Mark Price

BrainTrust Query: Retailing in the Absence of Recovery

March 15, 2010

FROM RETAILWIRE:
It seems that each week experts look for even the faintest sign that the fabled "recovery" has begun. The problem with a speculative view of recovery is that it's oddly similar to the shortsighted behavior that brought on the recession in the first place. How should strategies change for retailers during this recovery versus those coming out of previous economic downturns?      [more...]

I am not as sure as some others that consumers will maintain their increased savings rate over the long-term. I believe that when the news continues to be this murky, people tend to act in ways that represent "conspicuous curtailing" rather than "conspicuous consumption.

That trend does not mean a clear reduction in overall spending -- just a shift to deprioritize brands with which they do not have relationships.

Consumers will continue to purchase premium brands where the value and relationship is there. Where it is not, however, those consumers have moved and will continue to move to private label and more price-driven approaches.

Retailers can still continue to grow, if they work with their customers, particularly Best Customers, rather than against them. Customers still need care and advice and are willing to commit when they receive unbiased support for their difficult decision-making.

Wouldn't we all?