The recent pandemic and inflation have certainly affected how we spend our money, and this means that retailers need to keep adapting and listening to their customers. UK has a huge retail market, and it’s been interesting to follow the shopping trends over these last years.
Mark Rice is our UK expert who knows a lot about the state of retail, with a main focus on the fashion industry, in the UK. We decided to ask him a couple of questions.
You’re an expert on the UK fashion retail market, what are the biggest challenges there right now?
– Ever since the inflation started, we’ve seen that people are still out shopping, but they are more cautious. Although inflation has now dropped back to pre-2022 levels, there is still a tight squeeze on consumers’ pockets. We are seeing the same footfall in stores, but retailers have seen less conversion in the last couple of years, since people are more careful with how they spend their money. Something has to jump out at them to make a purchase.
– Despite that, fashion has seen a very good year. Shopping in the UK has always been a big pastime, and even though the summer weather was bad, people have still been buying new clothes.
“It’s a race to the bottom in terms of costs”
Mark Rice, UK expert
How are retailers handling this type of cautiousness?
– We are actually seeing that retailers, especially in the grocery industry, are purposely having customer service on lower priority. They understand that prices are the most important thing for customers right now, and that’s where they try to optimize. People seem to accept worse customer service if it gets them lower prices. It’s a race to the bottom in terms of operational costs and service.
– That’s why discount chains have risen in popularity, because their focus has always been on cheap prices and you know what to expect when you go in there.
And how do UK retailers make sure their investors are satisfied?
– Well, let’s say a fashion chain wants to improve their customer service. Maybe they want to put staff in the changing rooms to help customers get the right size. If the retailer does not have concrete evidence that this move has a positive, financial ROI, investors don’t want them to do it. It’s all about the numbers in the end.
– A CEO of a huge grocery chain told me recently that they discourage check-out staff to speak to customers. He said ‘imagine the costs of 5 checkout staff having 10 conversations a day, multiplied by 1,000 stores. That’s hundreds of hours that can trimmed from the costs.’ Nice to know how he feels about his customers and staff – wanting to dehumanise them and make them just another entry on a ledger. My fear is that this culture is going to spread to fashion and beyond. If it does, then what is the purpose of having a retail store?
“Retailers need to create incentives for people to visit their stores”
Mark Rice, UK expert
Can you predict any trends for the upcoming years?
– I think we will never stop talking about technology. For years, people have been saying that online shopping will kill off physical stores, but they haven’t. And now a lot are saying the same about AI as well. It’s hard to tell how retail will change, but retailers need to create incentives for people to visit their stores, such as offering a higher level of service, advice, availability of staff or friendliness. There are a lot of things they can do to make sure they don’t become obsolete.
And how does Maze play into all of this?
– Maze is in some ways like a simpler version of a CFO. It’s giving retailers another way to balance their spreadsheets and grow profitability without cutting service. But it’s also so much more. The Maze app is able to support, motivate and coach the staff to make sure they do their absolute best, which will also make you stand out from your competition who only focuses on low prices. And you’ll get data that shows you and your investors that what you’re doing is working. It’s growing sales, reducing presenteeism and improving productivity. That’s why Maze is growing in popularity every year and are partnering with the Retail Trust to support employee wellbeing.
Interested in trying Maze? Click here to learn more about what it can unlock for you and your frontline staff.
