There are millions of people searching the internet every day, looking for products and services. Online retail continues to grow, year on year, as customers seek out the convenience that eCommerce offers. Convenience like being able to search and make purchases whenever and wherever they want. It’s no surprise that modern consumers are doing more and more of their shopping online. By selling online, you can tap into this market of online shoppers and expand your consumer-base. But there are actually some other benefits of selling online that you might not have expected.

Increase brand awareness

The majority of modern shoppers search for products online, before making up their minds on what (and where) to buy. Having an online presence means potential customers can find your shop and see your products when they search online. Consumers who find your shop in their search results will be more likely to buy from your store. While shoppers who don’t find you online might find your competitors instead.

Sell day and night

One of the great upsides to online retail is that, once your online shop opens, it never has to close. You don’t need to have staff around to handle transactions online, so you aren’t limited by your usual working hours. This means that shoppers can buy from you whenever they want. You can essentially make your shop 24/7, without having to hire on more staff for the graveyard shift. By offering customers the option to shop, whenever they want, you can tap into the growing market of shoppers who prefer to browse products and make purchases, from the comfort of their own beds, outside of usual working hours.

Make cost-efficient sales

The cost of a website is all in the initial expense of setting one up. Once your eCommerce-enabled is live, it can take very little to maintain. This means that, in the long run, your website can be your most cost-effective sales outlet. Without needing to be staffed, and without the usual costs of renting physical space, your site can keep operating costs low, while still offering a slick, convenient customer experience that makes you sales.

If you’d like to know more about selling online, don’t hesitate to get in touch.

The post 3 Surprising Benefits of Selling Online first appeared on Savethehighstreet.org.

Members of our Retailer Advisory Board, as well as representatives from industry leading retail companies, met to discuss the modern high street at our High Street Conference. The panel discussed topics near and dear to UK independents, such as the importance of data in retail and the opportunities for getting discovered on the high street. The panel also elaborated on the options that retailers have, to aid them in fulfilling their customers’ needs and growing their business. Far from the usual doom-and-gloom that we hear about the high street, this panel of retailers and industry leaders show real confidence in the future of UK independent retail.

So what can we learn from this discussion?

This panel was very information rich. There’s an awful lot that independent shopkeepers can learn from this discussion. Our panellists had a lot to say about data, discovery and fulfilment. Modern retailers need to understand and optimise their business, in each of these three areas, if they’re going to stay competitive on the high street. There’s a lot to learn about the use of data, the factors influencing discovery and the tools that exist to aid retailers in fulfilling orders. So what are some of the key points to take away from this discussion?

Data can help you understand (and target) your customers

Successful modern retail is data-driven. Retailers gather experience selling to their customers. They understand what people buy. When in the year, the week, or the day they make their purchases. There’s a lot that can be understood about a business, through experience. But it certainly helps to have some numbers and statistics to back the numbers up. In the panel discussion, our Retailer Advisory Board members talk about the effect that installing an EPOS system had on their company. EPOS systems allow retailers to track their sales and stock and can provide data analytics on these areas of business. With this data, shopkeepers can have numbers and stats to inform and support their decisions going forward.

Similarly, customer data offers the opportunity, in advertising, to better target customers. Integrating data from sources such as your website or EPOS system, to inform your advertising, you can optimise to target only the kind of consumer that’s looking for your products. Modern marketing isn’t about mass-reach. You don’t need to hit millions of uninterested to people to sell your products. You need to target the interested few, that are going to be enticed into your store, by your advertising. Using data to make your advertising more effective means your marketing budget can go further.

The role of the web in discovery

It’s one of the biggest issues of modern retail; can the internet really help you get more customers? And the answer, from members of our Retailer Advisory Board, is yes, but you’ll have to put in the effort to make it work. The internet is like a great theatre, full of performances and with an audience of millions. You can’t just turn up and expect to be an overnight hit. You’ve got to put in the work to attract an audience and engage your viewers, to keep them coming back. Rowena Howie, of Revival Retro Boutique, talks about how she grew her Instagram following into the tens of thousands, and is seeing the growth it’s given her bricks-and-mortar business. Similarly, Simon England, of The London Cycle Workshop, speaks about how blog posts, on their website, keep customers engaged online. In the end, it’s this sort of engagement that will convert website visitors into in-store customers.

