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Open Wallets Preview

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A sneak preview inside Open Wallets, showing format and style.

You can buy your copy here for 30% OFF ($ 15.39) for a limited time only .  You get 32 pages in an easy to read landscape download pdf format, jam-packed with generous illustrations and practical tips.

REVIEWS:


This review from @kimmar who has blogged for Choice, the consumer organisation. Have a read on her take :)

This review comment from one of New Zealand and Australasia's leading retail advertising agencies:

"From an advertising agency point of view, ‘Open Wallets’ is a valuable guide to the nuts and bolts of the in-store environment, with great insights on how to ‘do’ retail. It’s an engaging and easy read for busy people, but balanced nicely with plenty of relevant detail about what to do, and what not to do."

Jarad O'Hara | Client Services/Strategic Director | .99

Auckland, New Zealand

TITLE BY NAME AND CONTENT

One of my favourite specialty shops is Title in Crown St, Surry Hills.  They provide an interesting arthouse blend of mainly music and movie content in a low-key environment.  The owners are importers and distributors into Australia of some specialised product which means the range on offer is always top-notch, although prices are usually premium.  Have a look at the review video - this shop is not for everyone, as the overwhelming range and the often low service levels mean that you have to know what you want, and be prepared to look for it.  The exploration can be hugely rewarding, and is a pleasant contrast with the commoditised way content is sold in 'mainstream' music stores.

ANACONDA - THE GRASS ON THE SNAKE

Anaconda recently opened a huge new store at Moore Park to huge fanfare. The Shoppologist cruised through there on a Monday lunch-time. The store was predictably quiet.

The huge barn-like atmosphere shouts range and low price but lacks ambience and theatre. The no-frills features like concrete floors and high stud lights reinforce the low price proposition. The wooden check out and service counters are a bit hokey, as are the staff members' vests.

However, I found the staff member I encountered friendly, helpful and knowledgeable.

The advertising is of the unfortunately ubiquitous 'shouting deal' variety.

This is undoubtedly a destination if you are looking for any camping or outdoor leisure gear, a traditional category killer model - they feel a bit like the Super Cheap Auto of camping, which is ironic as that business has its own BCF (Boating, Camping, Fishing) large format business.

It will be a haven to blokes looking for a male-friendly environment, but a turn-off to those looking for a more engaging shopping experience.

WINDOWS THAT SELL- SHOPPOLOGIST REVIEW

Some observations while drinking a coffee in the Broadway mall - just off city centre, a strong fashion mall, mainly mid-market, with a sprinkling of more upscale stores. dotti is a national womenswear fashion chain owned by Just Group, and is experiencing strong growth. The core target market is the 25 year old working woman. Merchandise is reasonably priced, and of a reasonable quality. In the Broadway mall, the store is located on the top floor, in the specialty fashion precinct - its neighbour immediately left is Esprit.

I was struck by the impact the windows had on passing foot traffic. The store gets a disproportionate share of the passing traffic in a relatively quiet area of the mall, and leaves its far larger Esprit neighbour for dead. The contemporary fashion direction (return to hippies/60s era) was well demonstrated. The clear background to the display lends impact.

The window display was mirrored with key items merchandised at the front of the store (next to the security bollards). The video below also shows the importance- long understood by successful retailers - of strongly merchandising the 'facing' wall - that is the one facing the highest traffic flow - in this case from left to right.

The video shows about 2 mins of continuous running footage taken at approx 2pm - 2.15pm on a recent Thursday.

UPDATED: A BASIC NUMERIC ANALYSIS

• In the 2 mins of this observation, 24 consumers passed or entered the store, or 1 every 5 secs.
• Of these, 13 were from the left, 11 from the right side of the store.
• Of the 24, 17 (71%) were female, 7 male.
• Of the 24, a staggering 11 looked at the window (7 from the left, 4 from the right)
• Of the 11 looking at the window, 10 were female, meaning that 10/17 (59%) female customers observed the window.
• Of the 10 who observed the window, 7 (70%) went into the front of the store and examined the merchandise displays.
• Thus of the original 17 female customers (target market), 7 (41%) were converted into examining the displays at the front of the store.
  

JB HI FI SHOPPOLOGIST REVIEW

JB Hi Fi is by any measure an Australasian retailing phenomenon.  In the midst of the worst recessionary conditions, it has just posted 40% profit growth - see below.  We visited a store as mystery shoppers to go 'under the hood', and take the pulse.The video clip is a visual record of what we found. 

I visited Bondi Junction, a regular haunt for me.  The store was quieter than it has been on all my previous visits, especially for a Saturday.  However, the layout and merchandising generates a sense of excitement and buzz, supported by the 'ambient' rock music - if those terms could ever be used in the same sentence.

It is clear that the brand is highly relevant to today's market. Despite an era of internet downloads and illegal copying, customers are still happy to pay for the 'real deal, even in a recession.  What could be better than getting a great range at a great price, and with good service when required ?

The staff look the part - I was served by a young dude with a headband who could have just stepped off-stage.   I have always found their staff knowledgeable when approached, although they are not always smiling, they certainly have the inside knowledge on their product, and are willing to share their passion.  They keep busy which is a great thing to see - motivation is the result of activity. 

The product range is akin to category killer status - there is not much in the core categories of music, movies and sound and vision equipment you cannot find there.  A minor gripe is their camera offering which seems a bit limited, and not as competitive, but I guess they have to make their margin somewhere.

I liked the extent to which they provide 'curated choice' - apart from the expected Top Sellers, and New Arrivals, they also have staff recommendations, and then promotional displays in high traffic areas, some of which are clearly supplier funded.  This is not rocket science, but something many retailers do not get right.  

The layout gently 'forces' you to navigate many of the areas of the store.  The fixturing, lighting and flooring is simple and reinforces the brand promise, without looking dirty or cheap.  They walk a fine line between range and visual clutter, but then this is not a store for minimalists !

The brand proposition is clear and simple - reinforced by the black on yellow colours, simple fonts, quirky execution of the font, and even works with handwritten bargain signs, normally a no-no of professional retailers.   They feel like street traders who really know their customers and their product. 

Their customers were a cross-section, but mainly males, both younger (up to 30) and those you would call baby boomers - the latter provide a steady trade in the profitable backlist product.

The overall sense is of brand integration - or alignment - throughout - a very rare thing in retail today.