought for brands like MS Next and Tesco's, and when I left my blood-sucking corporate career, I have no problem saying that anymore.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and shout out to our corporates out there.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_01: Um I I actually people don't know this.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_01: I actually launched a fashion brand.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_01: Did you?
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, I do.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_01: I've got a background in fashion.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_01: I went to De Montfort University, did a fashion degree, did fashion for a little while.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_01: I was working for an MS supplier, and then I had my first step into buy-in with Thea Profitis actually.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_01: Do you remember LaCenza in those days?
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_02: Yes, yes.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I stayed there for I think I was there for about six years, and I tell you what, I learned a lot about retail and a lot about entrepreneurship from him.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_01: He was a very hands-on CEO.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_01: Um, he was great to work for, and I learnt a lot while I was there, so it was brilliant.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_01: It really catapulted my career.
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_04: That's so interesting, and he cares so much about retail.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_04: So much, especially small to medium-sized businesses.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_04: You've got Small Business Sunday that um he obviously runs, which does tons for small uh small retailers.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_04: Um, and then obviously that led you into the retail huddle, which is yeah.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_01: So um, you know, you know, I was while I was running my fashion brand, I was collaborating with lots of amazing businesses.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_01: We're doing pop-up shops together, I built that little community, and they kept asking me the same questions over and over again.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_01: And I thought, well, yeah, I'm a bit of an expert, aren't I?
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_01: Um let's make the most of this.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_01: So I started a Facebook Facebook group, and really, you know, to cut a long story short, what started as a Facebook group has led to retail huddle today, and we still help brands one-to-one, um, but we also run workshops and boot camps for organizations and retailers and brands who have small teams as well, who really want to elevate their retail game.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_04: Amazing.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_04: So, with that experience, Amy, what do you see as sort of the biggest challenges for retailers going into 2027?
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_04: What are you hearing from them at the moment?
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so look, I'm I'm in the depth of deep inside most of these businesses, and I know exactly what they're thinking, what they're feeling, what they're doing.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and it's there's two sides of this, right?
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_01: So there's some really positive sides as well.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_01: Um, the brands and the retailers that are doing really, really well are very clear in their product and their brand proposition.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_01: They know exactly who their customer is, they know exactly who they're talking to, they know exactly why their customer shops from them over their competition.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_01: Um they the the tougher thing, it's almost like the tougher things get, the more clear they're becoming on their range proposition, on what they're doing for their customer, and and clarity is is is sort of beating everything almost at the moment.
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_01: Um and then there's the sort of, and I don't want that positive optimistic outlook to disguise the challenges underneath all of that.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, to answer your question directly, there are those margin and cost pressures and customer confidence pressures that we are all hearing about in the press, right?
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and uh if you're a high street retailer, you've got even more to deal with, you know, you've got a lot of outlay of costs before you even make a profit, right?
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, we had some sort of apparently business rates reform, which wasn't really a reform.
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and we keep hearing on UPM talking about the renaissance of the high street, and um we we we've even we even hear uh a lot about him saying like things like the cost of living, right?
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_01: So I think um if I was answering your question another way, I'd almost say the question that or the conversations that we need to start having more of, or we need to hear more of, is the cost of doing business.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_01: Because you know, it's you will hear this all the time from from retailers that you talk to.
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, definitely.
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_04: I also think it's quite interesting when you speak to retailers and the expectations from opening a high street store and what they think it's going to be in terms of well, I I've got this idea, I'm launching a business and I'm just going to have immediate success.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_04: And equally, the the the support network around them is set up such.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_04: So, for example, if I'm a new retailer going into a store um in the high street, it's not like my rent starts at a at a at a level that allows me to build from, it's replacing the person who was in there before, which would have been a historically successful business.
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_04: So the the support network's not there and the expectation as well.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_04: Has that been supported, enhanced, or challenged by online retail?
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_04: How has that dynamic affected retailers?
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm going to challenge that premise a little bit because I don't think that, in fact, I know that customers don't shop in channels.
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_01: You know, they're not as obsessed as we are in channels, right?
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, shopping online versus um, yes, there is a difference, absolutely, and we can we can go into that, but sometimes it it what it looks like is convenience, yeah, or it's a mindset, or it's a generation.
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I know my my Gen A Alpha um daughter, she shops in a very different way to me, and um her her ideals and you know, yeah, is very, very different.
