Laurel Tielis

I’ve been thinking a lot about retail shrinkage. Not in the traditional sense, where it refers to employee theft, shoplifting, paperwork errors, and supplier or vendor fraud, but instead about how almost everything in retail is getting smaller.

Lately, small is a big story in retail. We’re seeing downsizing across the board. From department stores to big box stores, the trend in business is contained and convenient, rather than outsized and out there.

The growth of smaller sizes goes beyond retail outlets; it extends to portion sizes in food, packaging fewer items in a container, sizing in apparel, and even the screens we use to make purchases.

Upscale Stores Downsize to Attract More Business

Department store chain Neiman Marcus began opening a line of small outlet stores last fall called Last Call Studio, to take advantage of the aspirational shopper and attract a larger customer base.

Bloomingdale’s is in the process of opening three more outlets, all about one-fifth the size of its regular stores, bringing its total to seven, while parent company Macy’s is deciding whether that’s a strategy it too will follow.

As for Saks, it’s gone big-time with smaller stores.There are now more Saks Off 5th outlets (59) than there are Saks Fifth Avenue stores (46), and five more outlets are scheduled to open.

J.C. Penney’s, on the other hand, is trimming down its business differently. The mid-range chain is eliminating its 19 outlet stores as well as its catalog business.

The World’s Biggest Retailer Trims its Store Size

Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, opened its first drugstore-sized Walmart Express this June, in a Goliath vs. David effort to take on dollar store discounters. It’s also testing the small store concept in urban markets.

As for giant packages, Walmart now sees the value of smaller ones, as cash-starved consumers are purchasing everything–up to and including toilet paper–in more modest amounts.

Bigger Bottoms Translate to Smaller Sizes

It’s a numbers game with clothing sizes. As customers get larger, manufacturers have changed measurements. Vanity sizing is now a standard way of doing business. If you’re curious about how big it is, research shows that a size 14 in the 1930s translates to a size 8 in the 1960s and a size 0 today!

And then there’s portion sizing. It’s smaller as well. From cans of tuna to chocolate bars, prices have remained the same (or increased), but the portion size has become more petite. This is probably a good thing when you think about clothing!

Screens Get Smaller

There’s even a move to smaller sizes in the way customers make purchases, moving from online to mobile. So far, only a small percentage of sales are made that way, but it’s a number that’s bound to increase as retailers make it easier to shop by phone, and customers get more comfortable with the concept.

What are you trimming, eliminating, resizing, or recalculating to  grow your business?

If you want more ideas about bringing in business, I can help. I’ve been a retail reporter at Women’s Wear Daily and Home Furnishings News, a columnist at the Miami Herald and a correspondent at People magazine.

I’ve also handled the marketing and public relations at major corporations and small businesses. Need a speaker or a consultant? Get in touch at ringupmoresales@gmail.com. Or, for easy and effective ways to bring in more business, read Ka-Ching! How to Ring Up More Sales.

Copyright © 2011 Laurel Tielis

Filed under: business, retail Tagged: | marketing, public relations, retail, sales