Survival Strategies For Fashion Retail

In this lesson, entrepreneur Catherine Erdly takes us through five short snappy tips that you should adhere to when considering pricing for your product business - especially helpful when there is a lot of noise and pressure to run promotions and discount.

Catherine has over 20 years experience working with product businesses of all sizes from high street names (such as Paperchase, Laura Ashley and Coast), to some of the most exciting new independent businesses. She helps product businesses grow their sales, manage their stock, and build lasting businesses through 1-2-1 mentoring and her membership platform, The Resilient Retail Club.

This is a 20 minute Lesson. What changes did you implement in your business model when the coronavirus pandemic hit? 

While responsive behaviour is a key component of an agile business, as we find out in this Lesson, it's not the full story. Tristan Harris of Portinate Consulting, who specialises in recovering and accelerating business projects, and Ralph Fernando, author of Agile Strategy (2019), joined us to discuss how to embed agility right at the heart of your business, with practical steps that will enable you as a creative fashion business to face up to times of change. 

Polly Swann, co-author of the Power To Change working report, "Saving The High Street: The Community Takeover" joined us to explain further on what a community business is, how they can help shape a regenerative high street, and how to work with the local authorities and organisations around you to make an impact that will benefit local residents, and those visiting from outside.

As a fashion or creative business, is working on a community model for your local area more in your interests than being an outright social enterprise?

We checked in with fashion retail businesses across the globe to gain insight on their coping strategies, positive opportunities and practical advice for other fashion brands looking to open a physical shop or be stocked.

Main image: Danielle MacInnes on Unsplash

Though it may seem unethical to be using key psychological theories that influence customer experience, in the end, you want customers in your shop or on your website to buy your product or subscribe to your service. As humans, there are behaviours we do subconsciously, and marketers tap into this whether we like it or not. In fact, these theories are also used in politics.

As a responsible business, understanding these theories will help you become aware when assessing competitors, reviewing customer feedback and checking in on analytics of your site. And, as an ethically and sustainably-minded business owner, you have the reigns to be honest with your customer about what you're doing and why - there is no reason why these marketing tactics need to be hush hush as our examples will show.

Dive in to better understand the key 7 psychological theories that you can use to drive traffic, increase footfall, and spread the word of your business.

Thumbnail image: Clay Banks on Unsplash