Normally, when we announce our Canadian Retail Innovator of the Month, we focus on manufacturers innovating at retail. This month we decided to tip our hat to a brand that, as a retailer, goes above and beyond to delight customers and promote brand loyalty. Who are we talking about? Fortinos. If you have not had the pleasure to visit one of Fortinos newer locations it is clear they were designed with the customer in mind. In fact, we wrote a piece about the Bolton store just last month because its presence is a great example of both a retail success story and a major retail failure. You can re ..read more

It’s no secret–making ends meet has not been easy for the average Canadian in recent years. Beyond so many being without work throughout the pandemic, post-pandemic inflation has sent the cost of living through the roof. In urban areas like the GTA the cost to rent a one-bedroom apartment is well over $2,000 per month. Meanwhile, the price tag to buy is upwards of one million dollars. Even outside the city the cost of housing is obscene. We are facing a new carbon tax that will substantially increase the cost of gas and heat. While the cost of products and services are higher than ever, even t ..read more

The secret is out: The issue of retail loss prevention is a major concern in almost every retail store. It’s good to know that many retail stores are taking measures to curb theft and promote safety, but many retail stores can become overly cautious in this regard. In other words, this would mean treating customers like potential thieves and suspecting every single person. This level of experience may not be what customers or high-spending consumers are looking for when purchasing everyday items. The Pain Points of Retailers It’s no secret that the mass layoffs and unemployment rates are high ..read more

As a company grows, every aspect of its business experiences growth, including its customer base, geographic reach, range of products, as well as customer expectations. However, along the way, many brands decide not to invest in hiring proper labour workers or improving their customer satisfaction rate. This means that when a customer has a negative experience, they might be reluctant to return, and the brand may miss out on the opportunity to build a long-term relationship with that customer. This can result in companies relying on one-time customers rather than building a loyal customer base ..read more

For the past five to seven years, we have seen a lot of luxury brands expanding their market in Canada. This time, it’s Ralph Lauren—a fashion company based in America. Talking about 2022, Ralph Lauren has 344 stores in operation around the world, with a wholesale presence in Canada through retailers like Hudson’s Bay, Sporting Life, and Harry Rosen. In September of 2023, they opened their first luxury premium full-price branded retail store in Toronto along with the website www.ralphlauren.ca.  Canadian Retail Merchandising Spotlight In their press release, Bob Ranftl, regional chief exe ..read more

Overstocking and understocking are two main conditions many brands face. We highlight this in our case study published in March of 2023, where we talked about how we saved a toy company by analyzing their stockouts just at the peak of the holiday shopping rush. The brand’s products were in two major Canadian retailers, making it a total of 385 stores, which we visited to see the stockout rate. 70% of the shops had products on shelves, but more than 30% still needed to. This may be because items sell out fast during holidays and leave little to no time to restock them on shelves, causing stock ..read more

Today’s market is heavily saturated by brands. Talk about makeup, skincare, baby, fitness, or food products— every single product is competing, and it’s mainly based on the pricing. Even more, store brands or private retail labels have entered the market, and now, like other brands, retailers’ private labels are also competing with you. What Works and What Doesn’t Many grocery chains are adding options to their store brands or private level because they have high margins, as more than half of the money directly goes into their pockets. The growing inflation rates have led 1 in 3 people to buy ..read more

Reduced consumer spending, inflation, and increased living expenses are changing everything we know about customer trends and behaviour. In such a climate, not only do brands and retail stores suffer, but also the stability of employment. Recently, Canadian Tire has cut 3% of the workforce and reduced job vacancies until further notice. Similarly, in January of 2023, we also saw Best Buy laying off 700 of its employees and relocating some of the staff to other store locations. These job cuts continued throughout the year, with companies such as BioSteel Sports Nutrition Inc. and Reitmans also ..read more

As we all know, time tends to fly, but sometimes, it’s nice to slow things down, especially when it comes to our seniors. For many older adults, a trip to the store isn’t just about stocking up the usuals—it’s a social outing. It’s also a venue to relax, chat with the cashier and other individuals, and feel more connected. Seniors are also in no rush, which explains that a few added seconds don’t make them feel frustrated and, instead, make them feel more connected. This particular demographic doesn’t require self-checkout technology, and the slow checkout process can work in their favour. Ide ..read more

The increased interest rates, loans, and mortgages are all affecting the industries in Canada, which is also causing inflation (pricing of things to go up). These two things are making people a bit worried, and it might affect how much they spend. Each year-end, statistics Canada pulls out stats for the years to help us analyze and compare the ongoing trends to predict future results. Retail Trends 2023 Statistics Canada says retail sales rose 0.3% to $66.1 billion in July but quickly decreased in August by 0.7%. The line remained flat in September and also October. It’s safe to say that Janua ..read more