What a thing to talk with Ravi about the transformation of his local retail business:
Retail transformation in Launceston Tasmania: newsXpress Prospect Marketplace
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We love talking with local small business retailers about how they have transformed their business
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13 Ways Local Retailers Can Boost Sales And Profits In Challenging Economic Times
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If you or a retailer you know are finding economic conditions tough for your business you can complain, do nothing or make changes. Only one of these has any hope of improving the situation. My advice is to pursue change every time.
Here are 13 free and easy to implement action items any local small business retailer could consider to improve their situation.
- Engage everyone in the shop. Let all team members know how the business is going, what it needs and why. Agree on achievable goals and steps to take in pursuing them. Track results openly. Keep communicating.
- Declutter. If business is down and it’s getting to you, spend a day or two decluttering. Typically, the act of decluttering helps you see positive moves you can make in the business. Do this yourself. Make those moves.
- Quit dead stock. What is dead will depend on your type of shop. For some, it will be stock that has not sold in 6 months while for others it will be stock that has not sold for 2 years. Dead stock wastes space, time and ties up cash. Anything you get for it is better than the daily cost of your dead stock today. And, in quitting, do it in 2 weeks. If it’s not gone, give it away.
- Reward an additional purchase. Include a coupon on receipts that offers a reward if the customer makes another purchase in a short period of time – we suggest 7 days. While loyalty points programs focus on the longer-term relationship, the voucher proposed here is all about encouraging purchases sooner. In our software, this is discount vouchers.
- Know what you are missing out on. In a typical shop, the top 5% selling items are out of stock 21% of the time. That is guaranteed revenue missed. Fix it and revenue will increase. Your POS software can easily show what you’re missing. In our software tis is on the Insights Dashboard.
- Support a local community group in return for their members supporting you. Connect with a group that has plenty of members, the community loves and that does good work. Offer their members a discount off purchases and a contribution donation from each purchase value to the group. The goal is to get their members who don’t buy from you buying from you = new customers.
- Have fun on social media. People go to social media to be entertained. Entertain them. Don’t overthink it. Have fun, show your business as a place of fun, share knowledge that differentiates your business.
- Leverage free. Make sure your Google Business and Bing (yes, it’s a thing!) presences are up to date and fun.
- Lower payments costs. Card payments can cost small business retailers between .075% and close to 2%. While you can surcharge customers, switching payments company could save plenty. If you switch, still surcharge tho.
- Email your customers. If you have customer email addresses and know what they have bought, run some targeted email campaigns using this data.
- Review pricing. Most retailers either follow the supplier suggested retail price or a mark-up percentage set many years ago. To determine the price you could sell an item for, ask that question. It could be that the convenience of your location and lack of easy to access competitors means you can sell items for more than is usual. If this is the case, do it. Most POS software makes it easy to make these price adjustments.
- Talk to your suppliers. If you are finding it tough it is likely your suppliers are too. Ask if they have deal prices to move inventory. If they do and it is inventory you can easily sell, grab it for bonus margin.
- Set your shop right. Make sure that your shop is guiding shoppers to spend, and spend more:
- Inside the front door: Have a new display weekly. Bright. Optimistic. Fun. Unexpected.
- At the counter: Pitch items people will easily purchase on impulse. Items that achieve the best performance and items they did not expect to see at your counter.
- Have a scent: Incense, a candle – introduce a scent people like.
- Have a sound: Play happy music people will know and sing along to.
- If it is cold outside, make your shop warm.
- If it is warm outside, make your shop cooler.
- Move: Move at least one product category each week. This gives the shop a feeling of change.
My POS software company, Tower Systems, makes and supports POS software for local specialty retailers in Australia and New Zealand. I also own and runs shops.
I share practical advice like covered here because I love helping local independent retailers thrive.
Mark Fletcher
Managing Director
Tower Systems International (Aust) Pty Ltd
ABN 61 007 009 752
M | 0418 321 338 E | mark@towersystems.com.au
Sales: 1300 662 957 sales@towersystems.com.au
First published: June 27, 2024.
Retail transformation: one of our own shops
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In this video we discuss the transformation of one of our shops, another place where we get to play with our POS software for guidance on how to run a more valuable shop. We are grateful to have this point of difference:
Retail transformation: the inspiring journey of newsXpress Sarina, QLD
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We are grateful to Shelley and Mark Petersen for the opportunity to discuss their journey from purchasing a traditional newsagency in Sarina, 25 minutes out of Mackay in Queensland and their transformation of the business into a loved gift and homewares destination.
This discussion is a deep dive into how to approach change and thrive in a local retail business in a channel that itself is experiencing considerable change.
