Paying for items in a shop using a cheque was once commonplace. Gradually fewer and fewer businesses allowed customers to do this, and now it is almost entirely unheard of. Could it be possible that cash will go the same way? At one point, cash was practically the only way of paying for goods and services, and there was a time when many businesses would only accept cash payments. Now though, it seems like cash payments might be dying out.
Continue reading
There is little doubt that the last 12 months have been among the worst in the entire history of the Retail and Hospitality sectors. Trying to navigate a business through a global pandemic, with all the consequences of closed doors, loss of income and the impacts on family and personal health, has pushed us to the limits. But now, with some light at the end of the tunnel, it is all about recovery.
To quote Friedrich Nietzsche, ‘what doesn’t kill you, will make you stronger’, and returning to business with a powerful marketing strategy will do just that. So, what can you do that is different? Well, letting your customers know your status is a start, and the best way to send positive communication is not email or social media; it’s via Text Messaging.
Continue reading
Many businesses have been shut for quite some time now, but now it finally looks like non-essential retailers will be able to reopen and start getting things back to normal. After the year that we’ve all had, this is great news, and workers everywhere (not to mention their employers!) are looking forward to getting back to their jobs.
That’s fantastic, but reopening a business nowadays isn’t as simple as switching on the lights and turning the sign round from ‘Closed’ to ‘Open’. After a prolonged shutdown like the one we’ve had to endure, reopening a modern retailer isn’t a quick task. This is especially true if you want to ensure that you will be able to serve your customers to the best of your ability as soon as you reopen. There are a number of steps you need to go through in order to make sure that all of your systems are still in working order after being switched off for so long. In this blog, we’ll be going through the tasks you will need to perform.
Continue reading
Over the past 20 years, the continuing trend has been for online sales to grow steadily year on year. 2020 not only continued this trend but, for obvious reasons, accelerated it significantly. It was predicted that online sales would increase by 11% in 2020. Thanks to COVID-19, shoppers had to do much of their purchasing online, and it is now thought that online shopping increased by 19% during 2020. We can’t know what 2021 will bring, but we can be reasonably sure that online sales will continue to grow and grow even as the pandemic abates.
This trend means that it is becoming even more critical for retailers to have a robust and effective e-commerce website to cater to the increasing number of online customers. Easy to say, but what do you need to think about when selecting the right e-commerce platform for your business?
Continue reading