Matthew Hopkinson of The Local Data Company was a more than interesting keynote speaker at the launch function for Footfall 123 by Codilink last week. He provided useful stats on how UK high street retailers survived / progressed in the first quarter of 2011. …
• Cafes, Snack shops & Tea Rooms were the hardest hit with 3.9 % of total vacancy closures.
• The supermarkets are the main expansion players, but others such as EAT, Phones 4u, as well as new entrant Boux Avenue, are all planning positive expansion.
• In the first quarter of 2011 there were more casualties in Oddbins (128 stores), Bennetts (14 stores) and Easy Living (20 stores), to name but a few
• High Street names such as O2, HMV, Waterstone’s and Thorntons are all reducing their number of stores, along with the JJB Sports CVA where 45 stores will close.
He also made the point that shops are continuing to be vacated, albeit at a slower rate than two years ago.
He said “The withdrawal of multiple retailers from certain centres, and the failure of independent retailers to succeed in the face of a changing consumer, is happening right across the country. Localism is the key watchword as performance differs widely from centre to centre, county to county and region to region, in any way you care to look at it”.
The question is how can the independent retailer succeed in reaching this changing consumer?
One new route is Footfall 123 which is designed to help retailers effectively use social media and digital channels to drive real customers into real stores. This ground-breaking new SaaS offering provides the missing piece of the puzzle of how to effectively convert digital and social media contacts into loyal paying customers.
With the growth of social networks and collective buying sites, high street businesses now have access to a huge number of marketing channels to help drive footfall into their outlets. Businesses that get their marketing right with a simple and consistently relevant approach to customers have a clear opportunity to stand out from the crowd.
The challenge however is two-fold:
(1) Firstly, how can you manage all your different channels easily from one central hub, with consistent messages and offers being broadcast across them all.
(2) Secondly, how can you track the effectiveness of each channel and measure exactly how many customers are being driven in-store from each one.
Footfall123 allows retailers to manage both of these through a simple, intuitive and easy to use platform, at a price that’s in reach of even the smallest retailer.
Ben Chesser, CEO of Codilink, said: “Based on over 5 years and one billion coupons of experience, we’ve built Footfall123 100% from the ground up to serve the needs of high street retailers.
It not only helps manage the myriad of new ways of reaching customers such as Facebook, mobile coupons and group buying, but it also gives retailers guidance and ideas of how to do it best. We’re really delighted with the great feedback and ideas we’ve got over the last 6 months with our beta clients, and can’t wait to open Footfall123 up to the whole market.”
To request further information on existing clients and campaigns, or an advance briefing of the product please contact David Seddon (020 7681 4070).
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