Retailers in the U.S. can pick up some important lessons from their counterparts in Europe to develop their services and remain relevant to customers.
Many American companies have now expanded their market lens and sought to gain insight into the European market. The declining popularity of shopping malls, as evidenced by many store closures, has led the U.S. retail industry to find a solution abroad.
Diverse Market
The U.S. may be larger than Europe in terms of land mass, yet the latter is more diverse due to different languages and cultural ways. For this reason, European retailers required themselves to create tailored solutions that cater to multinational markets. IKEA, for instance, has become a household name not just in Europe due in part to its understanding of diversity.
American companies can use this concept to consider that the country is not just a single market, especially with a culturally diverse population and different climates. In reality, however, most companies think that a one-size-fits-all strategy works for several regions and even on a national scale. In other words, there is no variation on products and services for each local market.
On-Demand Training
Aside from customized business strategies, retail management training courses remain relevant for U.S. businesses. As the holiday season in 2017 approaches, most businesses are yet to update their training programs for their employees.
Employee recruitment and retention are already hard enough, amid the lack of skilled workers. For this reason, companies should update their management training initiatives by using on-demand training. This type of training lets employees gain a better understanding of their roles without considering it to be a burden or an added responsibility.
European retailers’ ability to understand the difference of each market is the reason behind their continual success, which is why U.S. companies should borrow a page from their book.