It’s Not About The Widget!

By Doug Stephens

Retail is simple.  You take widgets, you put them on a sales floor, you put a sign outside that says “we sell widgets” and people who want widgets come and buy them.  That’s about as complex as retail should be right?

Then why has retailing become so complicated?  Why are there so many articles, books, blogs, gurus and consultants (present company included) trying to unlock the mystery of great retail?  Why are people like Starbucks’ Howard Shultz or Lululemon’s Chip Wilson revered like Gods?

Because retail isn’t simple.  In fact it’s very difficult.  As the saying goes, “retail isn’t rocket science.  It’s much, much harder.”  Here’s why…

It’s easy to sell widgets until someone else comes along selling widgets at half the price – damn Chinese-made widgets!  They’re even pretty good quality widgets and frankly consumers don’t seem to care that they’re not made here.

Then down the street they open Widget Depot, who carries 2036 varieties of widgets at everyday low prices.  They’re not big on service but if you want a certain widget, they’ve got it.   To make matters worse they advertise like crazy on the W Network (the Widget Network), so when people think of widgets, they think Widget Depot.  They’re also open every day of the week until eleven p.m..  Who would have dreamed that people would go widget shopping at that hour?

Then across town, The Widget Experience store opens.  They know more about widgets than anyone else.  Widgets are like a religion to them.  It’s actually a little creepy but they serve cappuccino and they play really cool music that enhances the widget-buying experience.  They even offer free WiFi!  Their widgets cost four times the average but somehow people are willing to pay it.  Go figure!

Then widgets.com starts up.  Now people can buy widgets anytime day or night without leaving the house!  They ship fast and often charge less than the local widget store.  In fact, online widget sales are skyrocketing.

We can’t forget WidgetBay, where used widgets are auctioned off at a fraction of the price of new widgets.  In fact, there are over 3,000 listing for used widgets right now!

The fact is, nowadays people can buy widgets anywhere and everywhere!

And therein lies the reason that great retailers become great.  They are wise to what is by far the most important retail lesson of all. That it’s not about the widget.  And it never has been.