Sunday, March 11, 2012

Specialty Retail amidst the Crisis

How are we doing? Do we say this economic meltdown is killing us? Or will we say sucks to be you, big powerful corporations? I think people in the specialty retail industry should look into this, which I’m sure they are. It should affect everybody but I don’t see any news on how it affects the carts and kiosks as much as I see effects of the crisis on the large companies. I mean, this mess is said to go on for years and although the emergency policies being set up by governments are great, it won’t hurt to start planning for the long run. Again with the question, what’s up in the specialty retail industry betwixt all the chaos in the global economy?

The only way to foresee any effect of economic change on retail businesses is to evaluate the reactions of the consumer towards it. It is important to note the different customer profiles, demographics, and behavior.

Now, specialty retail feeds on niche markets. This means that profiles, customer preferences, and buyer behavior are more clearly defined. Carts and kiosks sell products that appeal to very specific personalities. It is safe to say that the success rate of these small businesses depend greatly on how consumers feel about the product.

In these times, people may have a tighter grip on their money. Consumers are more careful as to what products to choose over others. It may seem that more and more people choose to purchase useful items rather than luxury items. Surprisingly, although, this is true there is still not much effect on the industry. Some say not yet. We may never know. One thing’s for certain, as long as people are coming to malls, specialty retailers will work their butts off to seize opportunity.

At this point in time, the answer to my first question is, we’re doing okay. We are still here and everything’s fine. It will take time until people start changing their lifestyles and attitude towards the variety of products that this industry offers. Today, it’s fine. Today, we live on.

No comments:

Post a Comment