Gift Focus - Jul/Aug 2018 (Issue 108)

8 giftfocus RETAILERS MUST GET SHARPER ON CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT TO AVOID CHURN, WARNS TRYZENS Recent retail sales figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) highlighted the pressing need for retailers to focus on making the customer experience more innovative and engaging, according to ecommerce systems integrator Tryzens. The integrator has urged retailers to review and update their digital capabilities to weather the current storm. Announced recently, the BRC KPMG retail sales monitor report revealed the sharpest decline in retail sales since 1995. UK retail sales fell by 4.2 per cent on a like-for-like basis compared with April 2017, reinforcing the notion that the UK may see negative growth in 2018, making the UK one of the declining retail markets in the world. Commenting on the figures, Andy Burton, CEO of Tryzens, said: “Whilst one set of analysis should not be a precursor of things to come, these numbers should act as a cautionary note to retailers that continued economic and geopolitical uncertainty can markedly affect overall sales. Consumers are still spending, but how, where and when they do is dramatically changing. “Retailers now need to fight harder to win their share of customers’ wallets and ensure that their channels are aligned with the market. At the same time, they need to make customer engagement a consistent, intuitive and engaging experience for the consumer. The retailers that are winning in the market today are the ones that have perfected their digital customer-engagement strategies and have the ability to adapt quickly to market changes. This is because they have cracked the challenges of achieving a single view of their customers and stock, coupled with a flexible enhancement delivery model.” He continued: “The digital revolution we are going through means that there are some relatively simple steps that they can take to improve their performance. Retailers have never had the amount of access to consumers and their shopping data as they do today to gain insights into their target market and how their customers shop and spend, which can be leveraged to improve service and engagement. “To succeed in this climate, it is essential that retailers showcase great products, demonstrate good value and provide consistency of offers (and access to them) across channels with a strong responsive design across device types to drive sales conversion and loyalty.” Visit tryzens.com for more information. industry news HALE EVENTS SUPPORTS FINAL STRAW CORNWALL In 2018, Hale Events supported Final Straw Cornwall at the Expowest Cornwall trade show. Final Straw Cornwall is a campaign to rid Cornwall of single-use plastic straws and raise awareness of the damage single-use plastics are causing to the environment. The campaign ran a Straw Amnesty where businesses visiting the show could bring in old plastic straws. Over the course of the event, around 30,000 straws were collected from a broad cross-section of businesses, such as takeaways, restaurants and hotels, for upcycling. Inspired by the levels of support for the campaign from so many businesses, organisations and individuals within the Cornish community, Hale Events has decided to aim to go single-use plastic free at all its 2019 trade shows. It will be actively looking for environmentally friendly alternatives to any single-use plastic used at its shows. As well as no longer using plastic carrier bags, Hale Events is planning to stop using plastic wallets for exhibitor and visitor badges, which tend to be only used once and then thrown away. It has come up with innovative solutions for 2019 that enable exhibitors and visitors to pre-print badges or collect them on arrival and then use completely recyclable badge clips to fix them to clothing or bags, avoiding the need for wallets. Hale Events also works closely with event caterers to remove single-use plastic from its offerings. At Expowest Cornwall, Truro & Penwith College, the event caterers, introduced a wave of environmental improvements and initiatives aimed at reducing single-use plastics and creating a cleaner environment for Cornwall. It has removed single-use plastics from the restaurant, and replaced them with compostable paper cups, biodegradable takeaway containers and cutlery. It also stocks resealable cans of water, made from aluminium, which are 100 per cent recyclable, instead of plastic water bottles. Hale Events will also be working with event exhibitors, suppliers and contractors to help minimise the plastic waste brought to its trade shows by other organisations. For more information about Hale Events and their trade shows, please visit hale-events.com or call 01934 733433. For more information about Final Straw Cornwall visit finalstrawcornwall.co.uk . SOCKSMITH BRAND LAUNCHED AT PULSE LONDON Californian sock brand Socksmith has launched into the UK, using Pulse London as its launchpad. The brand has developed a one-off, upbeat character with a prolific, different and fun design ethic and is distributed widely across the U.S. The brand’s aim is to offer something fun and different to brighten every day. Socksmith launches a new stock range and seasonal range for men and women separately every season. The brand has already had a great reaction in the UK, with sales having got under way early with both major fashion stores and the gift shop sector, including national treasures such as The Natural History Museum and The National Gallery. The socks are being distributed by N16 Vintage. Visit socksmith.com