For those of you who live with a man, you'll know what that is. For those of you who don't, let me briefly explain. Men shop differently to women. They have a tendency to only come out once of twice a year, bulk buy, and spend a lot in a single transaction.
It's an important ritual in a man's year. Stocking up on socks, pants, trousers, jumpers and shoes. Their primary mission is to clothe themselves fully in one single trip, without the pain of having to repeat the process before a reasonable amount of time has elapsed.
For a retailer, this should make him the ideal client. He's interested in purchasing the whole kit and caboodle. And, crucially, he has money to spend. So making sure he spends it in your store is critical.
Now we are increasingly led to believe that British Retail is in the doldrums. People are spending less and less, well established retail chains struggle, and jobs are in jeopardy as the British public cast aside shopping as a national past time and embrace, well, other stuff.
So here's a wake up call for you, British Retail, based on my recent "man shop" experience.
In less than 80 minutes we achieved the following:
- The purchase of 6 pairs of pants, 7 pairs of socks, 4 pairs of trousers, 2 jumpers, 1 pair of boots and 1 pair of shoes.
- Spending a minimum of 15 minutes in 3 separate major national retailers
- Trying on clothes in all 3 retailers
- Waiting for around about 10-12 minutes to hand over money
- Having to ask for a bag to put the large shoe box in so we could carry it out of the store (seriously)
- Spending 40% less than we had intended
And we achieved all of that without once actually being offered an ounce of service or purchasing advice from any of the 6 separate sales "assistants" we encountered on our retail journey.
Now, in a previous life I have a retail claim to fame: I was once the national sales champion for women's clothing retailer Richards. And this lofty title was bestowed upon me for one simple reason: I was able to shift more clothing per square foot of store than any other sales assistant in the country. Cool, huh?
Perhaps I should share my ancient wisdom with British Retail now, in the hope that they might be able to redeem themselves from the doldrums and lift themselves firmly back into the 21st century?
If you are trying hard to wrestle money from the purse of the average consumer, it really only ever comes down to one thing, and one thing only: SERVICE. Simple service.
And much of that service, in a clothing environment, is delivered in the changing room. Not on the shop floor where your retail assistants are wasting time tidying up. Not in the stockroom where they are shirking from the primary task of serving the customer. And not behind the till where they are standing, looking vacant and bored. In the changing room.
The changing room is where you can take a £20 sale and turn it into £120. The changing room is where you can offer that added value service: Need a different size, sir? Can I suggest that the green would look fantastic on you, sir, would you like to try it in that colour? Have you tried these on, sir? They look very smart, sir, we have them in 4 other colours, would you like me to bring them in for you to see?
Once a customer is in the changing room, they become a client. They are yours and yours alone to serve, advise, understand and help.
There's a small dress shop in Perth where I live, called Loretta's which has got this level of service down pat. The shop is stuffed full of stock. So much so, it's impossible to find anything. In fact most of the stock isn't even on the shop floor. But Loretta knows this. Which is why she ritualistically shoves you in a changing room and brings the shop to you. Average spend in Loretta's, I'd hazard a guess, is in the region of £3-400 per transaction.
When I worked for family owned, national retailer Hobbs, we were all trained in advising the customer on their ultimate "capsule wardrobe" - irrespective of whether they only popped in to buy just a belt or an entirely new look. "That belt would go really well with these trousers, madam. And may I suggest we team it up with this top - it's the perfect colour for you." Average sale? Much higher than the cost of the average belt.
When I worked for Richards, we were specifically trained in the art of getting the customer into the changing room and off the shop floor as fast as possible. Why? You've guessed it. This action alone increased the customer's average spend.
So come on, British Retail, this is your clarion call. Get your staff off the cleaning and into the changing room. Get them onto the shop floor serving the customer. Get them acknowledging the customer when they walk into the store. Get them talking to the customer. Get them offering advice. Assisting. Consulting.
Then, you just never know, your doldrums may just be a thing of the past. And my 40% underspend might just have made it into your tills. Your loss. Our gain.
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