Holiday retail spending is projected to be 1.5% higher than 2019, a remarkable statistic given the utter chaos our world is still facing due to COVID-19. In this episode of Retail Today with Bob Phibbs, the Retail Doctor, you will see three key steps every retailer must take to make the most of this holiday season.---We are now living in a post-pandemic marketplace. You can keep losing market share...or you can win now with SalesRX, the #1 online retail sales training program in the world. Learn more at salesrx.com.

Retail Today with Bob Phibbs, The Retail Doctor

3 Steps Every Retail Must Take This Holiday Season | Retail Today With Bob Phibbs, the Retail Doctor

Amazon acquired Whole Foods several years ago and many felt they would add their technology and transform Whole Foods into the grocery store of the future. The reality is a different story as they open their Amazon fresh stores. What does that portend for grocery and shopping in-store?---If you love what you heard on Retail Today, connect with Bob by visiting retaildoc.com or send a message to bob@retaildoc.com. Thanks for listening!

Is Amazon Killing In-Person Grocery Shopping to Make Us Buy Online? | Retail Today With Bob Phibbs, the Retail Doctor

Hey everybody. It's Bob Phibbs, the Retail Doc. Thanks for joining me this afternoon. You know, the big news was that the election is over and now, what for retail? I've been answering that question all day and I thought I would quickly share some of my thoughts with you, because particularly in the U.S. we have had an awful lot of interest from both sides and the news media, trying to get us to guess what's going to happen and what's next, and has gone back and forth for days now. But honestly, for months we have been dealing with this and what we are noticing as we look forward is that there's going to be an increased pandemic response. That should be good news for retailers because people who feel safer are more likely to go out and spend their money. It's that simple. We have noticed that around the world as lockdowns have been threatened, as people have ended up finding that they're accounts are growing by leaps and bounds, that people get nervous. We do not like to shop when we are nervous. Fortunately, that's what the game is right now. Number two is people are drawn by another round of stimulus. Hopefully, that's going to help. That certainly helped retailers before and we will look forward to having stability in the supply chains in the near future. That's another thing that we have to be thinking about, what is possible because when we look at the future and be drawn to what could happen in a good way, it tends to affect the way that we run our businesses. I want you to be thinking as a retailer, is that people want to feel familiarity not friction. We are tired of being drawn into the race by two people who don't know us, of being told what we should think and feel, and no matter what side you're on, and I am trying to be respectful of both sides, to understand that people are going to be coming back to a familiarity of feeling. That's why the holidays are going to be so important. That's why I think we could be on the cusp of a new hedonism because people have not been spending their money and they are going to look at friends and family differently, and how can they show their love?  My question to you as a retailer is, what's one thing you can do to create an inviting, comfortable place for anybody to be in your store? The danger of so many retailers right now is we let people's personal lives get entwined on the sales floor and I think that's really dangerous. You need to be able to pivot conversations, and you need to realize that what did it take for this person to leave their home where they may have felt safer, to actually go out in the world, whether they are wearing a mask or not, but to go into your brick and mortar store? We do not want to hear more headlines. We don't want to hear more division. We don't want to hear more chaos. What we want is the familiarity that comes with shopping, and the reward that comes from discovering something we didn't even know we wanted, but taking it home with us. I understand that retailers have got an omnichannel experience that we are trying to experience and I get all of that, but as stores reopen, that training of what you should be like and what you should not be like, has to be foremost in your managers' minds instead of just doing more tasks and moving more merchandise from over here and sweeping this and cleaning that. We have got to end up realizing you're going to have to come up with a feeling when people come into your store and your brand. If not, it's going to be determined by your employees who might be feeling more vulnerable, who might be feeling less secure, more secure, doesn't matter, but you can't afford to have that Wild West of feelings on your sales floor, because people shop who are hopeful. It's that simple.---If you love what you heard on Retail Today, connect with Bob by visiting retaildoc.com or send a message to bob@retaildoc.com. Thanks for listening!

Trump's Out, Biden's In - What's It Mean for Retailers | Retail Today With Bob Phibbs, the Retail Doctor

GAP made news this week closing up to 80% of their mall stores. Meanwhile Levi's is opening 100. What's the difference and what clues should other retailers take from the comparison? Join me for this episode of Retail Today with Bob Phibbs, The Retail Doctor.---If you love what you heard on Retail Today, connect with Bob by visiting retaildoc.com or send a message to bob@retaildoc.com. Thanks for listening!

Levi's Versus GAP: Leading or Running Away | Retail Today With Bob Phibbs, the Retail Doctor

---If you love what you heard on Retail Today, connect with Bob by visiting retaildoc.com or send a message to bob@retaildoc.com. Thanks for listening!

Are You Approaching Customers With Dollar Signs in Your Eyes? | Retail Today with Bob Phibbs, T | Retail Today With Bob Phibbs, the Retail Doctor

How to Get Your Retail Stores Ready for the Holidays | Retail Today With Bob Phibbs, the Retail Doctor

Ralph Lauren's CEO Can Teach Us About Leadership In Retail During COVID-19 | Retail Today with Bob Phibbs, The Retail Doctor

Neiman Marcus Is Closing Their Hudson Yard Store -- I Doubt It's Because of the Pandemic | Retail Today with Bob Phibbs, The Retail Doctor

Now that you have more time than you might have liked, take the time to research your top 10 or 20 customers on their LinkedIn or Facebook profiles and see what charities they support, or in their social posts, and then send a note or a video thank you for their business. Then, add a line, "I was looking online and you know what I discovered about you? You like..." and then fill in whatever that is, and then share something you have in common before you sign off with your thanks. That's one way to show your customers that they are more than just money coming in to you, that there's actually a relationship.And on that note, this has got to be a pause in the flash briefings from me as I take a look into the effectiveness of these daily briefings, which I've done for a long time. I encourage you to check out my podcast "Tell Me Something Good About Retail" where every week I interview some of the most exciting retailers, brands, and movers and shakers for the retail area. In the meantime, do good work and remember, we're about as happy as we make our minds up to be.If you love what you heard on Retail Today, connect with Bob by visiting retaildoc.com or send a message to bob@retaildoc.com. Thanks for listening!