Neither Mark or Shelley had experience in this type of business when they bought it in 2001. Today, they are experts because of the experiences they have embraced and continue to embrace.
Their pragmatic approach to business is inspiring. Their success is well deserved. Any retailer watching the video will discover how they can evolve their business in ways Shelley and Mark have.
newsXpress Sarina is seen by plenty as a newsagency and Post Office. While it is those things, it is primarily known in Sarina as the place to shop for gifts and things that will surprise. It’s a business of which Shelley and Mark can be proud.
Retail transformation: Mount Lawley News, Perth WA
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Matt bought a traditional newsagency shop in late 2020. It was his first retail business. He knew e wanted to reinvent the business, to be relevant and appealing.
In less than 4 years Matt with his family and team have transformed the business into a thriving and loved local shop in Mount Lawley 10 minutes out of Perth.
While it’s called Mount Lawley News, this shop is not a newsagency, not what you think of as a newsagency. It’s a gift shop, a fun place to shop, somewhere you’re likely to find a gift for just about any occasion.
As Matt shares in this video, he embraces the opportunities of change, and he shows that even though the shop has been transformed, he’s not done. What he has created online through the website as well as on social media is fresh, engaging, and successful.
We are grateful to Matt for the opportunity to find out more. Be sure to check out their website: http://www.oliviaandgrace.com.au.
FindIt: A Marketplace Empowering Local Retailers & Connecting Aussie Consumers
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Discover FindIt, a revolutionary online marketplace dedicated to fostering the success of independent Australian retailers. This free platform made here in Australia by Tower Systems seamlessly connects local businesses with consumers seeking a unique and personalised shopping experience.
Unparalleled Visibility for Local Businesses:
- Retailers can effortlessly showcase products to a wider audience through a user-friendly online platform.
- No website development or management required – FindIt takes care of everything.
- Leverage the power of SEO expertise to ensure your products rank prominently in Google searches.
Streamlined Shopping for Customers:
- FindIt acts as a comprehensive online catalogue, allowing customers to discover from their phone, tablet or computer a diverse range of products from local retailers.
- Enjoy the convenience of adding items from multiple stores to a single basket for a seamless research.
- FindIt facilitates a direct connection between customers and retailers, fostering a sense of community and personalised service.
A Perfect Fit for Tower Systems POS Users:
- Retailers who utilise the Tower Systems POS software, automatically gain access to FindIt, extending your reach at no cost.
- FindIt seamlessly integrates with your existing Tower Systems POS solution, streamlining your operations.
Supporting Aussie Businesses:
- FindIt is a proud advocate for independent Australian retailers, empowering them to compete in the digital landscape. It was built to serve this purpose.
- Together, we champion the values of local businesses – community engagement, personalised service, and unique product offerings.
FindIt is unique in that it is not about making money for Tower. Retailers can list products at no cost whatsoever. The goal is to encourage shoppers to find shops near them that have products being sought out. This really is all about nurturing local in-store shopper traffic. We think we’re pretty unique in that regard.
Learn More:
- Explore the capabilities of Tower Systems POS software at https://www.towersystems.com.au/.
- Witness the user-friendly interface and comprehensive features through readily available online demonstrations.
- Tower Systems exclusively caters to local independent retailers in a range of specialty retail , fostering a strong partnership with the local business community.
Contact Us:
Discuss your point-of-sale needs or schedule a personalised demonstration by contacting Tower Systems:
- Email: sales@towersystems.com.au
- Phone: 1300 662 957
Together, let’s empower local businesses and enrich the Australian retail landscape!
Retail transformation: newsXpress Leven, Ulverstone, Tasmania
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This business has been in the family for decades, across two generations. What was once a traditional newsagency is today a vibrant gift shop that has some newsagency lines as a service for customers.
This shop is an excellent example of doing it yourself and creating something genuinely local, warm, comforting and clearly loved.
This shop also shows that you can succeed by trading outside of what people expect for your type of business, that today in retail, your shingle does not have to define your business.
Ulverstone is a wonderful local community, a beautiful part of the world. What Sharene and Wayne have created at newsXpress Leven is a shop people love to visit and spend money in.
Often, local retailers can get caught in their head about what they could do in their business. Seven years ago, Shareen and Wayne set about embracing change, and they haven’t stopped since – creating a business of which they can be proud.
It was a thrill to see what they have created.