The demand for convenience and options for fulfilment

Consumers today have very high expectations of retailers. Every big chain is offering delivery these days. Most offer click-and-collect too. If independents are going to stay competitive, they need to meet their customer’s expectations of convenience. Fortunately, there are plenty of options for independents to get started offering greater convenience and fulfilling their customers needs. For example, delivery services (such as CitySprint Health and Urb-it, who took part in the discussion above) are expanding their reach all over the country, making it easier and easier for independents to offer convenient delivery for their customers, wherever they may be. Meanwhile, advances in the field of payments technology are allowing retailers to offer ever more convenient forms of payment. With the advent of contactless payments and even phone payments technology, you can bring in more customers by accepting whatever payments they’d prefer to make.

There’s an awful lot more we can learn from our retailers and industry leaders. There’s a lot that we couldn’t fit in this video, or this article. So make sure to stay tuned for more discussions, debates and independent retail stories from our conference!

If you have any thoughts or questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

And don’t forget to check out our partners’ special offers on all things retail, on our special offers page.

The post Retailers and Industry Leaders Talk Data, Discovery and Fulfilment in UK Retail first appeared on Savethehighstreet.org.

The internet is a hugely important part of modern life. Everyone uses it and everyone is using it more and more as time goes by. The importance of the internet is rising with time. This makes it a hugely important tool for small businesses, especially retailers. Not just ecommerce retailers either; anyone can grow their business online. It’s a great way to reach out to the modern consumer, on your website or social media platforms, and keep them engaged with your brand.

The internet is filled with millions of people who search for things related to you and your products. They’re searching to find someone who’ll connect them with the products they want to buy. Even if you don’t sell those products online, by putting your shop out there you’re letting consumers know you’re there. You’re making yourself discoverable. And discovery is the first step to seeing your footfall rise.

Create Business Profiles on Social Media and Google

This is a pretty simple step toward taking command of your online presence, but it makes a huge difference. Shoppers are searching for you. They’re searching on google for your products, they’re checking google maps for shops like yours, they’re looking for your shop on social media. Shoppers are searching for you, but unless you put your shop on the map, how will they find you?

Having a website is a great way to make yourself discoverable. But even outside of that, if you have social media profiles for your business you can be discovered on google, as well as on the platform you made the profile for. Setting up a google ‘my business’ account can also get you found on google maps, which is a huge step toward getting discovered by customers who haven’t heard of you before, who are looking for the nearest shop that sells the products they’re looking to buy.

Be Active

Just having an online presence is a big step in the right direction. Though if you really want to make the most of it, you need to stay active online. You need to show customers that you’re active on social media to encourage them to engage with you. No one wants to take the time to post to a derelict page that hasn’t been active since it was created. By taking the time to post about your shop on your social profiles, you can increase your reach and engage your existing fans.

And if you don’t do it…

Well, funnily enough, if you don’t do it someone else will actually do it for you. But, believe me, you don’t want that. Why? Because if you don’t take command of your online presence, other people will be able to take control. They’ll control how your shop is perceived online. If you don’t have a facebook profile, and someone posts about how upset they were with your products, not only are you unable to reply, but that unhappy post will also be the only thing anyone can find about you on facebook. People are going to talk about you online and if you want to be part of the conversation, you have to take command of your online presence.

It’s the same for google too. If you don’t create a ‘my business’ profile, someone else might add your shop to google maps. And they might get things wrong. Important things, like your address or shop name. Things that customers need to know if they’re going to visit your shop.

Don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions about how to take command of your online presence.

The post Take command of your online presence first appeared on Savethehighstreet.org.

