Indies’ boons and banes to business are revealed

Rather than sitting back and moping, independent greeting card retailers today have taken matters into their own hands and ramped up promoting their shops, making improvements to their retailing environments and then telling customers all about it on social media like never before, with these cited as the top boons to an indies’ business in the last year.

Following the release of the topline figures from Progressive Greetings/Cardgains Retail Barometer last week, PG Buzz can reveal more insights from this important annual research into the health and wealth of the independent card retailing.

 

What main factor(s) have had a positive effect on your business in the last year? (Previous year’s position is shown in brackets)

1^st Promotional activity (2^nd)

2^nd Shop improvements (4^th)

2^nd Social media (5^th)

4^th Staff  (1^st)

5^th Expansion into gifts (3^rd)

6^th Local competition closing down (8^th)

7^th Upsurge of new customers (6^th)

7^th Refreshed card product selection (7^th)

8^th Service from suppliers (-)

9^th Website (9^th)

10^th Winning an award (10^th)

10^th GCA’s marketing efforts (-)

10^th Expanding on balloons/partyware (-)

 

What main factor(s) have had a detrimental effect on your business in the last year?  (Previous year’s position is shown in brackets)

There is no denying that the retail landscape was tough for most retailers in 2017, indie card retailers included. A general drop in footfall, consumer and business uncertainty over Brexit, the continued march of the online operators, rising costs, competition from all and sundry, not to mention the perennial bugbears of parking, Minimum Wage and charity shops, all made it into the premier league of factors that had a negative effect on an indie’s business last year.

1^st The UK retail economy (5^th)

2^nd Expansion of cards in supermarkets (6^th)

3^rd Brexit decision (10^th)

4^th Online activity (7^th)

5^th Parking issues (3^rd)

6^th Minimum Wage (1^st)

6^th Business rates (2^nd)

7^th Expansion of value/discount retailers (4^th)

8^th Competition from multiples (9^th)

9^th Charity shops selling greeting cards (8^th)

10^th Promotion of print-on-demand cards (11^th)

 

The PG/Cardgains’ Retail Barometer is an annual survey that involves Cardgains’ members who account for over 1,000 retail rooftops. All surveys were completed by December 21.

Fuller findings will appear in the February edition of Progressive Greetings.

 

TAGS cardgains, progressive greetings, retail barometer