How Can Small and Independent Retailers Survive?

We have seen a huge upheaval in retail in the last decade or so.

The advent of the Internet means that consumers are the winner with so much choice from literally all over the world to spend their disposable income.People don’t need to leave their homes to buy any product they desire so obviously this presents a huge challenge to all retailers, no matter their size.Price too has become a battleground because Internet-only retailers don’t have the extra costs associated with having a physical store, store staff and other related overheads.They can be leaner models and some then choose to pass those savings onto their customers. Offline and brick and mortar retailers are fighting back but we’ve seen many retailers fail as they simply cannot battle against the lower cost position of the online retail world.So what about the independent or smaller retailer who doesn’t have the backing of a board, that doesn’t have systems in place to become leaner but do feel their brick and mortar offering has lots to give to consumers in terms of experience and choice?Do they have a future or are they doomed to fail in the rising challenge of their online only counterparts?Related: 5 Effective Ways to Make Service Delightful and PersonalThe answer is no, they shouldn’t fail but they definitely need to be really strategic in fighting back. They need to understand those tools and skills available to them to grow and increase their retail business and make their store stand out to customers.The guys from Storetraffic put this infographic below together that outlines everything you need to know about this niche.The struggles, the opportunities, they’re all explained in this graphic to hopefully arm these smaller / independent retailers with the tools and knowledge they need to progress and grow.

Check out the full infographic below…