Your website is like your store front online. For many of your customers it’ll be their first point of contact. These days more people than ever are researching shops before they choose where to take their commerce. Shoppers are googling shops in their area and if you aren’t in the results, you might as well not exist. Even if you’ve no intention of selling online you need a website. Because shops’ websites aren’t just about selling. Below are a few of the reasons why websites are an important part of every business, even ones without ecommerce.

Be Discoverable

Having a website can (in the case of google maps, quite literally) put your shop on the map. If you can’t be found online you’ll miss out on countless customers. Customers who are searching for your products online and finding your competitors, but not you. In this digital age, everyone’s looking online. Even if you sell products that wouldn’t fit the online world well, such as perishable foods or bespoke clothing, customers will search for your website before visiting you in person. They’ll want to see pictures of your products and read about your shop’s story, before they decide to pay you a visit in the real world. You need to make sure these customers can find you, or they might not visit you at all.

(Almost) Free Exposure

Creating a website doesn’t cost very much nowadays. Especially if you’re willing to learn some basic website development. With tools such as WordPress and Wix, you can build a professional looking website yourself, a choice many new businesses are choosing to make. It’s easier than ever to make a website and once its online, it’s there for everyone to see. Anyone searching for the products you sell, or looking for shops like yours, in their area, will be able to find your site. And when they find your site they’ll find whatever you’ve chosen to display there. You can have pictures of your products, testimonials from happy customers, a video tour of your shop, the list goes on. You can really advertise whatever you want, to frame your shop in the customer’s mind, so they’re ready to buy when they visit.

Increase footfall and sales

Every shopkeeper knows that more visitors means more potential sales. Well once you’re discoverable on google, you can increase your reach to countless potential customers. Most of whom might not have found your store in person. You can make sure that they find the best of your company online. Rather than googling your shop and finding nothing at all, or worse, finding a couple disgruntled reviews on yelp, you can make sure these customers are seeing your shop the way you want to be seen. This is a great way to grow sales and expand your base of loyal customers.

If you’re considering setting up a website, don’t forget to check out our special offer from the UK Domain, powered by Nominet, who are trying to help local independents get set up on the web.

If you have any thoughts or questions on the benefits of having a website, please get in touch with our team.

The post The Benefits of Having a Website, Even if You Don’t Sell Online first appeared on Savethehighstreet.org.

These days most companies, regardless of sector, are hosting events. Whether these events are conferences, seminars, networking mornings or just plain old fashioned drunken parties, everyone’s hosting these days. Yes, even retailers. And really, it should come as no surprise. Of all the industries that could be hosting events, retail is the one that has the potential to do the best job of it. Shops are already very interesting places, especially unique, passionate independent shops. You already have a space filled with the wonderfully interesting products that tempt and entice your customers. Do you sell wine? Have a tasting evening. How about clothes? Host a party to show off the latest products you’ve just ordered in.

But you might ask why. Why should you host an event in your shop? Well we’ve come up with three big reasons why in-store events can be a major win for retailers.

Media Attention and the Press

Any properly planned and hosted event has the ability to attract significant media attention to your store. Invite some local press, who’ll be very happy to attend a local event, especially in an interesting independent local shop. You can also consider inviting some critics. If you’re in the hospitality sector or produce unusual food and beverages, then you could attract some interest from critics, columnists or even specialist bloggers. Though this isn’t just for the foodies out there, there are specialist press for all sectors, from fashion, to cars and motorbikes, from toys to beauty products. And these specialist press can be very influential in their sector.

Increase Foot Traffic and Sales

Events are a great way to grow your customer base by attracting the kind of prospective customers that wouldn’t usually have come to your store, but may be interested in your products. If you can attract their interest with an event in your store, you may find that they keep coming back, for the products they fell in love with at the event. This is one of the great opportunities that comes with hosting an event. You can put some of your products in the spotlight and really bring attention to the things you’re most looking to sell and the products that will most attract customers back. And on top of this, an event is a great time to show your products off. Everyone is a little more attractive with a little bubbly dancing down your veins.