• 9:01
  SPEAKER_01: So um, you know, and I think sometimes shopping can look like, I don't know, it was me the other, it was me last week actually, 10 o'clock on the sofa, I need school socks, you know, quick, you know, let's get on the let's get on the let's get on my phone.
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then another time it could be, well, let's have a day out and let's go to that lovely high street and let's go and have coffee while we're at it and let's make a day of it.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and you know, and like I said, Gen Z, Gen A, they're shopping in a very different way as well.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, they're very, very intentional led actually.
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_01: When I watch my daughter, she's done her research online, she knows exactly what she wants.
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_01: Often she's one click away from buying the thing, but she wants to go to the store to go and buy it.
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm like, can't you just buy it?
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_01: Because it will save mummy a big trip to the shop, you know, to the shop.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_01: And it's like, no, no, no, I want to go and see it, I want to go and look at it, I want to go and touch it, and I want to go and feel it.
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_01: And it does come down to that thing that we're all saying and we're all hearing about um experiences and people want to belong to brands and they want to be part of it, and that's all true.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_01: But when I watch her, and she's really great insight information for me as well.
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_01: You know, the school run is full of insights.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_01: Um, when I hear, you know, her ideals, I think there's there's there's a lot of trust in involved as well.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_01: I think we we all have developed trust issues, right?
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_01: You know, um online, but shopping online, we don't believe what companies are telling us anymore.
• 10:28
  SPEAKER_01: We are way more likely to believe what others tell us or whether we want to see it for ourselves.
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, I think it's a really interesting point, actually.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_04: We did a a study recently of um thousands of consumers and retailers, and basically we were trying to understand the challenges that they faced, but equally, what were some of the winning strategies that meant that those businesses were growing?
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_04: And one of the number one strategies um employed by retailers was experience-led storytelling.
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, um, and in and what was really interesting was those brands were simultaneously investing in their online proposition because it was an in-store experience that led to online sales or online research that led to in-store experience uh in-store sales, which I think is really interesting.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_04: Uh, you know, a really good uh example we see in the high street.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_04: So I I live in Farnham and um I travel into Guildford, which is like 15 minutes away, and uh that's a great high street experience if you haven't been to haven't been to Guildford.
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_04: But one of the stores that I think is quite interesting in there is um Rituals.
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, and um I remember having a conversation with the store manager uh who used to work uh I can't remember another brand, um, and she was saying that actually the in-store sales that they get at Rituals is is is non-existent, the footfall was really, really high.
• 11:44
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, and when they track the online buying, yeah, it is so much to do with who came to the store.
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, and so it is it it means that when you look at your business and you look at your um you know the cost of of being on the high street, you have to be able to factor in that as lead gen as opposed to direct sales, yeah.
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_04: Um, which I think is really, really interesting.
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_04: So we talked about some of the challenges.
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_04: What are the things that you're excited about and the retailers that you speak to excited about going into 2027?
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I think it's like uh what I said at the beginning, actually, it's about you know the the brands that are doing really, really well on the high street are the ones who are building those connected journeys and they recognize that the customer journey is a whole and they're not necessarily shopping in channels, but exactly what you said about rituals and the example that you gave is exactly how people are, you know, the the great retailers are are doing exactly that.
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_01: Um but but more than anything, I think um I sort of led to this earlier, and I was saying about how how they're simplifying things for the customer.
• 12:49
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, so you know, complexity in a business is the death of a business.
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and they are getting really, really clear on their propositions, they're making their customer journey really simple, they're not adding anything else that you know that that will cause more friction.
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 13:07
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and and where tech and AI is involved, it's it's adding value to the customer, it's making their life simpler, faster, more efficient, um, and or reducing friction.
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_04: So undervalued simplicity, especially in today's day and age, people's attention spans are tiny, people want instant gratification.
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_04: You mentioned the the uh the acronym there, AI.
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_04: Here we go.
• 13:30
  SPEAKER_04: What do you think it means for retailers?
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_04: Good tool, bad, where does it where does it land for you?
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_01: Gosh, where does it land?
• 13:39
  SPEAKER_01: Look, it is an amplifier, we can't get away from it, and everybody is, you know, when when they talk about it in the online space, it's an amplifier, it's great for businesses, it enables them to do things faster, smarter.
• 13:50
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but I I I truly believe, and I'm gonna talk from the customer's shoes here, I truly believe that it's got to also be an amplifier for the customer.
