In this issue...
Cover Story: Elevating your high street
Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) are business-led partnerships which are created through a ballot process to deliver additional services to local businesses.
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From the top – Create a buzz with cross-pollination
There’s something very rewarding about collaborating with others for a common goal, a concept that has really grown since the inception of social media. This is especially true in the wellness sector where there is a huge community of supportive and like-minded individuals who are interested in natural health and beauty.
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Sales & Marketing – A basket's progress
The Office of National Statistics (ONS) reports that in December 2016 online sales for all retail sectors increased 21.3% year-on-year and accounted for 15% of overall retail sales.
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Sales & Marketing – Organic opportunities on your doorstep
The UK’s appetite for organic is growing, following its fifth consecutive year of growth. Compared to supermarkets, independent retailers are leading the way in organic and are demonstrating strong potential.
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Retail Services – How to find and keep quality retail staff
In today’s working world, it can be difficult to find retail staff, let alone retain them for the long run. Candidates know exactly what they want when they’re searching for a job and they won’t settle for anything but the best opportunity
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Retail Services – Smarter selling
The independent food sector is thriving right now. Consumers are seeking out the best produce and looking for exciting foods to sample – the fresher the better.
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Online & Social Media – Traffic is less important than conversions!
The average conversion rate for a website is a meagre 1.2%, meaning that 98.8 visitors of every hundred you draw to your site leave again without taking any action, and usually don’t return.
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Online & Social Media – Are you tweeting comfortably?
Whether we like it or not, social media is now a part of everyday life and in an increasingly health-conscious society, many of us take great care in providing our bodies with the most natural and beneficial ingredients and products...
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Planning ahead – Why VegfestUK Trade is a must for independents
Olympia in October marks the astonishing success of a vegan lifestyle for consumers, suppliers and retailers.
VegfestUK has already made its mark with events across the country that attract thousands of consumers whether dedicated vegans or those seeking a healthier lifestyle.
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Quickfire marketing – Are you making any of these five marketing mistakes?
Steve Hasler fires ideas bullets in his regular 'Try This' column
Your marketing efforts will have far better results when they’re part of a long-term plan that your team can get involved with and help you to implement.
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Boosting revenue in challenging times
Secondary revenue represents a cost-efficient means of substantially boosting revenue, says Guy Chiswick, MD, Northern Europe, for Webloyalty
It’s a challenging time for retailers to be profitable. Regardless of business size – from department stores to smaller, independent shops – the pressure to boost revenues is being felt across the board.
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Bad advice carries a cost
You’ve built up your business and invested for retirement, but your nest egg has been dented by poor or even fraudulent advice. Sarah Perry provides some crumbs of comfort.
When you act on investment advice from a professional and you later discover a problem, you can seek redress. But time is against you and often the problem is compounded by the time it can take to discover an investment is worth less than expected or worse, has now attracted the attention of the tax authorities.
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Spotlight on men's mental health
A new report by Mintel highlights how men’s mental health has become an increasing concern in recent years.
The report quotes data from the Office for National Statistics last year showing that suicide is now the biggest killer of men under 45 in the UK. Of the 6,188 deaths by suicide in the UK in 2015, three-quarters were men.
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Dietary changes trump medication for GI health
A surge in recorded category advertising spend in conjunction with strong sales of upset stomach and IBS remedies and indigestion relief products has resulted in buoyant value sales growth for the gastrointestinal (GI) market in the past few years.
That’s the view of market research company Mintel, which also spotlights increasing awareness among consumers with chronic GI health problems of the need to cut “trigger foods” from their diets completely.
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Editorial – What the election tells us about Generation Z
Many of us knew the General Election wouldn’t go according to Theresa May’s plan – she should have known that western electors think for themselves and don’t like being taken for granted.
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Read articles from the Spring 2017 issue here