New UK retail survey reveals complacency…

Thursday, August 12, 2010 | Posted by: Fiona Cullinan
Categories: Economy, Retail sector, Thought Leadership | Tags: innovation, survey, report, data, business models, retail

…and suggests that it is time for retailers to move beyond cost-cutting as the main thrust in their business models. Read on for details of the full report. 

The findings are surprising from such a competitive sector of UK industry, but the latest survey by Grant Thornton highlights a need to review, and possibly renew, traditional retail business models in order to compete in the future. 

The report, Pressure unabated: UK retailers contemplate business model change, was carried out in conjunction with the Economist Intelligence Unit. It surveyed 53 senior executives of retail firms in the UK on the resilience and robustness of business models in the retail sector over the past 18 months and how they may fare in the future.

The results show exactly where UK retail firms are making adjustments to maintain their competitive edge. It also looks at the internet challenge and which approaches are dominating the market there, and includes analysis from sector experts (we’ll be posting some of their wisdom here on the blog shortly).

A major finding of the research was the lack of urgency, even complacency, among two-thirds of respondents when faced with the need to change the ways they do business.

David Bush, Grant Thornton UK’s Associate Director, Retail Sector, said in the report:

“Having taken aggressive measures in the past two years to adjust their cost structure, retailers are focusing their attention, in particular, on their target markets. “Retailers need to turn the data that they have on customers into information, so that they are better at selling product that customers want, when they want it.”

Read the full report.

Image: © Amanda Slater, 2009

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