In the wake of continuing turmoil on the high street, new research from marketing automationPure360 has revealed that nearly three quarters (72%) of British consumers want the government to do more to back the growth of smaller, independent retailers, which includes thousands of gift shops.
“We’re witnessing the emergence of a real David versus Goliath story within the retail industry, which consumers are clearly getting behind,” comments Pure360’s marketing director Komal Helyer. “Independents offer a niche product set, a more personalised experience and, crucially, can adapt quickly to the changing needs and situations of a consumer. For many larger brands, this level of agility is insurmountable, making them look outdated and disconnected, which is leading to closures and collapse.”
Continues Komal: “For independents, there is a significant opportunity to serve a real purpose in the lives of consumers. However, they need to understand what is achievable and the technologies available to do so. With the right technological support brands can leverage data to demonstrate relevance, usefulness and offer a personalised experienced at every stage of the customer journey, enabling them to win the battle.”
The research, which commissioned YouGov to poll a representative sample of British consumers, found that nearly half (42%) would definitely consider shopping with an independent retailer, preferring to support smaller operations in preference to the multiples. Additionally, one in five shoppers said they enjoyed comparing pricing and products between larger retail brands and independents before going on to make the final purchase from the smaller retailer.
The findings revealed that the surge in support for independents is partly due to customer service, with almost half (43%) of respondents confirming that they would consider shopping with an independent over a larger retailer because they enjoyed being treated like a valued customer.
Similarly, 39% of consumers said they favoured independents because of the personalised experience they received, while the same proportion of respondents said they liked smaller shops because they offered different products to larger retailers.
Awareness of the smaller operations is growing, highlighted the report, with almost two thirds (63%) of consumers having heard of new independent retailers in last 12 months. For 39% of respondents, they had been introduced by friends and family, followed by 20% discovering them through social media advertising.
Nevertheless, just 22% of British consumers currently make independent retailers their first port of call. For almost of half of respondents (44%), the main area for improvement is achieving better value for money, followed by offering online and offline (43%), making themselves more widely known through advertising and marketing (29%) and providing better delivery options (22%).
Top: Independent retailers found favour with a new retail report.