Create Valuable Connections

Local events also help to create valuable connections.  As above, you can connect with prospective customers, who didn’t know they were interested in your products until they were invited along to an event in your store. But you’ll also attract possible business partners. Whether they’re suppliers or advertisers, or potential investors, everyone’s up for a party! So why wait to run into these people somewhere? Bring them to you by hosting an open event at your shop.

So hosting an event in your store can be a great way to grow your customer base by attracting customers in, as well as attracting press to your shop, who will have an interesting event in a local independent to write about when they leave. It’s a good means of building your personal connections and growing your professional community. And it’s just generally a lot of fun at the end of the day.

If you have any questions about how to host an event in your shop, please feel free to get in touch!

The post Host events to bring shoppers into your store first appeared on Savethehighstreet.org.

We all love local. We like to shop at local shops, listen to local radio and know the people around our town. It’s the foundation of SaveTheHighStreet.org, that we all want the local to thrive. Though sometimes it’s hard to know what’s local to you. There may be shops a short walk from you that you never even knew existed. Before you can support your local area, you need to know the people, shops and businesses around you. This is why we at SaveTheHighStreet.org put so much emphasis on discovery. People need to know you’re there, before they can support you. And a great way of getting discovered and getting supported through local press.

Local Press and How it Can Help You

Local radio, local newspapers, local bloggers, there are plenty of options to get discovered with local press. You might not know about all of them yourself, but a quick google search can find you dozens of press options for your area. And one of the great things about them is that they’re just as interested in you as you are in them. Local press want to promote local shops because you’ll be more relevant to their audience than events going on further afield. You’re exactly the kind of thing their audience wants to hear about. This means that if you don’t want to run a full-on advertising campaign, you may be able to stop by for a coffee and an interview and pay nothing to reach tons of local shoppers.

Local Press Targets Local Consumers

Advertising yourself locally establishes you as a part of your community. You aren’t just a chain that’s decided to open a branch on your high street. You’re a local shopkeeper. This is a great way to introduce yourself to the kind of local shopper that wants to support local shops. Using local press, you can quickly build a community of loyal customers that want to support local independents.

One of the major upsides of local press is that it’s already targeting your customers. An advert on national radio may reach thousands more people, but if only a handful of them live close enough to shop with you, is it worth the cost? Local press targets local consumers, meaning that everyone seeing, hearing or reading the advert is already able to swing by your shop.

If you’d like to know more about contacting local press, feel free to get in touch.

The post Get In-Touch With Your Local Press first appeared on Savethehighstreet.org.

The world we live in today is internet connected, social media active and mobile friendly. Technology isn’t on the rise, it’s already taken over. Fortunately, this is something that enterprising retailers can use to their advantage. All this tech offers whole new angles to spread the word and market your brand and your products.  Retail doesn’t have to rely on word of mouth and expensive newspaper advertising anymore. The tech take-over has opened up a bunch of new avenues for independent retailers to get discovered. Let me introduce you to Google’s Local Inventory ads. One of the best options for independents who want to put their shop in front of consumers searching on Google.

What are local inventory ads?

Google’s local inventory ads show up at the top of pages when users search, based on what they search and where they are. If your shop sells, say, jewellery, then when a consumer within walking distance of your shop searches ‘jewellery’ (or earrings, necklaces, bracelets, etc.) they’ll see one of your products at the top of the page.

The idea is that Google can give people helpful information about what they can buy near them. Local results are more valuable for Google’s users, so it’s in Google’s interests to promote local shops. Rather than letting a user know that they can find what they’re looking for, many miles away in another town, Google can let users know that your shop sells what they’re looking for and you’re just a short walk away!

Of course, this can only happen if you use local inventory ads. If you don’t, someone else’s ads will show up instead.

What’s Required of Me?