• 13:59
  SPEAKER_01: It's got to make their lives easier, not more difficult, right?
• 14:05
  SPEAKER_01: And I'll give you this is not a sexy piece of tech at all, but I'll give you an example of something I discovered last week.
• 14:11
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so I was at my local Sainsbury's, and um, you know how when you're buying loose produce, you have to pick what you want, you have to place it on a scale, yes, you have to scroll through a screen, and if it's potatoes, you've got to find the variety of potatoes you've picked.
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_04: So annoying, we've all been there.
• 14:32
  SPEAKER_01: So annoying, right?
• 14:33
  SPEAKER_01: And then once you've found what you think you've bought, um, you you say okay, you press a printer, you bag it up, stick a sticker on it, stick it in your basket, take it to the till, right?
• 14:43
  SPEAKER_01: So now they've got this AI camera that's bolted on to there.
• 14:48
  SPEAKER_01: That identifies what the product is, so it saves you having to scroll through to discover what variety of potatoes you've bought.
• 14:56
  SPEAKER_01: It already knows.
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_01: Doesn't it?
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_01: It already knows.
• 14:58
  SPEAKER_01: So that is so good.
• 15:00
  SPEAKER_01: So that's an ample, you know, to me that's brilliant because it reduces it reduces friction for the customer, adds value, makes their shopping experience quicker.
• 15:07
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and it's great for the retailer as well, right?
• 15:10
  SPEAKER_01: So um it gets the customer journey through quicker and also helps.
• 15:13
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, one of the things that I was thinking was it also helps miss selection, you know.
• 15:18
  SPEAKER_01: So, for example, if somebody decides to put a cheaper product in, yeah, exactly.
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_01: You know where I'm going with this.
• 15:25
  SPEAKER_04: Definitely, well, I I I can tell you for a fact that Farnham Sainsbury's has not got that.
• 15:30
  SPEAKER_04: So Farnham Sainsbury's, if you're listening to this, right, get the AI veggie tool because it is a nightmare, it's an inconvenience tool.
• 15:38
  SPEAKER_04: Having to 100%.
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_04: That's a really good example.
• 15:41
  SPEAKER_04: That's a really good example.
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, it's not the most sexiest piece of tech that everyone's talking about online, but it's definitely something that reduces friction.
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_04: How many retailers that you see day to day are already implementing AI or implement or leveraging the technology in some way for their business?
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_04: Is there an apprehension?
• 15:59
  SPEAKER_04: Is there, you know, kind of quiet confidence?
• 16:03
  SPEAKER_04: Where do retailers lie?
• 16:04
  SPEAKER_01: I think it depends on where they are with their journey, right?
• 16:06
  SPEAKER_01: So if I'm speaking to independent retailers, independent brands, they're definitely using it as uh an amplifier for uh you know AI agents and um being able to uh you know almost uh extend their their workload into that.
• 16:24
  SPEAKER_01: So they're using it for content creation, they're using it for um their day-to-day.
• 16:29
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, I've got one brand who's set up everything on there, you know, she's using Notion for this and she's using Claude for that, and um, I've almost learned a few things from her.
• 16:38
  SPEAKER_01: Um so yeah, I think they I think everyone realizes that you're not going to get away from it, um, and it is going to help you.
• 16:47
  SPEAKER_04: So it's interesting actually, yeah.
• 16:49
  SPEAKER_04: I think for independent retail, where independent retailers, when whenever I think of an independent retailer, I think of an incredibly passionate creative entrepreneur who you know typically has something unique, and what makes them special is is is quite often the story or the values, and I think sometimes there's an apprehension because AI can feel like cheating in a way, especially when you when you have so many creatives.
• 17:14
  SPEAKER_04: I'll give you an example.
• 17:15
  SPEAKER_04: Um we actually we uh uh we released a post on our one of our social media channels uh about a parking petition that we are uh running, which I'll tell you about later.
• 17:26
  SPEAKER_04: That's right.
• 17:27
  SPEAKER_04: Um, and uh and we used Canva, I think, to to pull the creative together.
• 17:32
  SPEAKER_04: We had so many negative comments from retailers really about the fact that we had used the AI tool to make this post.
• 17:39
  SPEAKER_04: And it wasn't AI slop in the sense that it was misinformation or anything like that, it was just we used it to get a post out quickly and we got a lot of heat for it, which you know you know, to bring up your point, you say you you're you're you're near Farnum.
