In these economical hard pressed times, what are your thoughts on sunday trading .? When potential customers have more time to frequent the retail establishments for demo,s etc...... IT seem monday,s are the favoured day of rest.Would having say wednesday,s off as well suit both camps.?
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Sunday Opening ?
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I used to work in a shop in Bristol city centre on a Sunday, and footfall was very poor. It's expensive to run as well, as most shops pay time and a half on a Sunday. I used to get a full days pay for 5 hours work, so I would say not worth it.
Second, you would loose staff pretty quick if they lost both days of the weekend. They would never see their friends in the daytime.
Second, you would loose staff pretty quick if they lost both days of the weekend. They would never see their friends in the daytime.
Same as I have ever thought. Sunday is simply the 7th day of the week. There should be no rules at all against trading, other than to protect staff from being forced to do it. If business isn't good, don't open, if it is, fill yer boots 🙂
matthewpiano
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- Nov 23, 2007
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As somebody who works in sales/retail, my attitude is if you work in the sector your should be aware that weekend working is part and parcel of the package. My current employer does not open on Sundays apart from in November and December, but in my previous job I worked lots of Sundays as well as Bank Holidays. It's just part of the job as far as I'm concerned.
However, from a business point of view it isn't always clear cut. As already mentioned there is the over-time issue. Part-time staff are a way round it but, more often than not, employing weekend staff doesn't work very well in a more specialist outfit because they just don't have the time to maintain product knowledge and maintain any sense of continuity. Paying over-time or having enough staff to be able to give days off in lieu during the week can work, but only if Sunday trading consistently brings in decent levels of business.
Closing an additional day during the week is a bad idea IMO as footfall can be quite unpredictable and it is rare for particular days of the week to be consistently quiet or consistently busy. Actually, weekends in general aren't as good as they used to be and many businesses now sell more during the week. Saturday used to be the holy grail day for retail but that has changed significantly.
In short, Sunday opening is something which can only be judged on a business by business basis according to demand and business levels at that particular site.
However, from a business point of view it isn't always clear cut. As already mentioned there is the over-time issue. Part-time staff are a way round it but, more often than not, employing weekend staff doesn't work very well in a more specialist outfit because they just don't have the time to maintain product knowledge and maintain any sense of continuity. Paying over-time or having enough staff to be able to give days off in lieu during the week can work, but only if Sunday trading consistently brings in decent levels of business.
Closing an additional day during the week is a bad idea IMO as footfall can be quite unpredictable and it is rare for particular days of the week to be consistently quiet or consistently busy. Actually, weekends in general aren't as good as they used to be and many businesses now sell more during the week. Saturday used to be the holy grail day for retail but that has changed significantly.
In short, Sunday opening is something which can only be judged on a business by business basis according to demand and business levels at that particular site.
chebby said:
Yes chebby, and football kick offs at 3 o,clock on a saturday afternoon. Also the french have proper lunch breaks. A bit more civilised. I was,nt trying too promote sunday trading just a discussion .Can you think of anything else we should go back too.? 🙂
MUSICRAFT
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- Mar 23, 2009
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FATS 2828 said:
Hi FATS 2828
I've always felt Sunday opening is an excellent idea. There should be no closing on week days.
Btw, i also feel opening hours should also extend on Monday - Saturday beyond the usual 9am-5.30/6pm and instead to 8/9pm.
All the best
Rick @ Musicraft
It's in hard pressed times though that business look to resuce costs. Staffing a shop on a Sunday can be expensive. Footfall is often lower than any given weekday, so there isn't always the business to be had.
More and more retail is being used as a showroom for the internet - and that's open all day, every day.
More and more retail is being used as a showroom for the internet - and that's open all day, every day.
matthewpiano
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There are still opportunities for shops that offer good product, advice and customer service. Yes, a lot of people do use shops as a showroom before buying online, but this is the point at which retailers have to put the work in so that once the customer has taken the advice they feel more compelled to buy there and then rather than ordering online.
Begs the question; 'why open a retail outlet when every one is at work' . . . 'whats the point in opening at 9am' . . . look at other countries, they open when the customers are more likely to be about. In the UK, why do you think Mr Gupta in the local corner shop opens until 11pm, its a 'family affair', they all chip in . . . and we are happy to make use of those opening hours.
We English need to rethink . . . I used to be in the public service industry, loved every minute, I worked from 6pm until 2am Wednesday and 6pm until 4 or 5am on Thursday, Friday and Saturday . . . my week amounted to 'three and a half days' . . . I made a very good living and had loads of time during daylight to myself, quality time! . . . made a mistake getting out of that one!
We English need to rethink . . . I used to be in the public service industry, loved every minute, I worked from 6pm until 2am Wednesday and 6pm until 4 or 5am on Thursday, Friday and Saturday . . . my week amounted to 'three and a half days' . . . I made a very good living and had loads of time during daylight to myself, quality time! . . . made a mistake getting out of that one!
matthewpiano said:
Which works for the smaller independents. For the larger chains, it's more cost effective to have the shopping done online. Companies that have a telesales operation, web shop and high street store find that well over half of all customers have used one channel before buying from another. This could be going in to a shop to see/feel/hear a product before ordering online, or doing research online before visiting a store as they like the face to face contact.