Inspiring retail: The Hub General Store, Collingwood, Victoria, Australia
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Inspiring retail: Wattle Bee Next, Mount Morgan, QLD
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Mrs Red & Sons at 427 Crown St Surry Hills is one of the most wonderful retail experiences we have ever had and here’s why
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Inspiring indie retail: Press Shop, Atlanta, Georgia
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Indie retail visit: Hunca Munca’s, Beacon, New York
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Innovative retail: Heath Newsstand, San Francisco
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Innovative retail at San Francisco Ferry Terminal
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Finding retail inspiration in Bali
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We are grateful for the opportunity to be in Bali recently with 17 local Aussie retailers, meeting with potential suppliers, getting to see artisans in their workshops and getting to visit with some exciting retail businesses.
Here is a short video from us in which we show off three awesome retailers in Ubud and Seminyak, showing that there is plenty of retail inspiration in Bali.
Retail business cash flow advice: using POS software to improve your position
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Every day in local small business retail it is vital to focus on cash flow, vital to know where you are at, how you are tracking and what you are doing to maximise your position.
Poor cash flow = poor business performance and rocky roads ahead.
Too often, local small business retailers leave tracking business cash flow to accountants and others who may not be in the business on a day to day basis.
Managing cash flow in local small business retail is a day to day task.
Using the smart POS software from Tower Systems you have access to tools and facilities that help you navigate to a better cash flow performance for the retail business. You don’t need to be an accountant or someone with good financial skills. What do you need to be is an engaged retailer.
In our POS software we help you:
- Make better business decisions. Decisions like inventory purchasing, shop floor placement, trading hours, loyalty rewards and more.
- Identity poor performing inventory. Knowing what is not working can stop you reporting that mistake.
- Knowing when you are likely to sell out. Many retail businesses bmiss absolutely for certain revenue by not having in stock inventory when shoppers wish to purchase.
- Do more business with more valuable suppliers. Tracking suppliers by financial benefit helps you make more money with and from them./
- Motivate employees. Employees can make better decisions for your business if you empower them with knowledge.
- Calibrate business settings to benefit cash flow. When you open and close, who you roster, when you discount, when you price inventory at a higher price … these are all decisions that can be informed by data collected and curated by smart POS software.
These are just some of the ways the Tower Systems POS software can help a local small business retailer improve their cash flow position.
The real benefit when it comes to cash flow and our POS software is the business insights and advice we can provide to those interested. We have hands on retail experience and we will gladly engage this with and for any retailer in our community keen to improve their position, including their cash flow position. We will talk with and work with, one-on-one, with any retailer in our community to help them.
We’re a full service POS software company helping thousands of retailers, and we love it, every day!
Retail management advice: make every day your payday
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Too often we see retailers running their businesses with the belief that they will make their money when they sell their business. These folks tend to bot worry about the day to day as much.
It’s a mistake.
For years, we have written that retailers need to make every day their payday.
This is an important message as it focuses on the goal of driving business value. Too often, we see retailers working about, being focussed on, the wrong things, things that do not directly affect business value.
Make every day your payday.
It is a simple mantra that is worth repeating daily. It should guide every decision. Does this, or that, add value to the business. It it does hot, why do it?
There was a time when small business retailers could rely on selling their business for a handsome increase on the price they paid thereby providing a good pay day, when businesses sold for a good multiple of net earnings.
No more. Today, the best way to extract value from our businesses is to make every day your pay day, to not rely on your pay day being the day you sell the business. In fact, the typical shop today will sell for somewhere between 1.5 and 2 times actual net profit as shown in the business P&L.
The P&L matters as this is what you need to be guided by in all business decisions and actions.
The challenge is how do you do this?
Retailers need to look at their businesses differently. This starts with the mindset of every day being your pay day. Each decision needs to be considered in this context, in the context of the P&L impact.
Focusing on profit today will give you a better result today and make your business more valuable tomorrow.
Here are some suggestions for making every day your pay day:
- Run with the leanest roster possible. Just about every retail business we review has capacity to lower labour costs.
- Ensure you can sell when the business is closed. Yes, this means sell online.
- Promote the business outside your usual foot traffic area … increase your customer base.
- Promote your business outside the brand people know you as. or example, online pitch under a brand other than your shop brand.
- Have your best people working the floor, helping customers spend more.
- Have stunning displays that attract people from outside the shop.
- Have compelling displays in-store that encourage people to browse beyond their destination purchase.
- Always have impulse offers at high traffic locations.
- Charge more every time you can. Loyalty programs such as discount vouchers, bundling into hampers, multi buys such as 2 for 3 and other opportunities enable you to do this by blocking price comparison.
- Buy as best you can.
- take settlement discounts every time you are able.
- Measure product category performance by gross profit. Quit the categories that are not paying for themselves.
- Promote outside your store using online and social media opportunities.
- Leverage adjacency information. Chase a deeper basket – people purchasing more each visit.