• 17:52
  SPEAKER_01: There's a lovely brand called Split Fix, Google them really good.
• 17:55
  SPEAKER_01: The founder Hannah, um the the it's the most authentic marketing I've ever seen.
• 18:02
  SPEAKER_01: Um she takes their people she takes her people on a journey, she shows the sourcing behind her product ranges, she shows how she makes decisions, um, she if she's going, you know, sourcing in a different country, she'll take people with her, the cameras there, and she'll show how she's selected things, and and it's almost it's almost marketing without being marketing.
• 18:21
  SPEAKER_01: It absolutely is marketing, but without the old-fashioned marketing playbook of you know, retail marketing used to be like persuasive language and promotion-led marketing.
• 18:32
  SPEAKER_01: That's all gone, that's out the window now, and she's a really great example of how independent brands are connecting with their customers in that kind of omnichannel way.
• 18:42
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and and she's a really great example of it.
• 18:45
  SPEAKER_01: So imagine a Venn diagram, right?
• 18:47
  SPEAKER_01: So you've got three circles, you've got two circles at the top, you've got your brand and your product.
• 18:52
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, they must work in tandem with each other.
• 18:54
  SPEAKER_01: You can't have one without the other.
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_01: The brand is the promise that you make to your customer, it's the mission, it's the thing that you stand for, it's the problem that you're solving for your customer, and then your product delivers on that promise that you're making.
• 19:09
  SPEAKER_01: When they work together beautifully, you're creating value in the mind of the customer.
• 19:14
  SPEAKER_01: And then you've got your third circle, which is got your customer in between, in the middle, right, by the way.
• 19:19
  SPEAKER_01: And then you've got your third circle, which is the marketing, and that's the bridge between those two, and that's the thing that's evolved.
• 19:25
  SPEAKER_01: So that's the thing that you know we now hear about community and uh and what that really means when you take it up a level is you know, that marketing has to do way more than it used to be able to used to do.
• 19:37
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you have to create connection, you have to create trust, um, and then once you've done that, you've got some raving fans who talk about you all the time, they come back to you, they introduce you to your friends and family, and they're anticipating your next launch, and that's the community, and that's how hard marketing has to work now.
• 19:55
  SPEAKER_04: Definitely.
• 19:55
  SPEAKER_04: And in that Venn diagram, where do you find that retailers find it hardest or know the least?
• 20:03
  SPEAKER_04: Where are you having to give the most support to those those retailers?
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_01: Um, gosh, um it's different for different retailers actually, and I think the marketing piece is the hardest bit, right?
• 20:15
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 20:16
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so you know you'll have an ex you'll have an amazing product and you'll have an amazing brand, and they'll know exactly what they stand for, but it's that bridge, it's that marketing bridge that's the hardest um to to execute.
• 20:28
  SPEAKER_01: And and that's because a lot of brands, I think when they think about marketing, they don't think about great retail marketing, they think it's about well, what shall I post on social media next?
• 20:39
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so actually the foundations of really great retail marketing don't actually even start from your Instagram, they start with a trading calendar, and that's really you know the brands who get that right, those are the ones who are really winning that marketing game.
• 20:53
  SPEAKER_04: So it's obviously we've talked about a lot of the kind of the changing dynamics for retailers.
• 20:58
  SPEAKER_04: I think one of the ever-present though is um the the giants like Amazon.
• 21:05
  SPEAKER_04: How do independent retailers compete with the Jeff Bezoses of the world?
• 21:11
  SPEAKER_04: How do they do that?
• 21:12
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I think first of all, it's realizing that you can't compete with them.
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_01: Yep.
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_01: I'm sure you'll agree with them.
• 21:17
  SPEAKER_02: That's fair.
• 21:18
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and I think it's um you can't you you can't.
• 21:22
  SPEAKER_01: You can't compete on product range, on price, on logistics, on speed, delivery, Amazon Prime.
• 21:27
  SPEAKER_01: You just can't, and don't try.
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and I think what you need to do is find the thing that you're really good at.
• 21:34
  SPEAKER_01: Find the thing that your customer loves about you.
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_01: Why do they keep coming back to you?
• 21:38
  SPEAKER_01: What do they love about you?
• 21:39
  SPEAKER_01: What are they buying from you?
• 21:40
  SPEAKER_01: And some of that data is actually right under your nose.
• 21:43
  SPEAKER_01: So use that data to identify what your product loves.
