Today I was up at the Pulse show at Olympia in London, talking about why retailers should embrace marketplaces. It was a real dilemma for many independent retailers and suppliers alike – is the high street dying or can the Internet and High Street co-exist together.
Naturally one of the concerns with marketplaces is devaluing the product. Should a supplier list on a marketplace exclusively and pass sales to their retail partners. Should the retailers themselves list on marketplaces and what happens if there’s a race to the bottom on price. Will selling on a marketplace reduce traffic to a retailers bricks and mortar store or can the two work in harmony? These are all questions that Tamebay retailers will be familiar with, both for their own businesses and when suppliers or competitors start selling online.
The Pulse show itself was a vibrant blend of gift, home and design products and if you are an independent retailer it’s well worth visit. Not only will you see the latest trends, but you might also pick up some new suppliers, many of whom are smaller designers and manufacturers as the products on show aren’t the normal mass produced high street fare.
There’s also a packed education schedule in the ShopTalk theatre at Pulse, I caught a very interesting panel discussion on blogging for design retailers. It discussed how to start a blog, how to attract followers, how to find your own blogging style and how to identify your niche as more advanced topics like attracting sponsored reviews once your blog has built a following.
If you’re visiting Pulse make sure you check out the ShopTalk program for the day you’re there as many of the talks are giving great tips to grow your own business, whether that be online or bricks and mortar.
Pulse runs for a further two days, so you can visit on Monday 16th or Tuesday 17th May.
