A point of difference?

I think that the objective of any UK confectionery retailer is to maximise their sales and stand out against the competition so that they have a point of difference. Nothing new there then.

It has always been said that price is only ever a short term point of difference – someone can always be cheaper. How true. But what about your product range?

A recent hot topic is American confectionery. Considered a niche sector of the UK confectionery market, American sweets and chocolates have really taken the market by storm in the last 12 to 24 months. More UK retailers and wholesalers have sprung up, dedicated to this profitable and different confectionery category whilst many confectionery retailers have been and continue to enjoy strong sales of these different and fun treats.

But what happens when the supermarkets get wind of it? We are about to find out. Asda has already leapt headlong into American confectionery, firstly with Hershey’s and Reese’s over a year ago and now with American Confectionery bays in 100 stores. It was revealed in The Grocer (4 August) that Tesco is to trial an American fixture in 10 of its stores. The range will include Hershey’s chocolate.

So is this the end of the advantage that smaller confectionery stores and retailers have on American confectionery or can they still use the category as a point of difference and benefit from the strong sales that exist? I guess that only time can tell and it certainly demonstrates the importance of keeping a close eye on the quality and uniqueness of your product range. It doesn't all have to been remarkably different of course, but you will want to be assured of those sectors and ranges that are.

Maximising the potential of any advantage that you have has never been so important. Smaller retailers are certainly able to do this, given that they can really get to understand their local shopper profile and what they want to buy from them. This is where they can truly stand apart, carving out a local position for themselves regardless of what the larger stores are up to. It never hurts to understand what’s going on behind your back though.

www.sweetretailing.co.uk

Rain makes customers grumpy

We are all getting fed up with it and none of us can do anything about it. The rain continues, ignoring the fact that our water table is full to the brim. Online feedback forum, Feefo, has recently revealed that the poor weather directly affects retailers in more ways than we think, with a greater amount of negative feedback being posted. Can there really be a link?

Feefo manages online feedback for all manner of UK retailers including Fat Face and The White Company, facilitating more than 1,000 reviews and ratings on a daily basis. From early June, the company noticed a significant uplift in the number of negative comments that their clients were receiving.

So confectionery retailers watch out! We are far more likely to take it out on the shops that we visit at the moment, as our spirits are dampened, not knowing whether summer is actually going to take place this year.

On the positive side of things, we know that confectionery has become a leading “pick me up” during the difficult economy and so perhaps it can reward your shoppers in the same way when the downpours show no sign of shifting? Perhaps you could actually turn it to your advantage, offering a special deal on every day that it rains? Downpour Deals! You heard it here first…

www.sweetretailing.co.uk

Can music increase sales?

Some very interesting UK market research has suggested that playing music in your store can ultimately increase sales. Is it that simple and can music boost sales for a confectionery retailer I wonder?

The research was undertaken by music licensing organisations PPL and PRS for Music. They talked to 1008 small and medium sized enterprises (many of them of course did NOT sell confectionery!). Here is what they discovered in a nutshell:

• 55% felt that playing music could increase your sales
• 79% believed that it could create a better atmosphere for customers
• 81% said that playing music increased staff morale
• 25% said that they would lose business without it
• 86% felt that music could help to relieve tension or awkward silences for their customers

Now I haven’t personally been into many stores selling confectionery (except the likes of department stores) and found their choice of music gently surrounding the sweets I might like to indulge in. Maybe we are missing a trick here? Has anyone tried music in their shop to positive or negative effect? We would love to know!

Retailing certainly needs to appeal to the senses and whilst confectionery retailing can easily appeal to sight and sometimes smell, why not our hearing too? But then what style of music would you play? Get it wrong and your customers will turn right round and leave before buying a thing! Retailers seeking that old fashioned look might wish to choose some suitably aged music to get their customers into the right time frame whilst shops targeting a younger audience might consider something a little more up to date. Could it work? There is only one way to find out. 

For more confectionery retailing thoughts please take a look at www.sweetretailing.co.uk 

Update...we received these interesting comments from Dawn at The Candy Cabin in Chesterfield. We welcome further thoughts!

Just a few thoughts on playing music in my candy store. I have a PPL license, I usually play Radio 2 as it covers a wide range of audiences. However some of the midday chat can be partly controversial at times so I then switch to my iPod. I usually play 80's or 90's soft pop; no rock or dance/trance stuff. Strictly 'top-40'. I had a comment from customers, all positive, on playing music. One customer told me he thought it was very cool walking into a sweet shop that plays 80's music!

