Hybrid shopping

The importance of moving to a hybrid shopping experience in the retail industry

Our Director of Fashion & Non-Food Retail, Aislinn Lea, featured in the Retail Excellence Ireland, Retail Times, to discuss the importance of moving to a hybrid shopping experience in the retail industry. Aislinn highlights why having a bricks-and-mortar business with an online aspect, along with a mix of retail and digital talent, is crucial for retail success.

It’s a different world in retail, post-pandemic, Aislinn Lea agrees. “Retail employee retention has always been challenging, but it has reached new heights since the pandemic. Retail workers are now seeking roles that offer greater work-life balance and more flexibility as well as the company being the right culture fit,” she says. Sourcing, training and onboarding new team members can be expensive, so it is worth investing in retention strategies to prevent high employee turnover. With this in mind, Aislinn says there are a number of key reasons good retail staff will start to think about leaving to be mindful of. And luckily, there are steps you can take to prevent this, as she explains below.

Aislinn believes a hybrid shopping model is essential in today’s retail landscape, but equally important is having the right digital and retail team. “In physical retail stores, employees assist customers, answer their queries, and guide them through the purchasing process. Similarly, in the digital realm, staff interact with customers through various channels like live chat, email, or social media, addressing their concerns and providing support. Exceptional customer service builds customer loyalty and increases sales so selecting the right candidate is essential for business growth,” she says.

Meeting customer preferences:

Customers have varying preferences when it comes to shopping. Some prefer the convenience and accessibility of online shopping; others prefer the tactile experience and personal interaction of physical stores. Having both options allow you to cater to a wider range of customers, whilst enhancing their shopping experiences.

Digital talent for online success:

To succeed in the digital realm, having a team of digital talent is essential. These professionals can handle e-commerce operations, digital marketing, website design and optimisation, social media engagement, and customer relationship management. Their expertise will ensure that your online presence is effective, engaging, and capable of driving traffic and conversions.

Building brand awareness and sales:

Physical stores offer a tangible presence that can help build brand awareness. Customers can interact with products, seek assistance from knowledgeable staff, and establish a personal connection with the brand. By complementing this with an online presence, you can expand your reach, engage with a broader audience, and reinforce your brand identity. Online sales can supplement your in-store revenue and provide opportunities for growth.

Retail talent for personalised experiences:

In-house retail talent is crucial for providing exceptional customer service, creating personalised experiences, and driving sales in physical stores. Retail employees with product knowledge, excellent interpersonal skills, and a passion for customer satisfaction can enhance the overall shopping experience and build lasting customer relationships.

Blending physical and digital strategies:

The key to a successful hybrid shopping model is integrating your physical and digital strategies. Your retail and digital talent need to collaborate closely to align marketing efforts, optimise inventory management, deliver consistent brand messaging, and leverage customer data to provide personalised experiences. This will help make the most of your hybrid approach. Retail teams could also enhance collaboration with the digital team by providing services such as in-store collections and returns.

You can check out this feature in the most recent edition of the Retail Times here. For more information call us on 01 814 8747 or email aislinn@excelrecruitment.com

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online sales

Grants to be given to retailers to grow online sales

A pilot scheme worth €625,000 has been launched to help Irish retailers grow their e-commerce abilities and grow their online sales.

The scheme, launched by the government and set to be run by Enterprise Ireland aims to help Irish retailers export more goods through their only shops. It is hoped the scheme will provide grants to at least 25 small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the retail sector to help improve their online capabilities and compete better internationally. The grants will be in the range of €10,000-€25,000 and at least half of the total number of grants awarded will be reserved for retail SMEs with their headquarters outside Dublin.

The grants can be used for research, consultation, implementation and training costs and will be made on a matching funds basis meaning a grant of €25,000 will only be awarded if the company is also investing €25,000 in its online trading strategy.