Nearly 50% of Argos sales are now "reserve and collect".
CJSF said:
Because everyone is at work. Look how many retailers in the City of London open Monday to Friday - the customers aren't there at the weekends. High street stores get a lunch time rush. There are plenty of people not working on any given day, due to holiday, day off, raising kids, retired, unemployed and so on.
A lot of countries overseas have different hours becuase temperature dictates that they close in the middle of the day.
nopiano
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Being customer-led is really the only way these days, though there was an appealing simplicity when you always knew shops would not open (i.e. on Sunday).
I've noticed that hi-fi shops often open and close late, say 11am to 6pm, which makes sense unless you are (say) near a railway station where you might get commuter footfall, though maybe only if you had an expresso bar too. I suspect that local variations and your target client group will influence the decisions. Traditional issues like overtime rates should not really be a factor, though I'm sure this legacy still haunts some retailers.
I've noticed that hi-fi shops often open and close late, say 11am to 6pm, which makes sense unless you are (say) near a railway station where you might get commuter footfall, though maybe only if you had an expresso bar too. I suspect that local variations and your target client group will influence the decisions. Traditional issues like overtime rates should not really be a factor, though I'm sure this legacy still haunts some retailers.
Lee H said:
When I go shopping . . . for anything . . . I get out at around 9am plan on getting home by midday . . . the high street in my town startes to come alive about 11.30am, just when I'm off home. If I get my timings wrong . . . by 2pm its very unpleasant around the shops IMHO.
London heaving Monday/Friday . . . everyone at home weekends . . . no point in opening in the suburbs during the week, just Saturday and Sunday:quest: 'Tongue in cheek' . . . 🙂
They had a bit on radio 4 today about retail opening . . . the general feeling was confusion, tradition out of the window! . . . the whole population works, men and women, to keep body and soul together . . . retail staff suffer? Or, maybe in the case of the specialist shop, its the customer that suffers, with less than fully clued up assistants due to part time and shift working? Answer, be clued up yourself, but if you are new to hifi??? I had this hapen recently, not new to hifi, but very green to the 'new digital world within hifi'. Fortunately I kept my money in my pocket, asked a lot of frustrating and confusing questions on hear and have, I think, finally sorted myself out. I have a strong, if out of date(?) grounding in hifi, one feels for the newbie on the high street, who like me, does not live near a proper hifi shop.
Its a new, modern life style, as an oldie, I'm not so sure I like it? However, I do admit to appreciating the personal convenience when I can work it to my advantage . . . but dont forget, its all about 'parting you from your cash'! . . . 🙂
Going back to the good old day of hifi . . . we used to travel to listen and ask questions, no such thing as t'net 30 yeas ago . . . I need to do some listening for amp and CDp change in the next couple of weeks . . . I will drive 120 miles as a round trip, I know the dealer of old, I trust his judgment . . . he was actually my first encounter in the world of real hifi shops back in the late seventies. That has to be worth something. I could fill up my car then for less than a fiver, at that time, his shop was conveniently a few miles down the road, we have both don a bit of moving about since then . . .
Something I do notice these days, 'upgrading' is much more regular and appears a little haphazard? . . . in those golden years we used to stick with what we had and liked for years, tweaking a bit hear and there, cartridge, arm, a speaker change was a major event, and an amplifier, well that would take weeks??, months . . . and at least a couple of listening sessions at the shop:? Proper hifi shops did not open Sundays or generally before 10am, although personnel were often on site much earlier for staff training, auditioning new equipment and preparing for the days booked demos . . . how things have changed.
CJSF
Frank Harvey
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These are my own personal views, not that of Frank Harvey....
I don't see the point in Sunday opening. I have worked Sundays before at previous stores when I worked for Sevenoaks and Superfi, but it was all pretty pointless really. It's ok if you're a large department store as they're busy all the time, so if they open Sunday, they'll be busy, even if not as much as usual, but it'll be worth it for them.
Sunday shopping isn't really something I tend to do, and the only reason I'd do it is if the missus needed me to tag along as 'bag boy'. Personally, I don't go Sunday shopping, in the same way that I don't work Sundays - I don't shop because it's MY day off - I don't mind working, but some 'me time' is needed as I have a life 🙂
I don't see the point in Sunday opening. I have worked Sundays before at previous stores when I worked for Sevenoaks and Superfi, but it was all pretty pointless really. It's ok if you're a large department store as they're busy all the time, so if they open Sunday, they'll be busy, even if not as much as usual, but it'll be worth it for them.
Sunday shopping isn't really something I tend to do, and the only reason I'd do it is if the missus needed me to tag along as 'bag boy'. Personally, I don't go Sunday shopping, in the same way that I don't work Sundays - I don't shop because it's MY day off - I don't mind working, but some 'me time' is needed as I have a life 🙂
Alantiggger
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I don't mind working, but some 'me time' is needed as I have a life :bounce:
A quite brilliant answer to people who DON'T work in the retail trade 8)
A quite brilliant answer to people who DON'T work in the retail trade 8)
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