Good time for retailers?

There’s good news for retailers - sales in the sector experienced a boost through April according to the Distributive Trades Survey.  The news follows a mess of months that have not been kind to retail businesses but now they will be hoping that the news will carry on getting better throughout the year.

However, despite the findings of the survey, the Confederation of British Industry has asked retailers to keep their feet on the ground as the boost through April does not necessarily mean that the worst of the recession is over.

The survey found that a massive 44 per cent of retailers experienced a rise in year-on-year sales while only 41 per cent claimed that they noticed sales fall.  These figures were reflections of experiences from the first half of April.

Don’t get excited…

Although this result is positive progress for retailers, not many people are expecting the good times to keep on going - according to the chairman of the CBI Distributive Trades Panel, Andy Clarke, the rise in sales could be put down to the late Easter.

“The good turnout by shoppers over this year’s later Easter may well have influenced the April retail figures and while they mark a respite, they should not be taken as an indication of a high street revival,” said Clarke.

In these troublesome times, where we don’t know whether things are looking up or down, we need to stay in the know as to what attracts the customers and what turns them off;

Spending

It’s wrong to think that the more money your customers spend the more important they are - rather than giving all your attention to the one customer that spends a lot of money in your store you should be thinking about giving your attention to the customers that don’t spend too much but do go out and spread the word!

Online vs. Reality

Getting your retail business online is definitely an important thing but mostly because you can’t afford to have your competition online and not be yourself.  Just because online retail has become a massive industry it doesn’t mean that you should leave the high street - people will always enjoy shopping around online but they will never stop shopping on the high street either!

The Customer Can Be Wrong

It is not always true that the customer is always right and you shouldn’t forget it!  People can make mistakes and some people are even out to get things for free and are ready to make a fuss to get it.

Moving

It seems to make sense that by moving your business you are slamming the last nail into your coffin, however it doesn’t necessarily have to be the case - start planning early and plan well and you should be fine!

Retail boost?

Are you in the retail sector?  Have you noticed a recent boost in sales?  Do you agree with the CBI and the boost is meaningless?  Leave us a comment and let us know what you think…

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