Tag: Black Friday

  • Powering the Pop-Ups

    Matt Hopkins, Founder of IND!E, joins Natalie to discuss the evolution of pop-up shops, the role of small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) brands in driving innovation, and the significance of storytelling in retail.

    Matt shares his views on changing consumer expectations such as the heightened demand for authenticity and ethical shopping. They also delve into the trend of digitally native brands moving into physical spaces and highlight some of the challenges faced by SME challenger brands in a competitive market.

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    Matt’s bio:

    Matt Hopkins is a seasoned business leader with over 25 years of experience in successfully selling products to major retailers. He excels in identifying growth opportunities, crafting robust commercial strategies, and driving impactful sales and marketing initiatives.

    A visionary entrepreneur and creative thinker, Matt has a proven track record of developing and scaling diverse business models. His expertise in licensed branding has led to collaborations with renowned brands such as Jamie Oliver, Laura Ashley, The Great British Bake Off, and Chef Tom Kerridge.

    Throughout his extensive career in retail, Matt recognised a significant shift in consumer trends toward locally made products with compelling stories. This insight inspired him to establish IND!E, a fresh and dynamic force driving change in the retail industry. Under Matt’s leadership, IND!E has become a market leader, supporting both major retailers and the SME challenger brand community. The company operates hundreds of pop-up shops in major retail locations each year and has pioneered a unique shop-in-shop concept, offering a crucial stepping stone for SME brands. Additionally, IND!E provides a comprehensive learning and resource hub and is set to launch its own e-commerce platform this year, further solidifying its role as an innovator in the retail landscape.

    Connect with Matt on LinkedIn.

    Visit IND!E.

    Find out more about the Retail Disrupted Podcast by visiting retaildisrupted.com

  • Black Friday: The Consumer Has a Pulse

    This is an excerpt. If you’d like to read the full article (for free), visit Retail Disrupted.

    There are so many hot takes on Black Friday. It’s always either a record-breaking bumper Black Friday or a “bit of a damp squib”. (Can you tell I’ve lived in the UK for half my life?)

    My point is that sometimes things are a little more nuanced than that, and Black Friday needs particularly careful interpretation this year. I went on BBC News this morning to discuss how retailers might have fared during one of the most important shopping events of the year.

    Note: “might have fared” and that’s because when you do TV at 5:30am on Cyber Monday, you only have a few weekend released surveys to go on (see Nationwide, RetailNext).

    This was the first real test of consumer sentiment following the Budget and, based on early data, it’s fair to say that the consumer still has a pulse. Consumers are feeling optimistic about their personal finances. Yes, there is understandable anxiety about the economic outlook (more on that in a sec), but right now they’re feeling confident in their ability to spend and eager to grab a bargain.

    To read the full article, visit Retail Disrupted, a free newsletter on the latest trends and innovations impacting the global retail sector.

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  • Marketplaces are the New E-Commerce

    Marc Vicente, Group Digital Director at Kingfisher, joins Natalie for a comprehensive discussion around e-commerce, AI, marketplaces, retail media, and more.

    They explore:

    • Why omnichannel retailers are now embracing the marketplace model
    • The role of physical stores in e-commerce
    • Innovative partnerships: Deliveroo and the importance of speed
    • The significance of Black Friday for Kingfisher and why it starts earlier every year
    • Retail media: monetizing the marketplace and understanding the 3 stages of retail media implementation
    • From chatbots to personalized recommendations and visual search, how is Kingfisher enhancing the customer experience with AI?
    • The future of retail: what is Marc most excited about for 2025 and beyond?

    Marc’s bio:

    Marc leads the digital transformation and oversees the strategy and operations at one of the largest home improvement retailers in Europe – which has 82,000 colleagues across 2,000 stores in eight European countries, and a number of retail banners including B&Q, Screwfix and Castorama. Before Kingfisher, Marc spent 15 years delivering disruptive technology-based growth in senior international roles such as Chief Operating Officer and Executive Officer at Rakuten Europe and Chief Operating Officer at Cdiscount.com, the French e-commerce leader.

    Connect with Marc on LinkedIn. 

    Find out more about the Retail Disrupted Podcast by visiting retaildisrupted.com

  • Perfecting the Price: Tips for a Successful Black Friday

    The Black Friday deals started as early as Halloween here in the UK (yes, really – see Boots, John Lewis, Currys) and mainland Europe isn’t far behind. On today’s episode, Natalie speaks to Sander Roose, CEO and Founder of Omnia Retail, the Amsterdam-based company behind Europe’s first dynamic pricing software.