I couldn't work in the shop without music. It would just be too quiet!! As long as the music is calm, uplifting and not too loud it can help the customer experience.

Thanks Dawn, it's good to know that music can actually have a positive impact in a sweet shop.

Sell sweets with a smile

We might all know that offering good customer service is a step in the right direction to a successful confectionery retail business, but it is always useful to find some factual reasoning behind this, especially when the UK high street is struggling to find its way. 

YouGov has recently undertaken a consumer poll to understand what brightens someone’s day – all the more important when the weather is so damp and dismal. Most of the key things that the poll highlighted don’t cost a penny and we think that bricks and mortar UK confectionery retailers can really excel in “day brightening” given that confectionery is generally a fun purchase. 

The top way to help someone’s day go well is to give them a nice big smile. What’s more, a smile is a two way thing as you tend to get a smile back and that brightens your own day too! High up on the list is to say “Good morning” – another simple winner. Other relevant key day brighteners include:

·         Offering a compliment

·         Giving them time to chat

·         Holding the door open for them

·         Listening 

These can all be implemented in a confectionery retail environment at NO cost whatsoever. The simple commercial logic is that if you can brighten someone’s day a little, they will enjoy coming into your shop, might buy more sweets and are more likely to come back and tell their friends - all helping you to sell more sweets. 

It really might seem obvious to many, but given some of the poor personal service and interaction I have received from many retailers in recent times, there is certainly no harm in stating the obvious when the opportunity arises! A high level of customer service will have a positive impact on your sales and comes at little or no cost to your business. 

What the YouGov research did underline is that not every simple action can be replicated in a retail environment. I don’t know many sweet shops that give you a hug, make you a cup of tea and buy you flowers whilst you decide what treats you decide to indulge in. 

So don’t let the weather get your confectionery sales down and focus on bringing the sun back into your customers’ days. 

For lots more talk about UK confectionery retailing visit our website at www.sweetretailing.co.uk 

Visit YouGov at www.yougov.co.uk

Discounted Thorntons chocolate

It is such a shame that Thorntons chocolate shops are still struggling, reporting a 2.7% drop in third quarter sales this week. And now the news that the UK chocolate manufacturer and retailer intends to turn a good number of its more troubled stores into factory outlets, selling off end of lines, shorted dated stock and over stocks at a typical discount of 50% (The Grocer 5 May 2012). 

When the UK confectionery market is generally demonstrating a positive course, it is sad to see such an established British chocolate icon struggle to take itself forward at the moment. Stock has a cost and as such it might be a wise move to develop a factory shop style outlet in order to facilitate its clearance, but I cannot help thinking that this will do little to help Thornton’s image. 

Long known as a specialist and most delicious British chocolate brand, will the existence of chocolate factory outlets diminish this image and develop Thorntons into yet another discount brand? I do hope not. On the other side of the coin, many quality clothing brands manage to balance full priced stores with factory outlet stores, poised to sell off their excess and less popular stock. 

From a financial point of view, it has to be good business sense to develop a route to market for sub standard and excess stock, freeing up the asset to become additional cash flow. From a brand perspective, it will be very interesting to see where Thorntons is to go next.

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Now on Facebook

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Chocolate printers on ebay

There has been much enthusiastic discussion about the unveiling of a commercial 3D chocolate printer and so we thought that we would do our bit and bring you the facts in case this is an opportunity for your own UK chocolate business.
 

The UK company that has developed the world’s first commercial 3D chocolate printer is called Choc Edge Ltd. Led by Dr Liang Hao, this new company based in Exeter has now made Choc Creator version 1 available for sale at a standard price of £2,888. 

The 3D printer uses melted chocolate to build up a bespoke 3D chocolate shape in layers. YouTube videos are already in circulation! 

To mark the launch of the new 3D chocolate printer, Choc Edge is apparently auctioning 10 printers on ebay, starting today. 

This is clearly a creative opportunity for chocolate companies and organisations that use chocolate in some way, though the plan must be sound, given the purchase cost. Thorntons had expressed an initial interest and it is easy to see how a chocolate retailer might develop this into a bespoke idea.  

Sweet Retailing would love to hear from any anyone that purchases Choc Creator for their business. We would be very interested to understand how its creativity has been successfully harnessed.