Reaching Out to Your Retail Customers Through Social Media | Retail Today With Bob Phibbs, The Retail Doctor - Flash Briefing

For Retailers During the Coronavirus Shutdown, Now Is the Time to Look at Your Finances. | Retail Today with Bob Phibbs, The Retail Doctor - Flash Briefing

Staying connected is really tough at this time in our retail lives. So what I want you think about today is if you have employees you’re paying to stay home right now don't forget that you should still be checking in with him every day. Make it a schedule and expect them to be on Zoom on time, dressed, and ready for work. If they are not being paid but they’re home, maybe you’ve laid them off, don't forget that you still want to hold on to these people so they come back to you.So one thing I've done is done once a week is just invite them to a virtual lunch or an official cocktail hour and everybody brings whatever it is important time and you're just being people at that moment. Know that if you're not paying them you're not paying for this - it's a way to try to keep some normalcy in it.When the all-clear is given, which will happen at some point, you want these people to come back in a good mood and they're going to remember the courtesies that you gave them for being of service now.If you love what you heard on Retail Today, connect with Bob by visiting retaildoc.com or send a message to bob@retaildoc.com. Thanks for listening!

How Do I Staying Connected With My Employees as a Retailer During Coronavirus? | Retail Today With Bob Phibbs, The Retail Doctor - Flash Briefing

A lot of your customers are sitting in front of their computers a lot more these days so a great way to reach them is to email. If you don't have a regular monthly newsletter or you haven't communicated, now is a perfect time to start. If you have a monthly newsletter, I encourage you to make that a weekly newsletter.Start off with a compelling subject line like “What to Do When You're Working from Home” or “It’s Too Early for Wine - What Can I Do to Lighten My Mood?” You decide. You can write to them on how to do so. Now, if you’re a bookstore, I can't think of a better time of talking to your customers. Invite them to share their best classics one day or to share their best for the next day on your site. If you’re a toy store or you’re a cookware store, you know how to do this. Hardware stores can talk about the top-five honey-do list items and what it takes to get them done.Your message has to be really important though when marketing, so don't show pictures of large crowds or people high-fiving, right? Be cautious when choosing your images and if you post pictures of people in the store, it couldn't hurt to show them wearing gloves as a package orders or washing her hands really well to visually see that you are taking care of them right now. You should definitely be posting what you're doing to keep your place sanitary but also how you're doing curbside pickup, your store hours, and more.With this marketing, you want to stay in front of your customers now to be able to build sales later.If you love what you heard on Retail Today, connect with Bob by visiting retaildoc.com or send a message to bob@retaildoc.com. Thanks for listening!

How Do I Use Email to Stay Connected With My Customers as a Retailer During the Covid-19 Crisis? | Retail Today With Bob Phibbs, The Retail Doctor - Flash Briefing

How Do I Use Social Media Well as a Retailer During This Coronavirus Crisis? | Retail Today With Bob Phibbs, The Retail Doctor

Yesterday I told you about a sewing machine retailer with change their Facebook banner and end up getting a sale and today I thought I wanted to just unpack for you that they're really kind of three types of retailers when we are in a situation like we are today. The first one is "There's nothing I could do. I just have to hunker down and endure it," and some people, that's where they're at. Other people are saying, "It doesn't matter. I can do anything. This could be a challenge and I could do it," and the third one is that people understand that "I don't know exactly what I'm supposed to do," and for you, if that's you, that's why I'm talking to you today.Sometimes people are saying this is a lot like 2008. Well, it's not really like 2008 because in 2008 the plumbing was 'mucked up' and that's not the case here. We think demand is going to rise. In fact, I was just talking to someone with a reporter in China and they say things are getting back to normal and people are going out to Starbucks. I'm hearing here in the states I understand that home centers seem to be filling up and doing well, but ultimately, it's the attitude that we reach when we come to this place that's going to determine how you're going to get through it.So, today, I just want you to realize when you get up and you look at your situation you might be in that middle I'm not sure what it is. I just encourage you to take one step today: "How am I going to talk to my customers in a different way while I'm going through this?" or "How am I going to talk to my staff in a different way to go through this, or "I need to talk to somebody about my finances so that I can get through it," but that little act of taking action is what brings hope and that's what I want you to do today.Take one action to help get you from "I don't know what to do" to "It's a challenge - I can succeed."If you love what you heard on Retail Today, connect with Bob by visiting retaildoc.com or send a message to bob@retaildoc.com. Thanks for listening!

What Type of Retailer Are You In a Crisis? | Retail Today With Bob Phibbs, The Retail Doctor - Flash Briefing

Making the Most of the Coronavirus Crisis as a Retailer

Retail Today with Bob Phibbs is a daily digest guiding brick-and-mortar retailers to gain better traction, generate more revenue, and stay strong in their market.

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Retail Today with Bob Phibbs, The Retail Doctor

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