Everyday Opportunity

Like millions of Americans, I went shopping over the Labor Day weekend. After my dishwasher gave up, I had carefully researched features and prices, and I found a great deal during the weekend sales. I also found something I hadn't expected: Christmas trees. There they were, right in the middle of an aisle, complete with decorations and presents — on Labor Day.

Too early? I certainly think so, but I guess you can't blame the nation's retailers for trying to expand the season in which they generate 22 percent of their sales. After all, with the price of gas, soaring food costs and rising property taxes, etc., etc., etc., most of us simply have to cut back somewhere. And since we can't control the necessities, that somewhere means watching our spending on everything else we buy. Even retail juggernaut Wal-Mart is struggling as shoppers cut back.

You've got an advantage in this chaotic retail market because your customers need your products. Many, literally, can't live without them. On the other hand, you're definitely not immune to your customers' whims. If they don't get what they want from you, just like any other American shopper, they're likely to go somewhere else.

“In case you hadn't noticed, we are living in a new era of shopper anarchy. Shoppers demand their individual rights every day: They want it their way (not yours), customized to their needs (not your store's), at any hour of the day or night (not when you choose to provide it). Or else …” according to WSL Strategic Retail, a New York consultancy that, for the past decade, has taken stock of how and why and where shoppers shop.

“My way or the highway,” is shoppers' new maxim, these retail analysts say. “They will buy anything everywhere as their need, mood and price demand it. Their most trusted experts are not your sales associates or your ads but a favorite blog or a stranger's review on a Web site. Established retail channels fall and rise in the shoppers' wake. New channels explode into being, then settle instantly into everyday-ness as these shoppers add or delete them at will.”

According to WSL's most recent report, coming out on top today means understanding your customers' values and earning their trust. Shoppers do their research, they compare, and many may know more about your products than your salespeople.