Well not an awful lot as it happens. You need a physical store that customers can buy from. You’re not part of the ‘local inventory’ if you only sell online. Next, you need to have a shop in the same area you want to advertise in. This means you do have to be ‘local’ to your ads. This may seem like a no-brainer, but it actually can be quite valuable to place your advertising area just outside where your shop is. If there’s an area of town where people sit down to eat (and spend a lot of time looking at their phones) you might want to target this area, rather than the exact vicinity of your shop. Just make sure not to stray too far from your physical storefront. Lastly you can only advertise products that customers can actually buy. This means you can’t advertise non-physical things like memberships or extended warranty or payment protection insurance.

And that’s it! So long as you meet these requirements you can start advertising to local customers who are hanging out near your shop. You can drive footfall in your store and get the word out about your business. This really is one of the best ways to market your shop and your products to local shoppers, using new technology.

If you have any questions about local inventory ads, don’t hesitate to get in touch.

The post Google’s Local Inventory Ads Can Help You Reach Customers Locally first appeared on Savethehighstreet.org.

Local advertising is something we’ve all been on the receiving end of. We’ve all seen advertising informing anyone walking by that there’s a certain cafe or restaurant just round the corner. Letting you know you’re only a few minutes away from their business. This is a form of local advertising that these businesses are using to target local consumers in a way that independents may find very useful.

It’s just this sort of advertising that can really benefit local independents too. Advertising locally means you’re targeting consumers that are already a short walk from your business. It means you’re building your brand locally too. Putting yourself in the minds of local patrons is a good way to grow a community of loyal, local customers.

Local Advertising is More Efficient for Independents

Local advertising is a very efficient means of advertising for independents. This is because local ads will only hit consumers that are already close enough to visit your shop. You won’t find your advertisements going up on billboards or on the sides of busses on the other side of the UK. Your ads will target consumers in your area. This means you won’t be wasting any of your advertising budget on consumers that can’t come by your shop anyway. It’s not such a problem for big chains with shops in every city, but independents need to make sure every penny they spend on advertising is hitting their potential shoppers, in their towns.

And it Can Help You Build a Presence in Your Area

You’ll advertise your products, but seeing an advert that says you can buy such a product from a shop around the corner also puts that shop in the spotlight. You’re not just telling people where they can buy your products, you’re putting your shop at the front of their thoughts. Letting them know that you’re a local business. You’re building your shop’s presence in the local community.

This is important for independents. A big part of why some people will only shop independent is because indie retailers form a part of their community that big chains never could. It’s something that can really set an independent apart from the big brands. You’re not just another shop, you’re a part of the community. This is something that should never be underestimated. It can turn one-off shoppers into loyal customers. Local consumers will be happy to tell their friends and spread the word about their local independent. It puts your shop at the heart of the community.

If you have any further questions about local advertising don’t hesitate to let us know!

The post Use Local Advertising to Grow Your Business first appeared on Savethehighstreet.org.

All ambitious retailers know that no matter how large your domestic market may be, it’s just a drop in the ocean. There’s a whole world of consumers out there. A whole world of shoppers searching for the right products for them. It’s a big market, but it can be tough to break into. It means competing with the world’s biggest brands. It also means competing with all the small independents, around the world, whose business you’ll be taking overseas. You need to be able to stand out from the crowd and grab the attention of international consumers.

Fortunately, as an independent, you have a bit of an advantage in this regard. You’re already unique. Already distinct from the big chains. Independents have a lot of potential to turn heads and grab the attention of international consumers. And the more unique your shop is, the more potential you have just waiting to be unleashed on the world.

The Power of Individuality

People are constantly creating, viewing and sharing content online. There are huge websites, like Tumblr and Pinterest, that act as a sort of gallery for this content and receive millions of views each day. Users cast judgement on the content they’re viewing. They ‘like’, or ‘share’, or ‘up-vote’ content that they like and ignore, or even ‘down-vote’ content they dislike. This means that only the most interesting and unique content rises to the top of the pile. If there’s something that really sets your shop out from the crowd you could reach thousands of people all over the world. No matter what their marketing budget may be, big chain stores can’t buy that sort of reach. Only genuine uniqueness can.