Be responsible for the profitability of your business. Don’t blame your suppliers, your landlord, your employees or some other external factor … it all comes down to you – the decisions you make and the actions you take.
If you relentlessly pursue profit with a clear focus you are likely to see profit grow. That’s better than waiting to make money when you sell because that’s less likely to happen in this market.
Doing all this relies on your measuring the performance of your business. The Tower software helps with this. It is easy.
7 free marketing tips for local indie small business retail to drive traffic and sales
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Shopping ought to be enjoyable and, preferably, fun. Often it is the experience itself which separates one retail store from another. This is why every retail business needs to devote management and front line attention to delivering a memorable and enjoyable experience.
The pandemic fundamentally changed retailing 2020. These changes prevail today. It’s time we re-awakened the inso-tore experience.
While Tower Systems its a POS software company, we offer retail management advice to our community of local indie small business retailers, advice beyond our POS software itself, advice designed to help our retailers thrive, and have fun.
One way to provide a memorable shopping experience is to have fun – among the sales team and with customers. Here are seven tips for having fun in any retail store:
- Theme days. Embrace an era which with interest your customers. For example, the 1970s. Dress the store and employees in keeping with the 1970s. Have a couple of items on sale at 1970s prices – to connect the theme with a commercial outcome. Get some stories from the 1970s related to products you sell and place these on display boards in the window. Consider a competition for the customer in the best 1970s costume. Other theme days include: school days, foreign country days where you wear traditional dress from a foreign country, crazy hair day and, of course, more theme days around key decades.
- Local sports competition. Fully embrace any major local sporting event, choose a team, dress in their colours and dress the store in their colours. Be unashamedly parochial and show your customers your local support.
- In-store buskers. Find some local musicians you enjoy and who have a repertoire which would connect with your customers and invite them in to play live for your customers. This would bring a vibrancy to the store and provide welcome entertainment for your customers as they shop. The local performers get to reach a new audience and you get to change up the feel of your business.
- Repurposing day. Host an event where customers compete for a prize for the most innovative repurposing of a product you sell. The idea would be that they take something you sell and demonstrate a use for it in a way which is completely different to what the manufacturer expected. There would need to be a rule that the new use is genuinely useful.
- The cutest baby. Invite your customers to bring in a photo of whey they were a baby, the older the better. Stick the photos on a wall and take votes on the best. You could change this up with two photos: as a baby and today and get customers to connect the two. Family members will come in to look at the photos and vote. A local store could get a real buzz with a promotion like this. While there is no obvious direct sales imperative, the traffic and word of mouth should drive good business.
- Stand up comedy in store. Invite local comedians to try out their stand up routines with your customers. While you would need to be careful about content, such an event would show the store supporting local artists and it could bring some fun to quiet retail times.
- Crazy tie day. While this has been done before plenty of times, you could kick it up with an amazing tie display – collect these from local Goodwill stores, invite customers to donate. As with the theme days idea, interact with customers and offer a prize for the best / worst. This tie day ist especially fun given that ties are a thing of the past in business today.
These seven ideas are the tip of the iceberg for in-store promotions. They are designed to kick start your own thinking on engagement ideas that could work well in your situation.
Retail is very much about the shopping experience, especially local indie small business retail. While good customer service and a friendly shopping experience are vital, sometimes it is the wonderful unexpected experience which can get people talking about a business.
Be bold and have fun.
Tower Systems makes software for local specialty retailers, software designed to help you run more successful, valuable and enjoyable businesses. Along the way, we have collected plenty of management and marketing tips. We share them here and in our customer emails from time to time. We hope you find them useful.
Woods Grove Brooklyn NY: inspiring local indie gift shop retail
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We got to visit Woods Grove in Brooklyn recently. Here is some of what we saw and learnt from this inspiring business:
The surprise and delight of Shinola on Abbot Kinney Blvd, Venice Beach
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As part of a recent tour of innovative and inspiring retail in the US, we were invited into the secret room at Shinola, Venice beach …
UPDATE: 5 things every retailer should know about their retail business but are usually not told by POS software
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3 weeks ago we published this video: 5 things every retailer should know about their retail business but are usually not told by POS software. Across several platforms it’s had 1,000 views, for which we are grateful.
When our CEO made the video, it was spur of the moment, based on a comment made in a conversation at the Sydney gift fair in April. While the video was spur of the moment and not scripted, it drew on years of experience, years of service of local small business retailers.
We appreciate the feedback we have received, the appreciation.
To us, the video represents something different about Tower Systems. It presents that we want you to cultivate and harvest value from your business through the use of our POS software.
