Retailing
is transforming its emphasis from product to experience. That doesn’t mean that
products are no longer saleable, it’s just that they become part of an
experience rather than the only thing. And a key ingredient of that experience
is easier for market traders to implement than normal bricks’n’mortar
retailers.
Telling
a story has always been part of good salesmanship but the retail revolution has
put story telling in the spotlight. It is the story you show your customers
that sells things rather than just the things themselves.
Of
course one story can become boring so successful retailers are changing their
story and using clever merchandising to show their products in the best light and
to generate sales.
Timberland’s
Tree Lab concept is a great example. Tree Lab changes its display every 6-8
week’s. It only shows Timberland products but their range is broad enough to
tell a new story every time.
Perhaps
the extreme example is a store called Story, which tells a different story
every 4-8 week’s and showcases products that fit that story. The story
determines the products they sell, not the other way around. Rachel Schechtman, the founder of Story, describes her store as being like a magazine with a different offer every edition.
Now that may not
be so easy for market traders who are licensed to sell particular products but
if you are ever looking for an excuse to add new products to your stall this
may be it. After all, who can criticise a trader for following the latest
trends in retailing?
But
let’s get to the point of this article. Changing your story requires great
flexibility in merchandising and when you set-up and pack-up your stall every
day, the conditions are perfect. Changing displays and telling a new story does
require planning and forethought but market stalls are built around
flexibility, and that makes the process easier than for most retailers. This is
one advantage we should be taking advantage of.
And
finally, there is another place where changing the story is easy, and that is
online. Your website can change its emphasis with a few keystrokes and along
with physical stall displays creates an exciting offer for your customers every
time they visit.