    Sander and Natalie explore Black Friday 2024 trends in great depth as well as the Ticketmaster/Oasis disaster and why it’s important to distinguish between dynamic and surge pricing, and finally what retailers need to do to optimize their pricing strategies.

    More on Sander:

    Sander Roose is a seasoned retail expert and entrepreneur with a wealth of experience in retail and e-commerce. He holds a MSc degree in Industrial Engineering & Management Science from the Eindhoven University of Technology, where he graduated cum laude. After starting his career at Procter & Gamble, Sander became an entrepreneur: Harvest (acquired by OLX, part of Naspers), Commerce Squared (e-com strategy consultant) and now Omnia Retail.

    Visit Omnia Retail

    Connect with Sander on LinkedIn.

    Find out more about the Retail Disrupted Podcast by visiting retaildisrupted.com

  • Faire Game: How Indies Can Level the Playing Field

    Faire is the largest global b2b marketplace for independent retailers. In this episode, Faire’s UK General Manager Charlotte Broadbent joins Natalie to discuss:

    • How Faire is disrupting the wholesale sector and benefits for SMEs
    • Opportunities and challenges facing independent retailers today
    • How indies can up their game with AI
    • Values-based shopping and why ‘Not on Amazon’ is Faire’s most popular filter
    • Black Friday – should indies take part or is it a race to the bottom?
    • Women in tech – breaking down barriers and advice for the next generation of female leaders

    Charlotte’s bio:

    Charlotte joined the Faire team as UK General Manager in 2022, at an exciting and unique time when the US-founded b2b marketplace was pivoting to focus on international expansion. During her time at Faire she has led major category expansion, go-to-market strategy and partnership projects.

    Prior to this, she served as the COO of an international fine jewellery brand and retailer, Tamara Comolli. Here, she worked closely with the founder to solve the daily challenges in business, running a retail business through a pandemic and the wholesale aspects to retail.

    Charlotte started her career in private equity at Terra Firma Capital partners where she assessed and delivered new investments but also grew the value of those businesses through operational levers, focused on the retail and consumer sectors. It was during this time that Charlotte came to the realisation that she wanted to roll up her sleeves to be more involved in the operational side of leading a business, particularly through digital transformation. This passion led to her role at Faire today.

    Connect with Charlotte on LinkedIn.

    Find out more about the Retail Disrupted Podcast by visiting retaildisrupted.com

  • In Conversation with Amazon UK Boss John Boumphrey

    Recording live from the retailer’s new Second Chance store in London, Amazon UK Country Manager John Boumphrey joins Natalie on the podcast to discuss:

    • How is Amazon extending the life of returned goods through its Second Chance programme?
    • How can the wider industry overcome the returns challenge?
    • Futureproofing – with more disruption on the horizon, how does Amazon ensure it stays relevant to customers?
    • Consumer outlook – does JB expect consumers to remain relatively resilient as we move into 2024?
    • From drones to generative AI: what technologies and innovations should we be watching?

  • ‘Positively Dissatisfied’ M&S, Trailblazer Next, Black Friday Predictions

    Retail expert Maureen Hinton joins Natalie to discuss retailer resilience. Which fashion retailers are defying the economic climate and what is the secret to their success? Maureen also shares her views on the state of the consumer and whether the Black Friday deals will sizzle or fizzle.

    Connect with Maureen on Twitter/X and LinkedIn

    Learn more about our work at the KPMG/Retail Next Retail Think Tank

  • It’s Going To Be a Bumper Black Friday

    Love it or loathe it, Black Friday has become a permanent fixture on the UK retail calendar.

    Carrying black Friday paperbags

    In this episode, Natalie shares her predictions and general observations around Black Friday 2023. You’ll learn:

    • Why Natalie is expecting a strong turnout this year.
    • Black Friday creep – why retailers like John Lewis are going earlier than ever before.
    • Whether the growing skepticism around Black Friday will impact shoppers’ willingness to participate.
    • Why blanket discounts are out and targeted promotions are in.
    • What the ONS and BRC data tells us about Black Friday 2023.
  • Black Friday 2022: Less Frenzied, More Focused

    Black Friday 2022: Less Frenzied, More Focused

    We went from Black Friday to Black November, but this year I’d say we’re having a Black Autumn. There has been a constant stream of discounts since September. This is particularly true in fashion, where a combination of unseasonably warm weather and cost-of-living pressures have really dampened demand. Yes, people are hungry for bargains, but they have to be genuine ones. Shoppers have become desensitised to all of the “20% off everything” sales. Blanket discounting is causing promotion fatigue.

