The Resilient Retail Game Plan – retail insights, retail trends and best practices
- Episodes
- 329
- Released
- weekly
- Latest episode
- Oct 22, 2026
About the podcast
Welcome to the Resilient Retail Game Plan - giving you retail insights, retail trends updates and best practices for any retailer, from Shopify stores to bricks and mortar units. I'm Catherine Erdly, veteran retail expert and consultant and also founder of The Resilient Retail Club. This is the podcast for anyone wanting to start, grow, or scale a profitable small medium or large product retail business. Aimed at independent retailers, e-commerce brands, indie sellers, online shops, independent boutiques, shopkeepers, brands and makers. I'm dedicated to breaking down the concepts and tools I’ve gathered from twenty years in the retail industry in the UK and USA and showing you how you can use them in your small business.
Episodes 329
Retail Christmas Window Displays: The 3-Colour Rule That Sells
Your shop window is your hardest-working unpaid employee. This Christmas, is it pulling its weight?Hi, I'm retail strategist and founder of Resilient Retail Club, Catherine Erdly.This episode is brought to you …
Show notes
Your shop window is your hardest-working unpaid employee. This Christmas, is it pulling its weight?
Hi, I'm retail strategist and founder of Resilient Retail Club, Catherine Erdly.
This episode is brought to you by our sponsor Capify - business funding made simple. Find out more at capify.com
If you're an independent retailer, you're probably about to put up your Christmas window display, or you've already planned it. But a pretty window isn't the same as one that sells. For most independents, the quickest Christmas win isn't finding more customers. It's each customer spending a little more. So what does a window have to do to make that happen? And what's it doing for you at 10 o'clock at night, when the door is locked and it's been dark for hours?
To find out, I brought back visual merchandiser Sarah Manning. Sarah has worked in visual merchandising for more than 20 years, starting at Harrods, Selfridges and Harvey Nichols, and she has run her own consultancy since 2006. When we spoke she was in the middle of planning Christmas schemes for her own clients, so this is what she's actually doing this season, from a fashion client's window to a food retailer whose shelves are every colour going.
By the end of this episode you'll know how to build one Christmas look that runs from your window to your shelves and your website, and why three colours is the limit. You'll know how to use your window and the area just inside your door to sell a gift rather than a product, so each customer spends more. And you'll know when to put your window in, when to refresh it, and how to keep it selling after you've locked up.
Chapters
00:00 Why your Christmas window matters
02:44 One theme, three colours, window to website
06:50 Sell a gift, not a product
10:51 When to install, refresh and light it
Resources and links
Sarah Manning, Visual Merchandising Consultant: https://visualmerchandisingconsultant.co.uk/
Sarah on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/visualmerchandisingcourses/
The UK prop suppliers Sarah uses: http://www.dzd.co.uk/
The colour trend sites Sarah mentions: WGSN https://www.wgsn.com/ · Coloro https://www.coloro.com/ · Pantone https://www.pantone.com/
Sarah's first episode, on shop windows and the power of the pyramid: https://www.resilientretailclub.com/podcast-episode/retail-window-display-ideas-for-shops-that-turn-browsers-into-buyers/
My free Christmas guide and planner (put your end-of-November refresh in it): https://www.resilientretailclub.com/christmas
Give your windows a Christmas makeover? Tag me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/resilientretailclub/
All episodes of the Resilient Retail Game Plan: https://www.resilientretailclub.com/podcast/
Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/catherineerdly
The Resilient Retail Game Plan shares retail industry trends, insights, and best practices for the retailer who's serious about building something that lasts. New episodes every Thursday morning.
Retail Stores: Do Online Brands Really Need Bricks and Mortar?
It's so easy to shop online. So why would anyone spend their precious time coming to see you in a shop?Hi, I'm retail strategist and founder of Resilient Retail Club, Catherine Erdly.This episode is brought to …
Show notes
It's so easy to shop online. So why would anyone spend their precious time coming to see you in a shop?
Hi, I'm retail strategist and founder of Resilient Retail Club, Catherine Erdly.
This episode is brought to you by our sponsor Capify - business funding made simple. Find out more at capify.com
Last week I asked whether bricks-and-mortar shops need a website. This week I'm turning the question around: do online brands need a physical store? Your customer doesn't think in channels. She finds you on Instagram, pops in on a Saturday, orders another colour on her phone that evening and brings something back the following week. Shopify's research shows 41% of UK shoppers plan to split their shopping evenly between online and in-store, which leaves every online brand with the same awkward question. If the website always wins on convenience, what is a shop actually for? And once you've added up the rent, rates, staff, fit-out and stock, can it ever pay its way?
To find out, I spoke to Dessislava Bell, who co-founded the womenswear brand Saint + Sofia with her husband Malcolm. They sold online only for almost five years and reached more than 800,000 customers around the world before opening their first shop on Monmouth Street in Covent Garden in November 2024. Dessi is the spreadsheet lover in their partnership, so I wanted to know exactly how she judges whether the shop is working. You'll also hear from Sally Hughes Daniels, CEO of the activewear brand TALA, which opened its first shop on Carnaby Street last year, and from Emilie Benoit-Vernay, Shopify's Director of Revenue for EMEA.
