The volume game

In South Korea, it's predominantly a volume game.

Rack 'em, stack 'em and ship 'em.

The approach is more focused on 'giving access to vast choice' than it is about the 'curation of winners'.

As a simple example, there's a retail chain in Seoul by the name of Artbox (they sell everything from stationary to toys to electronics) and one store holds easily, in excess of 300 000 SKUs...easy.

300 000 SKUs? In one shop!

There ain't nobody worrying too much about what's generating the best sell-through in that store...that's for sure.

The strategy is to offer every thing, in every colour and in every type...all of the time.

And by maximising 'linger time' and ensuring that everything is affordably priced...customers spend a lot of time in one store and choose to throw all of the things into a basket to buy; because why not.

Years ago we did some work with an Australian kitchenware retailer and their best performing in-store sales tactic was to make sure that the big scratch bins were easily accessible and prominently positioned at the front of every store.

Chock-a-block with affordable kitchen trinkets the big scratch bins were a huge drawcard and ensured a steady stream of turnover throughout the day. Once something was already in a customer's basket, the stretch to more costly items wasn't as far as before the casual browsing and picking had happened.

Rack 'em, stack 'em and ship 'em.

The volume game is less about optimisation and more about massive range. It's the long tail in physical store format.