    The appeal of Black Friday has also been diluted because shoppers have cottoned on to the fact that it is a manufactured event and prices are not always at their lowest. Black Friday is designed to drive impulse purchases and instil a sense of FOMO. But according to Which?, only one in seven Black Friday deals offer a genuine discount.

    Electricals is typically an exception here, as retailers have more margin to play with, but this category is likely to underwhelm this year. Consumers spent the pandemic kitting out their home offices and entertainment spaces so demand for new technology will be much weaker than normal.

    Meanwhile the World Cup – and particularly the timing of tonight’s England vs USA match – will also add to the Black Friday fizzle. Retailers are likely to extend the discounting into the weekend, as Friday night celebrations keep people from shopping.

    I’d also like to think that there has been a deep societal shift, as more and more shoppers reject the idea of excess consumerism. Let’s face it, Black Friday is gluttonous. It’s wasteful. It drives up returns and millions of products ultimately end up in landfill.

    Despite all of this, shoppers will be out in full force today, sussing out the deals but in a more restrained manner compared to previous years. Black Friday will be less frenzied, more focused. Big-ticket purchases will be more considered and this year, more than ever, shoppers will be utilising the technology in their back pockets to check prices and ensure they’re getting a bona fide bargain.

    There will inevitably be those that get caught up in the adrenaline-filled rush of Black Friday shopping. Buyer’s remorse will be strong this year, and retailers should be preparing for a mountain of returns.

  • Black Friday: Expectations & Amazon’s Pop-Up

    Black Friday: Expectations & Amazon’s Pop-Up

    Tonight, I had the pleasure of attending the launch of Amazon UK’s latest bricks & mortar experiment – ‘The Home of Black Friday’ pop-up in Shoreditch.

    This is the second year that Amazon has opened a temporary showroom in a bid to raise awareness of the 10-day discounting bonanza that is possibly now only trumped by the retailer’s very own artificially created shopping event – Prime Day in July. But I digress.

    Love it or loathe it, Black Friday has become a permanent fixture on the UK shopping calendar and we have Amazon to thank for bringing it across the Atlantic back in 2010.

    Three Black Friday observations for 2018:

    1) More like Black November. Black Friday is getting longer: Amazon, Argos and Debenhams are just a handful of retailers running week-plus long events. Consolidating the bulk of your Christmas trade into 24 hours tests even the most advanced supply chains. Doug Gurr, MD of Amazon UK, mentioned tonight that one of the reasons Amazon has extended Black Friday in recent years is to “take out some of the pinch points”, operationally speaking. So, although spreading the event out over a couple of weeks might dilute the sense of urgency traditionally associated with Black Friday, it should ultimately result in a more streamlined experience for both retailer and consumer and, ideally, lead to lower returns rates. Previously, many shoppers who got caught up in the one-day frenzy would end up with buyer’s remorse and by the time the returned product made its way back onto the shelf (particularly for an online order) it would have to be further discounted.

    2) Promotion fatigue/consumer scepticism. Consumer group Which? is warning shoppers not to get “duped by dodgy deals” since last year nearly 9 out of 10 Black Friday ‘bargains’ were cheaper at other times in the year. I’d like to think most consumers today are savvy enough to understand that Black Friday is mainly a lot of noise, with a few genuine bargains the mix. According to PWC, half of UK consumers are not interested in the event at all this year with 11% warning they would intentionally avoid shopping altogether.

    3) But peer pressure… Despite the many harmful effects of Black Friday – erodes margins, pulls spending forward, dilutes trust and credibility, etc – it’s equally risky to shun it altogether. This is the only time of the year when retailers genuinely have a captive audience. There is an appetite to spend, a reason to loosen purse strings, and not many national retailers are brave enough to miss out on the potential sales. B&Q is the only genuine exception I can think of (even Next took part last year). On paper, M&S is shunning Black Friday again this year but they have been running 20% off sales for Sparks members. Limiting the deals to loyalty cardholders is a more subtle approach, but a blanket discount can be just as effective when it comes to driving footfall.

    Amazon’s ‘The Home of Black Friday’ pop-up

    As with most of Amazon’s bricks & mortar experiments, The Home of Black Friday pop-up has very little to do with shifting product. In fact, it would be a stretch to call this a shop (to be fair, Amazon doesn’t). It’s a showroom designed to humanize the Amazon brand, to tempt shoppers into the retailer’s very sticky ecosystem, get them engaging with the app and ultimately driving adoption of its various devices. If you’re interested in why Amazon is pushing so heavily into bricks & mortar retailing, there’s a whole chapter dedicated to exactly this in my upcoming book which launches in just six weeks!

    The Home of Black Friday is located at 3-10 Shoreditch High Street, London, E1 6PG and will be open to the public from 22-25 November.