When it comes to retail, its always having to differentiate the consumer product available on high street against the professional product. The are far to many ads that have the smallest survey number that seem to always compare against a "salon treatment" be that mascara, skincare, tanning, foot file, gel nail varnish, the box dyes, handheld laser machines... all these marketing ploys..
My frustrations are that its misleading, it also takes away from the hard hours that you have invested into buying in brands and it takes away from the training you have undertaken to gain that knowledge to have it instantly wiped out against that product on the shelf because it "must be the same". This needs to change. In my opinion if you are comparing a like to like product have a survey that represents that with an adequate number of participants. 66 out of 67 agree is not very fair. (just what where all the questions asked- these focus groups arent always reliable)
My main issue with online retailers is the wholesale price. we have to pay VAT on every item and yes they may afford to stock that brand in larger quantities to other retailers but when its sold for less than the wholesale/retail prices in some instances, it really grips me. Because i may have countered a loss, or that brand has decided to absorb £10 off every item. It's never passed on for you to have that sell.
I was at a training center where a lady had gotten her client to invest in some products and rather than her going back to the real source she decided to go online, that client went back to her and said it was cheaper and the real deal. this has been countered many times with our clients now saying oh i can buy my own spray tanning machine or i saw it in a reputable shop so its it must be ok. They dont mind because they also have the option of free delivery, whereas if you was to sell that online you would have to find a courier think about packaging, damaged goods or returns, refunds- its never ending cycle to compete.
Don't forget we have to pay out for displays, testers, disposables or absorb the cost for a tester, against your profit margins. I personally try to choose ethically sourced products that i know are not animal tested, peta certified and vegan because i know they have had rigorous testing and it minimizes potential reactions that i may have to encounter retailing it.
At the end of the day we only win our retail clients back when they want more out of their products, or had a disaster at home, then its easy to give out professional advice but it can be harder to retail against consumer products due to the marketing conglomerate big corporation money backing. please have a nice moan at this big wig with my pointers!
xoxo