Widen your choices  – Shop Small and Local.

Most people I speak to like to support local shops. We all know that shops need our trade, and often when we can’t shop local, we like to feel we have supported a small independent online shop.

My Shop - at Wilton Shopping Village,

just outside Salisbury

But we all want to spend wisely – and those big companies have great offers and we all assume they can offer bigger discounts as we see those big national ads telling us all the time.

So it is the larger companies online and on the high street that many of us tend to gravitate towards when we think we might actually be able to save some money.  But is it really that simple? Can an independent shop  (a shop not tied  to any brands, chains or franchises) really compete on price and service?

Clearly I am biased, as I have a small online business and also a specialist shop to staff and pay rent on. But I can tell you that I have learnt a huge deal about how pricing works in the last nine years and would like to bust a few myths about independent shops, especially pricing. How many of the following have you considered when you are shopping?

·         Small shops can be cheaper than chains and online super-sites

We are not always tied to the price set by a franchise or chain. This means we can evaluate how much something is really worth to our customers and offer the best price we can. We know we are competing with the big shops, and have the common sense not to charge more!

There are some lines where we do have to stick to the RRP (Recommended Retail Price) but there is usually some allowance for in store offers and online promotions. This also sets us at the same price, not more than, the big companies who are also not allowed to drop prices whenever they feel like it.

·         Small shops can offer higher quality and unusual items at better prices

Suppliers have to guarantee large stores and chains very large quantities at low wholesale prices. This leaves a great opportunity for small shops to stock lines that the big chains can’t afford to under their own ‘rules’.   So I have slings in that I know my customers will love, that have smaller profit margins and I may only be able to get hold of 10, 5 or even 2 at a time – but that’s okay because I love being able to offer great slings that customers will love and talk about.  I buy children’s books that are a bit more unusual and hard to get hold of – as 5 or 6 is plenty for me at a time.  As a small shop, I can choose to sell it at a price that my customers will consider fair – and not just apply some formula that applies to mass produced items that are rolled off a production line a long, long way away.  

·       Small shops will often have a better range of stock, especially as the season progresses

When you have a small website, you can often tell when the big online competitors sell out – the orders suddenly rise on something that people have had to search harder to find.  Small businesses cannot afford the advertising and promotion of national chains which means they often have lots of lovely things left in stock when the famous shops have sold out. 

Frugi Rainbow clothes sold out fast

online but we still have some in store

Even shops with websites do not always list everything online so it is always worth visiting or calling them. I often have popular designs of slings and discontinued lines that can make customers very happy when they find them. I also know I have lots of Frugi clothes in stock right now that sold out months ago at most other shops. It’s a perk for my local customers, but also for those who call me up and ask if I can send things out.  

·         Small shops will be able to direct you to other suppliers to help you find what you are looking for

Small business owners are not being told by anyone not to mention competitors. We genuinely want to help you to find what you are looking for, and will do what we can for you.  We also know that if we recommend other small businesses they will do the same for us. It’s a win/win situation.

·         Small shops listen to their customers and can act immediately

Any feedback and questions usually go straight to the business owner – there is no complicated system of feeding back to a national team etc. etc. . All your consumer rights are exactly the same and a small shop will be as keen as you are to sort any problems or queries out as soon as possible.  In fact, much of the time the person you speak to in a small shop is the business owner, and can make an instant decision.

·         Small shops can save you time and energy

How often have you spent hours, and I mean HOURS surfing online to find the best price, often only to realise the postage or tax wasn’t included or it is actually out of stock, and go back to the place you first looked? Or have spent days agonising over which design you want, and been unable to decide because you are not sure if the colours and design will look as good in real life as on line? Or have sent out only to realise you actually don’t like the colour and have to pay to send it back, drive to the post office and spend time organising that in your busy day?

That’s time you won’t get back – is it worth it? Have you actually saved yourself that much in the end?  We are constantly bombarded with choice and it can make the shopping and choosing experience more difficult.

Try visiting a local shop – the choice may (or may not!) be smaller, but you can look, feel and discuss the options and walk away with something you are confident in. Or maybe the shop can order in the one you like to look at – at a time that suits you (no waiting for deliveries etc). Many of my customers come in wanting the sling someone recommended to them, then try it and realise it’s not right for them – and leave with something completely different, and relieved that they did not just order online. Yes, there is a chance they could have got something 10% cheaper online if they searched for hours – but they would have then have to spend that time hunting, waiting and in the end not even have the thing that actually fits them best!

·         Small shops can offer a relaxed shopping experience

Visiting a large department store, especially with small children in tow, can be really hard – and for many of us that begins with planning the trip out, driving there and finding a car parking space where you can open the doors wide enough to get your children out – on both sides of the car.
Many small shops are situated in areas which are not as densely populated with high street shops and will have parking nearby which is often cheaper. My Slingtastic shop is at Wilton Shopping Village – free parking, no queues getting in and out of town and a quieter general atmosphere (and a sandpit outside in summer!).

I know my target audience and almost all have small children – so I have toys, a sofa for breastfeeding or bottlefeeding and fully expect people to ask lots of questions and need to stop to feed and change babies, or pop in and out to look after the needs of their toddlers to run, visit the toilets, go for a drink at the cafes or just visit the playpark. This is normal. Specialist shops know their customers and recognise the behaviours and needs of their audience as normal.

Small businesses also know their products well and can answer your questions  - it can be really hard to see online or on packaging exactly what the pros and cons of different products are and work out what is and is not worth paying more for. It’s so much easier to ask questions face to face and get real answers that you can then use to ask more questions. And without a pop-up box asking you if your question has been answered.

 ·         Small shops can offer follow up support on a more personal level

Got a question about your sling/clothes/equipment? Call them up, drop in and ask them and they will be really keen to help as they know how important it is to keep local business.

Have a problem or fault? Go straight back to the shop – no complicated forms or national support system to work your way through.

Love the product and want to move onto the next thing?  Your local shop will be able to talk you through the options – and possibly provide training.  For example, we offer workshops for parents all the time on different types of slings. People can come back and find out what slings they can use once their babies reach about 6 mths – there is a minimal charge that is refundable against purchases in store. Another win-win for the customer: they get to try different things, find out the ranges available and if they buy in store – the course is free. If they buy elsewhere because they are sure they can get it cheaper or we can’t supply the exactly what they need that’s fine too– they can buy with confidence having only spent a fiver on training.

 

Take back control of your time and choices. Come off that tablet,pc or phone and treat yourself to enjoying the shopping experience and rediscovering the meaning of customer service and value for money.  And enjoy it!

www.slingtastic.com