By the end of this episode you'll know the jobs a shop can do for an online brand beyond the takings, how to choose the one you want yours to do, and how to find out whether your customers want to meet you before you sign a lease. You'll also hear the one thing that changed how Dessi sees physical retail. And if you already run a shop, stay with me, because what happens when someone walks through Saint + Sofia's door is something you could copy tomorrow.
Chapters
00:00 Why would anyone visit an online brand's shop?
03:06 What a shop can do that a website can't
07:26 Service, community and the social side of shopping
10:48 Does the shop pay its way?
Resources and links
My Forbes article, Why Digital-First Brands Are Moving Into Physical Retail: https://www.forbes.com/sites/catherineerdly/2026/10/02/why-digital-first-brands-are-moving-into-physical-retail/
Episode 323, the other half of this conversation (do bricks-and-mortar stores need a website?): https://www.resilientretailclub.com/podcast-episode/do-bricks-and-mortar-stores-need-a-website/
Saint + Sofia: https://uk.saintandsofia.com/ · TALA: https://www.wearetala.com/
My book, Tame Your Tiger: https://www.resilientretailclub.com/blog/tame-your-tiger-book/
Weighing up a pop-up, a first shop or getting more from the one you've got? Find out about Stock Doctor: https://stockdoctor.net
Come and say hi on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/resilientretailclub/
All episodes of the Resilient Retail Game Plan: https://www.resilientretailclub.com/podcast/
Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/catherineerdly
The Resilient Retail Game Plan shares retail industry trends, insights, and best practices for the retailer who's serious about building something that lasts. New episodes every Thursday morning.
Mentioned in this episode:
Capify
Retail (ecommerce) Websites: Do Bricks-and-Mortar Stores Really Need One?
Everyone says your shop needs a website. So why do nearly two-thirds of independent retailers make less than 10% of their revenue online?Hi, I'm retail strategist and founder of Resilient Retail Club, Catherine …
Show notes
Everyone says your shop needs a website. So why do nearly two-thirds of independent retailers make less than 10% of their revenue online?
Hi, I'm retail strategist and founder of Resilient Retail Club, Catherine Erdly.
This episode is brought to you by our sponsor Capify - business funding made simple. Find out more at capify.com
This is part one of a two-part series, and it takes on one of the least questioned bits of received wisdom in retail: you need a website, full stop, end of sentence. I work with a lot of bricks-and-mortar shops, and I've seen first-hand the blood, sweat and tears that go into keeping a website going alongside a shop floor. The photography, the listings, the stock updates, the SEO, the emails, the orders and the returns, all squeezed in around constant interruptions, usually by a team of three people or fewer.
In this episode I dig into the Voices of Retail 2026 research from Faire and Spring & Autumn Fair, including the number I haven't been able to stop thinking about: 64% of independent retailers make less than 10% of their revenue online, and yet more than half say growing online is one of their top priorities for the next 12 months. Elyse McAvoy from Faire also drops in with a reminder of why your shop matters more than ever: nine in ten shoppers say AI has made them more likely to want to see products in real life. I talk about why having a website and making money from a website are two completely different achievements, the ranking problem that quietly works against anyone who sells other people's brands, and why a shop can look brilliant online from the outside while the numbers underneath tell a very different story.
By the end you'll know how to work out what job your website should really be doing for your shop, the three things I've seen make the biggest difference for independent retailers, and the single biggest missed opportunity I see most shops under-using, one that doesn't rely on winning strangers from the other side of the country. If you've ever felt guilty that your website isn't pulling its weight, or you're wondering whether it's worth the hours at all, this one's for you.
Next week I flip the question: does an e-commerce brand need a bricks-and-mortar presence?
Chapters
00:00 Do bricks-and-mortar stores really need a website?
02:09 The "shop without walls" promise vs the 64% reality
06:57 Why running a website is so hard for independent retailers
09:46 Shop and site as one business: what actually works
Resources mentioned
Voices of Retail 2026 report from Faire and Spring & Autumn Fair: https://www.faire.com/en-gb/blog/for-retailers/voices-of-retail-2026
Episode 304, what the Voices of Retail report really reveals, with Elyse McAvoy from Faire: https://www.resilientretailclub.com/podcast-episode/independent-retailer-trends-2026-voices-of-retail-report/
Episode 321, UK retail sales summer 2026 and what it means for Christmas: https://www.resilientretailclub.com/podcast-episode/uk-retail-sales-summer-2026/
Retail by Design, my six-month mentoring programme for established independent retailers: https://www.resilientretailclub.com/retail-business-mentoring/
All episodes of the Resilient Retail Game Plan: https://www.resilientretailclub.com/podcast/
Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/catherineerdly
The Resilient Retail Game Plan shares retail industry trends, insights, and best practices for the retailer who's serious about building something that lasts. New episodes every Thursday morning.
