Firstly this week, I'd like to thank our agriculutral machinery editor, Martin Rickatson, for holding the fort here last issue whilst I was away. Always great to hear Martin's take on the ag side of the industry - hopefully we'll be hearing from him more in this Weekly Update during the course of the year.

Since my return I've been busy putting the finishing touches to the next issue of Service Dealer magazine, which is now at the printers.

One of the features you can look forward to in the next issue will be the results of our survey that we ran on here recently, canvassing dealers thoughts on how much business confidence they are feeling currently. We received some interesting data and as ever some fascinating feedback from our readers.

One quote which appeared indicative of many readers' opinions, said, "This season has been very much a rollercoaster for us sales wise - although service has remained steady. This coupled together with the looming Brexit scenario, increases in our overheads both rent and wage wise, plus pressures from internet discounters who are reducing our sales margins continually, means there is not too much cause for cheer."

That many dealers appear to be feeling the same at the moment is of course, concerning. To be able to report some entirely positive news for a change would be most welcome!

Well, I'm not saying I've got that in abundance - but I did see a couple of stories this week, which I thought traditional dealers could perhaps take some heart from.

First up was some statistical analysis from GlobalData, a data and analytics company, which said that more than six out of 10 UK DIY and gardening shoppers continue to favour physical retail despite store closures. Their story said that customers in this market are most likely to switch to a different retailer’s physical store if the store they normally shop at closes, while relatively few would switch to online or travel to a different location. This, they said, indicates a preference not only for physical retail over online, but also for convenience over loyalty to a particular retailer.

Could this be encouraging news for dealers who are based in one the 47 locations around the country where Homebase for example, has closed stores just recently? Amy Higginbotham, Retail Analyst at GlobalData, seems to think so. She is quoted in their story as saying, “As well as being less inclined to switch to online, DIY and gardening shoppers are also less loyal to a particular retailer than the average UK consumer. Only 35.5% would stick with the same retailer, whether at a different store or online, compared to the 39.9% average across all retail sectors.”

So perhaps there's potential there, to sweep up customers for outdoor powered machinery who before these closures, might not have used their local independent retailer? There's little point in being snobby that these buyers used to favour somewhere like Homebase - after all, their money is as good as the next person's!

Also indicating that the online sales sector might not be as all conquering as once feared by traditional retailers, is the latest research by the IMRG Capgemini eRetail Sales Index, which tracks online sales performance. They have said this week that despite a boost in June, it wasn’t enough to save online retail in the first half of 2019.

Their research shows that online sales this year have slumped to their lowest ever growth rate of just +5.4% year-on-year. Comparatively, the same time period in 2018 saw results of +16.9% year-on-year.

When looking at individual retail sectors, IMRG say that one of the largest year-on-year declines in growth was actually seen in garden at -34.4%.

Could this be indicating a real shift in attitudes of consumers in this sector, from online to physical? Perhaps. Certainly you could argue that now is a key time to be keeping your profile high to attract potential new customers who may not have used your store before. 

And, popping my self-promotion hat on for a minute, for plenty of valuable advice and guidance on how to make your business appeal to the various generational groups, or to maximise profitability, tickets are now on sale for this year's Service Dealer Conference & Awards!

As ever, this year there will be presentations, seminars and debates, all designed to benefit dealers of all sizes and machinery specialisms Hope to see you there!