Category: Perspective

VUCA: The Acronym for These Times

5/2/2022

Every day, there are all too many headlines of things outside our control.

The war in Ukraine.
The global energy crisis.
Inflation.
Rising interest rates.
The falling stock market.
Wildfires.
Droughts.
Supply chain disruptions.
Rising costs.
Crime rates.
Social injustices.
The latest coronavirus variant.
And...And...And...

The drumbeat of news about these events is relentless. And wearing.

While retailers are notably resiliant and optimistic, there IS a limit to how much uncertainty one can continue to take.

Then we discovered that there is a name for all this: VUCA.

Online Merchants Get Comeuppance

4/25/2022

👀 New Respect for Brick-n-Mortar Retailers!
Retail IS detail. And some of those pesky details are increasingly cropping up to torment online sellers.

For example, there's the matter of managing returns. As Chris Jarvis wrote in DMM/ShoppingCenters.com*:

"We return roughly 30% of all online purchases compared to only 10% from brick-and-mortar."
"In 2021 retail returns jumped to an average of 16.6% versus 10.6% a year ago."
"Research suggests that a single online return can cost two-thirds the original price to handle when we include labor, transportation, and warehousing costs."

Meanwhile, the pure-play online retailers are confronting the ever-demanding customer expectations.

Explaining Trends by Lifestages. You Can!

4/18/2022

Just this morning we saw yet another article speculating about the staying power of online shopping, in this instance, grocery shopping.

"Right now, the direction is … unclear," admitted the reporter.* "I have been scouring data on online grocery shopping in the U.S., and I will be humble and say that I don’t have a clear picture."
"My wishy-washy analysis is that Americans haven’t fallen head over heels for buying bananas over the internet, but we aren’t rejecting it, either."

Of course, it's not just media pundits who are looking for answers to this question about online versus in-store shopping. Retailers are living with this issue, and they have to make decisions.

"So, how was your first quarter?"

4/11/2022

As the second quarter of the year begins, many of us are experiencing what that fellow in the cartoon is feeling. We are not where we expected to be (and maybe not even where we thought we were!)

Ahh yes, yet another flexibility test. The first quarter of 2022 was full of some major events, nationally and internationally, that disrupted many plans.

As you contemplate where you are now, compared to where you thought you were, and especially, where you intended to be, don't despair! Even more important, just like you do with the GPS system in your car, disregard "returning to the prescribed route."

Wait! Who Knew This Good News?

4/4/2022

ICYMI. You know, that's the shorthand for In Case You Missed It. And in fact, we had missed this.

"Consumer confidence rises for first time this year."

As reported by Chain Store Age*, "The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index rose slightly to 107.2 in March, up from 105.7 in February. It was the first time the metric has increased in three months."

Wow! Is that ever a stray ray of sunshine!

We always look to Consumer Confidence levels as a leading indicator for retailers.

What's the Score? Measure Your Financial Strength

2/14/2022

By now, you have your year-end financials for 2021. Remember, it always comes with a Balance Sheet!

Whether sales are up, down, or sideways, the financial strength – and staying power – of every business is shown on its Balance Sheet. And revealed by its Balance Sheet ratios.

When Up Is Down (Yes, we can explain)

1/17/2022

You've no doubt seen the headlines. "Retail sales slumped in December."

Sounds pretty grim, doesn't it? Did all those foreboding warnings of supply chain issues, inventory shortages, etcetera actually come true?

Keep in mind that the folks trumpeting those slumping sales results are comparing each month's retail sales to the previous month. Sure enough, on that basis it is true that retail sales in December were almost 2% less than they were in November.
However, if you examine the same numbers the way that retailers do– that is, comparing to the same month the prior year – we see a very different story.

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