From The Editor | June 23, 2015

Top Quotes From "Retail Survival Of The Fittest"

jim roddy

By Jim Roddy, VP of Marketing, RSPA

Retail Survival Of The Fittest by Francesca Nicasio

I’ve learned quite a bit from reading business books, but here’s something I realized when my nose wasn’t stuck between pages: Less-known authors with vertical market knowledge can provide VARs just as much value (if not more) than general business best sellers.

If you have to choose between one hour with either Jack Welch or with an experienced, successful retail and hospitality IT solutions provider, you might want to go with the VAR if that’s your vertical. Jack doesn’t know jack about your particular business needs.

Recently-published Retail Survival Of The Fittest: 7 Ways To Future-Proof Your Retail Store, is one of those books that falls into the valuable-but-not-well-known category. Written by Francesca Nicasio (pictured) and backed by retail software company Vend, the book offers advice related to the state of retail today and in the future.

If you want your own free copy in e-book format, just follow this link to the book’s registration page. It’s an easy read — only 44 pages in all and free from technical jargon. Here are 10 of the best quotes from the book:

  1. Let’s kick things off by getting one thing out-of-the-way first: brick-and-mortar retail is alive and well.
  2. Brick-and-mortar shopping isn’t dead — it’s evolving.
  3. While not a lot of people are using their phones to buy, they are certainly using their phones to shop.
  4. “For online pure-plays, returns are dead-net cost; for a brick-and-mortar store, a return is a potential new sale.” A. T. Kearney
  5. Enhance brick-and-mortar while increasing your presence in other channels.
  6. Thanks to advancements in brick-and-mortar analytics, offline retailers now have the capabilities to track in-store movements and customer behavior — similar to how e-commerce merchants would.
  7. Aside from giving you the intel to improve your store, data tools can also help you personalize each shopper’s experience.
  8. Many loyalty programs lack a “personal touch” that makes shoppers feel extra valued.
  9. In order to stay relevant, retail stores must of reinvent themselves and provide unique and noteworthy experiences to their customers. Give them something more than just the ability to buy things from your store.
  10. The main trump card that brick-and-mortar stores have over e-commerce sites is — and will always be — personal interactions. It’s essential that you employ people who understand and know how to use this advantage.

For the complete e-book, which is available for free for a limited time, click here:

https://www.vendhq.com/university/ebook-7-ways-to-future-proof-your-retail-store