This is a huge advantage for independent retailers. You’re one of a kind. You aren’t just another chain store. It gives your business personality, something that big companies try to cultivate over many years of marketing and PR, on budgets most independents could only dream of. It’s so important because getting discovered, internationally, is about standing out from the crowd. You need something that makes you special. Something that will make people share your products to their friends and family. This is how you’ll spread the word, get discovered and start making sales internationally.

But What About the Shipping?

Of course, once you’ve been discovered and people have started buying, you need to be able to get your products to them. This means international shipping. This is where a lot of independents stop before they’ve even gotten started. A lot of retailers assume that international shipping and sales are reserved for the big chains. While this may have been true in the past, modern international shipping is much more independent-friendly.

There are plenty of shipping companies that are happy to handle small packages. Check out Inter Parcel, who give quotes on different delivery companies and the cost of shipping with them. A 3kg, 40cm by 40cm by 20cm parcel costs £10 to France, £20 to Estonia, £25 to the US and £45 to Japan. For one of a kind, unique products, these prices won’t be a barrier to your customers.

The shipping times are also far better than you might have expected. The shortest is 4 days to France, the longest is 10 days to Japan. This means your customers won’t have to wait too long to receive their wonderfully enticing orders. Which is one of the biggest obstacles to international purchases. No one wants to wait months for their order, but a few days? That won’t be a problem.

Why not give it a try?

By delivering all over the world you can tap into a much larger market of consumers. But on top of this, you’re reaching market that might not have seen a shop like yours again. With the costs covered from the other side, there’s no reason not to give it a go. And who knows? Maybe your products will really take off overseas. You could find that folks in South Korea, or Chile, or Indonesia are huge fans of whatever you sell.

If you’d like to know more about international shipping, or you have any questions, please let us know!

The post Sell Your Products All Over the World first appeared on Savethehighstreet.org.

There’s no doubt that the world is addicted to the internet. Many people are connected to the net all day, every day. This is something that some business owners are leveraging to their advantage. Many business owners focus on customer satisfaction as one of the major keys to success, yet so often these same business owners turn their nose up at public wifi. It offers a convenient line to friends, family and the internet at large. Customers don’t want to be disconnected when they walk into your shop and the recent market research suggests that customers spend more time, and money, in shops that let them stay connected. It’s not surprising that free wifi has been incorporated in many big chain businesses. But independents are missing out.

Here are three reasons why free wifi can really help your in-store experience, bring in more customers and keep them happy.

Attract More Customers

Having an internet connection makes people feel more comfortable. Customers will feel more at home in a store that doesn’t break their connection to the web, to their friends and family. It’s no surprise that customers tend to stay longer in places where free Wi-Fi is offered. Comfortable customers are also more likely to recommend you to their friends. This means more foot traffic into your business and more happy customers to continue the good word of mouth to other shoppers.

Another Means of Marketing

Something that isn’t often thought about with public wifi is the mechanism by which your customers sign in to your wifi. Some wiifi providers let you customise a landing page for your business. This lets you show different real-time offers to customers as they’re signing in. This is another dimension to your marketing you can use to show shoppers the products they might have missed walking around your shop. You can even use your wifi service to complement your in-store experience, expanding your marketing space for customers that use your public wifi.

Let Your Customers Spread the Word

With access to wifi in your shop, your customers will be able to connect with their friends, family and the random strangers that they’ve added on Facebook. This means they’ll be talking to all these people while they’re inside your shop, surrounded by your products. Letting your customers talk to their friends while they’re in your shop means you’re letting them talk about you. You’re letting them share photos of your products to their social media. You’re letting them spread the word about your shop. And what’s more, if they’re in your shop, they probably fit your customer profile. This means their friends, that they’ll be spreading the to, are also likely to be your kind of customer.

Check out our article on public wifi, featuring XLN, one of the UKs foremost public wifi providers.

Have a look at our special offer on public wifi for your shop.

If you have any questions or thoughts on public wifi, get in touch with us here.

The post What Free Wifi Can Do For Your In-Store Experience first appeared on Savethehighstreet.org.