• 21:46
  SPEAKER_01: I use this um, I use this kind of uh framework actually.
• 21:51
  SPEAKER_01: It's um uh clarify, identify, simplify, and amplify.
• 21:57
  SPEAKER_01: And it's just so so clear.
• 21:59
  SPEAKER_01: And if Every decision you make revolves around the customer.
• 22:02
  SPEAKER_01: If you just use this little framework before you make that decision, just make sure that you absolutely have clarified who that customer is, what they come to you for, what they value you for, right?
• 22:13
  SPEAKER_01: And then you go on to identify.
• 22:16
  SPEAKER_01: Identify the gap in the market, your brand positioning, understand what you stand for and what value you bring to your customer, and then simplify all of it.
• 22:27
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 22:27
  SPEAKER_01: You mentioned that too at the beginning.
• 22:29
  SPEAKER_01: It's so underrated, right?
• 22:30
  SPEAKER_01: So get rid of the complexities, strip that out, and simplify anything that's causing complexities in your business.
• 22:39
  SPEAKER_01: Really think about it, you know.
• 22:41
  SPEAKER_01: You don't need to add everything.
• 22:43
  SPEAKER_01: And I think independents get overwhelmed because they do feel like they have to add all these things that all these people are telling them to do, and then amplify it, right?
• 22:52
  SPEAKER_01: So focus on what's working, double down, triple down on it, and do that, right?
• 22:58
  SPEAKER_01: Simplify to amplify.
• 23:00
  SPEAKER_04: Simplify to amplify.
• 23:01
  SPEAKER_04: I love that.
• 23:02
  SPEAKER_04: We're gonna use that.
• 23:03
  SPEAKER_04: Um it's a good one for the podcast.
• 23:06
  SPEAKER_04: Um, and what do you think all retailers should be doing right now?
• 23:10
  SPEAKER_04: What should they all be doing?
• 23:13
  SPEAKER_01: Customer obsessed.
• 23:16
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely customer obsessed.
• 23:19
  SPEAKER_01: We've talked about it a lot in the podcast, so I won't labour it, but being customer obsessed is the number one thing that they can do.
• 23:28
  SPEAKER_01: So and it kind of stems from um, you know, we've had a lot of changes over the you know, retail is fast moving, it's fast paced, there's been a lot of changes.
• 23:38
  SPEAKER_01: We talked about tech and we talked about tech and AI and how that's changing things.
• 23:42
  SPEAKER_01: Um one of the things that hasn't changed in retail and never will change, is right product, right place, right time.
• 23:52
  unknown: Yes.
• 23:53
  SPEAKER_04: Got it?
• 23:54
  SPEAKER_04: And and ultimately you only know those things if you're obsessed about your customer.
• 23:57
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 23:58
  SPEAKER_04: Otherwise, you're just guessing.
• 23:59
  SPEAKER_04: One thing that they all should be doing is signing our parking petition.
• 24:06
  SPEAKER_04: So one of the things that uh we pulled out of our voices of retail report that I talked about earlier, Amy, um, that all the retailers um said would be a massive benefit, 40% of them said it would be the biggest benefit, um, was free parking in high streets.
• 24:21
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
• 24:21
  SPEAKER_04: It's one of the biggest challenges, and it sounds small, but when you're competing with big retail stores who have free parking or off-site um shopping centres that have free parking, it can make a massive difference.
• 24:34
  SPEAKER_04: Um, and we've started a parking petition for 90 minutes of free parking.
• 24:38
  SPEAKER_04: So, retailers, if you haven't already, Google it, you'll find us at the top of the list, get it signed.
• 24:44
  SPEAKER_04: We're on Morgan.
• 24:45
  SPEAKER_04: How many are we on so far?
• 24:48
  SPEAKER_04: Over 3,000 signatures.
• 24:50
  SPEAKER_04: Um, and we need to get to 10,000 to get a response from government.
• 24:53
  SPEAKER_04: Uh, we talked about Sharon Good earlier from PR.
• 24:56
  SPEAKER_04: Big shout out to Sharon.
• 24:58
  SPEAKER_04: Um, absolute hero.
• 25:00
  SPEAKER_04: Um, so please sign the petition if you're listening to this podcast.
• 25:04
  SPEAKER_01: Such a great campaign.
• 25:05
  SPEAKER_01: Well done.
• 25:06
  SPEAKER_04: Thank you, Amy.