This is the difference of value.
Long after you start using our software, appreciating genuine value from its use.
Thank you for watching. Wr hope you found the video useful.
5 ways to make your local retail business more competitive
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Every day can feel like a grind in local small business retail. A grind competing with big businesses, a grind competing with online businesses. It can wear people down if they let it.
The key is to not let it wear you down.
It starts with loving your business, believing in it, respecting it and making it stronger at the core. That’s what this advice from Tower Systems is about today, making your business stronger at the core, by making the business more competitive.
5 ways to make your local retail business more competitive
Now, before we get into them they will feel easy, even lame. The thing is, these are deliberately everyday things you can do without a budget, just with a small time investment.
These are all things your POS software, like the Tower Systems POS software, can help with if you wish.
1. Offer something unique that your competitors don’t. This could be a unique product, service, or even just a specific focus or niche that you cater to. have a point of different. This matters a lot. Create it, embrace it, leverage it. This point of difference is you, it is your reason, your go to, your 7 second pitch.
2. Make sure your prices are competitive. This doesn’t mean always having the lowest prices, but rather offering a good value for what you’re selling. Value is something you create based on how you bundle items, how you source to differentiate, how you make raw price comparisons hard.
3. Offer excellent customer service. This could be something as simple as providing a great experience in your store, or going above and beyond to help your customers. make it personal, different and valuable. At each contact point provide that extra bit that helps people make better use of what you sell.
4. Use marketing and advertising wisely. Make sure you’re targeting your ideal customer, and using the most effective channels to reach them. When you market, market you, your point of difference – always ahead off price as price based shoppers are not loyal.
5. Stay up to date on industry trends. This will help you anticipate changes and stay ahead of your competitors. It will also help your business be a resource, and that will bring people back.
Being more competitive in local retail is all about you and the core of your business. get this right and worries about competitors out there, real or imagined, will fade away.
Tower Systems through its POS software helps with this and more. We have embedded in our software opportunities for you showing your competitive advantages, giving shoppers lived experiences they will love.
Join our POS software co for a look at innovative niche retail in Los Angeles
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A couple of us were fortunate to spend time visiting a range of innovative local small business specialty retail in Los Angeles. In this new video, we share some of what we saw.
Small business retail advice: make your shop more valuable
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Too often small business retailers focus on the sale of their business as their pay day without actually acting, every day, to ensure that day delivers the best value for them.
Every day in any local small retail business there are decisions that can be made, steps that can be taken that nurture more value from the business. These steps, most of which cost little or nothing to implement, can have long-term gains for the profit and loss of a retail business.
We see this in our work with more than 3,000 local small business retailers. We see the value of good moves. We see the costs of inaction.
Thinking about this, what we see, here is a list of 10 things any local small business retailer could do in their business to drive value today and, more importantly, value tomorrow when they choose to sell their business.
This list is in order of the value we see being achieved in local small retail businesses that act on these things.
- Deal with old stock. Old stock is worthless to you and anyone being the business. Keeping it is a waste of space, time and cash. This work starts with you knowing what is old stock – our POS software helps with this.
- Trim the roster. Labour costs around 11% of revenue. Every dollar saved is a dollar that benefits the P&L. Yes, this likely means more hours for owners … but you have to ask yourself about your focus as to when you want your pay day.
- Review opening hours. Often in business data we see opening hours opportunities – either for longer hours or shorter hours. be guided by your business data.
- Clean up online. Be easily found. Review your Facebook, Google and other listings. Make sure they are current for if they are not it reflects poorly on the business.
- Declutter. An appealing looking business is easier to sell. On the shop floor, at the counter, in the back room – declutter and make the business more appealing to you, prospective buyers and customers.
- Review unprofitable activity. Look carefully at each category of product or service you offer. Get to an accurate understanding of the value of each. Consider quitting those that are under performing.
- Price for margin. While plenty of retailers pressure suppliers for lower prices, too few actively consider what they could sell some items for, missing the opportunity for a better margin. Where you can, price for a better margin.
- Document. Write up your processes, systems you follow and more. Document this and make the business easier to run and appear easier to run. The documenting process itself is likely to lead to efficiency opportunities uncovered. The resulting documentation will make the business more appealing.
- Reduce debt. We see too many retail businesses where debt is used with an expectation that it will be dealt with when the business is sold. Clean it up now as much as you are able. The less interest you pay the more money the business makes.
- Balance sheet clean up. While selling a retail business will often not include selling the company structure, the tidiness of your balance sheet may not be ideal for that time you do come to sell. It’s better you discover this and work on it prior to needing to.
This advice is part of the regular advice Tower Systems provides its customers.
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