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Hey Ian

This is exactly what Doug Stephens @retailprophet writes about in his 2021 book Resurrecting Retail. In it he sets out an entire retail archetypal model that includes 10 archetypes applicable to all retail businesses. If you’re interested in retail archetypes you should check out his book!

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Hi Ian,

Interesting points. I have previously worked in retail for a specialist store and would say we were very much 'experts' - the problem that expert stores face is customers who will take all of your knowledge and time and then walk away to buy from a non-specialist/online to save a few £'s.

The challenge for retailers (and some other sectors) is in building loyalty so that a customer is happy to pay extra to buy from a physical store where they can obtain advice and help when needed - and accept that there's a cost attached to that added value.

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