The scheme was announced at a meeting of the Retail Consultation Forum, a grouping of retail industry and public sector bodies chaired by Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation Heather Humphreys.

“Many retailers face increasing international competition on their doorstep and need to enhance their competitiveness,” the Minister said.

To apply

To apply, the retail companies must be Irish-owned with the potential to create jobs, generate sales growth and export. They must also have an existing online presence and employ at least 20 people in the Republic.

Enterprise Ireland chief executive Julie Sinnamon said the organisation anticipated “a good response” to the pilot scheme from eligible retailers. “There is a strong need for Irish retailers to innovate through digitalisation,” she said.

Lorraine Higgins, chief executive of industry body Retail Excellence Ireland, welcomed the scheme.

“This is a hugely welcome development and a sea change in policy as the export potential of Irish retailers is now being recognised. Having an online sales channel is critical given the boundaryless nature of the industry and this pilot will certainly enhance the sales capacity of the successful applicants.”

She said the organisation looked forward to seeing the scheme expanded in the longer term.

Call for government support for retailers in fight against online giants

Retail Excellence Ireland has called for State support for retailers as it was revealed 60% of Irish online spending in 2017 went to foreign retailers.

Lorraine Higgins of Retail Excellence Ireland said the threat posed to Irish retailers by online operations overseas has been growing for more than a decade. The retail representative body is concerned that unless some level of State-intervention is implemented, many indigenous businesses that make the Republic’s retail space unique would shut.

According to Ms Higgins, “Consumers see a huge price differential between online and bricks and mortar shops, but many of the prices that we see online do not include VAT or duty and seem much cheaper. Around two-thirds of consumer spending is leaving the country every single day, and that presents a massive challenge to the retail industry and to Revenue.”

Less than 30 per cent of Irish retailers have an e-commerce capability on their websites, and 22 per cent have no online presence at all. According to Retail Excellence Ireland the numbers highlight the size of the challenge many retailers face if they are to survive, and she called for State support for small enterprises seeking to build websites to compete against overseas competitors. The calls came in the wake of the closure last month of a branch of the Walton’s music shop on Dublin’s South Great George’s Street.

Thomas Burke, director of Retail Ireland, the Ibec umbrella group for the industry was cautiously optimistic about the future, “I see it as a glass half full kind of situation. Shopping is not just the transaction, it is a past time and it is a social activity, and I think retailers need to take advantage of that fact they do not have to just go toe-to-toe with the big online retailers on price and can offer something a bit different.”

Retailers want online market places to pay VAT and duties

The retail representative group, Retail Excellence Ireland, have called for legislation to make online market-places liable to collect VAT and duties.

The group say the proposed measure will help to counteract the level of retail spend leaving the country. Retail Excellence Ireland is calling for legislation similar to the UK’s Finance Act which was introduced in December. Under the Act, online market-places were made responsible for collecting VAT and duties.

“We think that we should expect no less here in Ireland, because it’s not enough in budgets to just increase consumer spend and think that takes care of retail,” said Lorraine Higgins, Deputy Chief Executive of Retail Excellence Ireland, “We need retail-focused solutions for the future.”

Ms Higgins, Deputy Chief Executive at Retail Excellence Ireland, said two-thirds of online spend is leaving Ireland, and retailers here are aggrieved by competition from online retailers based outside the state who do not have to pay duties. “First and foremost we need to look at the online market-places, and the fact that they don’t have any duty on them,” she said. “So what we’d like to see is robust legislation introduced in the upcoming budget that would make online marketplaces jointly and separately liable to collect VAT and duties.”

She said retailers “were investing heavily in marketing campaigns to try and offset the type of cheap imports that were coming from websites, predominantly outside of the EU” She said the industry is seeing is an elongation of the shopping period at Christmas time, and a lot of retailers have stepped up to the mark and offered bargains, deductions and discounts in November, in order to try and encourage people into stores, to offset the challenges coming from websites outside of Ireland.