Hi Miriam from PTO.ie here. Happy Christmas! We’re in the middle of the busiest trading week of the year. I’ve even got my little Christmas sweater on / see my sparkles. So - This is my last post before Christmas. We still have the busiest days of the year yet to come - in retail terms. And there's already a lot of noise in the press about it being a shocking Christmas / and nobody spending money.
Well - first of all I just want to be frank and say that that's not what I'm seeing. The Retailers I’m working with - without exception - are on double-digit growth, and that indicates that there is money out there / and that people are spending. There’s a lot of noise in the press about ‘the weather is shocking’ and that's affecting trade / or that everybody is now shopping online and ‘that's’ affecting trade. And whereas those two things absolutely DO have a bearing on retail - That is NOT the whole picture. So I just want to say - that - that there are lots of reasons retail is having a tougher time / and that those businesses that are having a tougher time - Quite often - there are strategic problems/ or maybe they haven't really tried to trade tactically for peak trading.
What I would say also is that consumer habits are changing and changing really rapidly. For example - I am generation X / and I was brought up - shopping as a leisure sport. I love to shop / it's my hobby as well as my business. However millennials / Gen Y onwards - These guys are more interested in experiences. In life experiences and where they want to spend their money - quite often- is on buying experiences. So the days of just shopping - for the heck of it - are not there - for the younger generation. And ‘Yes! - they do like to shop online but they are also looking for experience and buying ‘ nice things to DO’ rather than ‘just more stuff’.
This leads me nicely onto retail prediction no4. Which is the Conscious Consumer. Our new millennial generation that’s out there and holding the purse strings these days - These guys are really interested in ‘’conscious consuming’’. And that means they want to know that their money is being spent with brands or organisations that source their product ethically / that look after their people / and that are environmentally friendly. And and also quite often with a health slant too. So - Conscious Consuming - the conscious consumer. There’s been a little bit of noise about it the last few years - but it is growing and gaining steam/ so watch that space. And you’re already starting to see some of the really big brands beginning to position themselves to talk about the things they do for the environment and to talk about the things they do to ensure that people are treated well and equitably, and that they have a really diverse workforce etc.
Conscious consuming is my prediction number four / Is going to gain a lot of steam and move quickly through 2019 . Just want to say good luck to any retailers who are trading their socks off / I know this is a really tough week. It’s an exciting week. I love this time of the year. The busiest days of the year are still yet to come / it's still all to play for!! Have a fantastic Christmas and I'll talk to you after Santa has been
I hope Santa is good to you. Talk to you after Santas been. Bye