• 25:07
  SPEAKER_04: Have you signed it yet, Amy?
• 25:08
  SPEAKER_01: Yes.
• 25:09
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
• 25:13
  SPEAKER_01: I have to think about it for a minute there.
• 25:14
  SPEAKER_01: I've done a lot today.
• 25:15
  SPEAKER_01: It's the first day of Autumn Fair.
• 25:16
  SPEAKER_01: I've done a lot today.
• 25:17
  SPEAKER_04: No, definitely no.
• 25:19
  SPEAKER_04: Um, so yeah, please, please do sign it.
• 25:21
  SPEAKER_04: We hope it will make a massive difference and support those local businesses.
• 25:25
  SPEAKER_04: Now, Amy, we've had a great discussion, a great conversation.
• 25:29
  SPEAKER_04: We've got one feature that we'd like to finish on at Inside Retail, um, which is called buy or buy.
• 25:36
  SPEAKER_04: Right.
• 25:36
  SPEAKER_04: I think that's how we do it.
• 25:38
  SPEAKER_04: Is that right, Morgan?
• 25:39
  SPEAKER_04: Buy or buy.
• 25:40
  SPEAKER_01: As in buy it.
• 25:41
  SPEAKER_04: You would buy it or you would say goodbye to it.
• 25:44
  SPEAKER_04: Okay.
• 25:44
  SPEAKER_04: Buy or buy.
• 25:46
  SPEAKER_04: I think it's got to be that time.
• 25:47
  SPEAKER_02: All right.
• 25:47
  SPEAKER_04: Um, so we're gonna give you an idea that is uh actually a thing, and you've got to say whether you think it'll be great for retail or not.
• 25:56
  SPEAKER_04: Buy or buy to an AI-powered shopping trolley.
• 26:02
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 26:03
  SPEAKER_01: AI-powered shopping trolley.
• 26:05
  SPEAKER_01: So I've I've actually read about this recently somewhere, and there's a supermarket that's doing a trial.
• 26:12
  SPEAKER_01: Can't remember which one, I have read about it.
• 26:14
  SPEAKER_01: And it sounds really interesting.
• 26:16
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so um.
• 26:19
  SPEAKER_04: Would you buy?
• 26:20
  SPEAKER_04: Sounds like you'd buy, Ailey.
• 26:22
  SPEAKER_01: I think I would buy because you know, to my point earlier, if it simplifies the customer's life, it reduces friction, adds value, makes things easier, and absolutely buy.
• 26:34
  SPEAKER_01: But then I'm also thinking, if there's an AI shopping trolley, is there an AI basket as well?
• 26:40
  SPEAKER_01: Because will the people who are going in for a smaller shop, yes, um, you know, because most of most big shops are done online, me, that's what I do.
• 26:49
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but yeah, will the people that have to still do the scan and go with a with a basket and and juggling, will they get a bit jealous?
• 26:58
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, and I'm also thinking, like, where will the where will the AI sort of fit in?
• 27:03
  SPEAKER_04: Will it know why I want to buy and it just kind of goes on its own?
• 27:07
  SPEAKER_04: I think there's a bit more research for that one.
• 27:10
  SPEAKER_01: And does it solve the problem of the loose produce?
• 27:13
  SPEAKER_04: Does it do that as well?
• 27:14
  SPEAKER_04: If it does that as well, then we might have an opportunity here.
• 27:16
  SPEAKER_04: What we didn't talk about was price though, and who's going to pay for it.
• 27:20
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, but it sounds like it's a buy for you.
• 27:22
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, a buy.
• 27:24
  SPEAKER_01: There we go.
• 27:25
  SPEAKER_04: Love it.
• 27:26
  SPEAKER_04: Well, Amy, thank you so much for joining us.
• 27:27
  SPEAKER_04: It's been amazing, isn't it?
• 27:28
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, really, really appreciate your time.
• 27:30
  SPEAKER_04: Amazing insight as always.
• 27:32
  SPEAKER_04: Thank you.
• 27:32
  SPEAKER_04: Um, and folks, if you haven't um heard of Retail Huddle, please go and check Amy and the team out.
• 27:37
  SPEAKER_04: And if you haven't seen Pitch Off Live, get to the next spring or autumn fair where you'll be able to see it.
• 27:42
  SPEAKER_04: It's amazing to watch.
• 27:43
  SPEAKER_04: Thank you so much.
• 27:44
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you.