Today’s climate is certainly putting the screws on the independent retailer, as household budgets are squeezed by general inflation, and the widespread uncertainty which seems to be keeping the customers’ hands in his or her pockets at present. It used to be that independents could play the convenience card but as multiples proliferate and as even the shortest journeys are sadly often made by car, proximity alone is no longer a guarantee of healthy trading.

So aside from providing us with goods and services that we simply can’t find elsewhere, what else can independent retailers do to assert themselves?

It’s my view that they can teach the multiples a lesson when it comes to service. Although price and offers are two incredibly potent forces in our lives today, and have a strong influence on which retailers we choose, the way we are treated whilst in-store is probably as influential on the product offer in helping to shape our opinions of retailers, and creating our preferences.

Any service brand owner will know that matching experience with expectation is the key to repeat purchase, and in creating positive advocacy. The more enlightened will spend a good deal of time and resources ensuring that staff understand the brand idea and that they are able to interpret and project this in the way that they deliver service. Take McDonald’s for example; a past master at projecting a clear brand idea through the service experience and in-store environment.

However, good service given delivered via a mechanistic model misses a critical element – it doesn’t feel authentic because there’s no passion or enthusiasm. We carried out a brand positioning project for a top-end high street fashion retailer and were lucky enough to spend time out in their stores, talking to store staff and management. It was clear that there was a genuine love of the product and through this, the brand. The staff described the excitement of getting a delivery – an event which for many store staff would be a chore – because they were dying to see what was new and because they looked forward to displaying and promoting these lines to their customers. This involvement meant that they knew their product range inside out.

Most independents will also have a deep knowledge of the products they sell which is often important to their customer base, who may be choosing an independent retailer because they can find those items unavailable in the profit-obsessed major multiples. Being able to find informed help and advice to customers is often a key reason why customers will prefer an independent to a multiple.


What's more, an independent often knows the customer and has the opportunity to build up a relationship with them over time. This familiarity works positively both on the human dimension – we all like to be ‘recognised’ – and can help develop custom because it opens up the door to recommendation and suggestion.

Maybe the independents can teach the multiples some important lessons about how to deliver service in a more authentic way, and also how service delivered in a individual way will help build the brand, strengthen customer relationships and loyalty. After all, many of the biggest of today’s retailers started out as an independent once.

Chris Cleaver is managing director of business brands at Dragon