Mentioned in this episode:
Capify
The Shopping Forecast Podcast - 'Special Listen In' Episode
I just wanted to let you have a quick listen to my other podcast. Fashion brand consultant Elizabeth Stiles (host of The Fashion Brand Clinic) and I teamed up to launch "The Shopping Forecast" which is a …
Show notes
I just wanted to let you have a quick listen to my other podcast. Fashion brand consultant Elizabeth Stiles (host of The Fashion Brand Clinic) and I teamed up to launch "The Shopping Forecast" which is a podcast that proves shopping is about so much more than what’s in your basket.
Each episode we bring the receipts on current consumer trends and the cultural shifts shaping the way we shop, unpacking the psychology behind our purchases and the brands redefining consumer culture.
Whether you love spotting trends before they hit the mainstream or are simply fascinated by why people buy what they buy, The Shopping Forecast is your weekly guide to the sociology of shopping.
Retail Opening Hours: How 8 Independent Shops Decide When to Open
What are the right opening hours for your shop, and what should you actually be using to make that decision?Hi, I'm retail strategist and founder of Resilient Retail Club, Catherine Erdly.This episode is …
Show notes
What are the right opening hours for your shop, and what should you actually be using to make that decision?
Hi, I'm retail strategist and founder of Resilient Retail Club, Catherine Erdly.
This episode is brought to you by our sponsor Capify - business funding made simple. Find out more at capify.com
Earlier this year I visited Jedburgh and Kelso in the Scottish Borders for my A to Z of independent retail, and I made a very London-centric mistake. I went on a Sunday. The cafes were open, the chains were open, and between the two towns I found exactly one independent shop open. When I shared it on Instagram, it started one of the liveliest conversations I've had all year. Should independent shops open on Sundays? Is it worth opening if the footfall isn't there? Do customers now expect you to be open seven days a week?
So rather than tell you what I think, I asked eight independent shopkeepers how they actually decide their opening hours, and their answers couldn't be more different. One owner cut her week from six days to four and saw her sales go up. Another went to seven days a week and has just moved into bigger premises. One closes on Mondays because the whole village does. Another stays open on the afternoon her neighbours shut. You'll hear all of them in their own words, from Peckham to Pembrokeshire and Bantry to Lyme Regis.
By the end of the episode you'll know what to weigh up before you change your hours, why one quiet Tuesday tells you far less than you think, and the one thing all eight shopkeepers agreed on, whatever days they choose to open. If you've ever stood in an empty shop wondering whether it was worth unlocking the door today, or you're deciding what to do over Christmas, this one's for you.
Chapters
00:00 Why I found just one independent shop open on a Sunday
01:51 Consistency, the rhythm of your town and trial and error
06:24 Who covers the hours, and what the numbers actually say
10:26 When the decision goes beyond the numbers
Resources and links
Free Christmas guide and week-by-week planner: https://www.resilientretailclub.com/christmas
Episode 321, Retail Christmas Forecast: What the Summer Numbers Really Tell Us: https://www.resilientretailclub.com/podcast-episode/uk-retail-sales-summer-2026/
Tell me your opening hours on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/resilientretailclub/
All episodes of the Resilient Retail Game Plan: https://www.resilientretailclub.com/podcast/
Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/catherineerdly
Mentioned in this episode:
Capify
Retail Christmas Forecast: What the Summer Numbers Really Tell Us
So how was the summer for retail in general, and more importantly, what does that tell us about what's ahead for Christmas?Hi, I'm retail strategist and founder of Resilient Retail Club, Catherine Erdly.This …
Show notes
So how was the summer for retail in general, and more importantly, what does that tell us about what's ahead for Christmas?
Hi, I'm retail strategist and founder of Resilient Retail Club, Catherine Erdly.
This episode is brought to you by our sponsor Capify - business funding made simple. Find out more at capify.com
Depending on what you read this summer, retail either collapsed or quietly got on with it. You'll have seen headlines about the retail apocalypse sitting next to reports of rising consumer spending, and the frustrating thing is that a lot of those contradictory things can be true at the same time.
So in this episode I go through what the actual numbers say. Retail sales volumes were up. Footfall was down in six of the first seven months of the year. Online hit its highest share of spending since April 2021. Clothing had its strongest month since September 2025, while furniture and computing were left on the shelf. Consumer confidence climbed to a 21-month high, and June's early promotions appear to have pulled demand forward out of July in exactly the way Black Friday pulls it forward out of December.
Put together, that gives us a picture of a customer who hasn't stopped spending at all. They've become selective, occasion-led and comfortable flipping between your website and your shop door depending on the weather and their mood. Which is genuinely encouraging going into Christmas, because Christmas is planned, occasion-led spending. It just means you can't assume that customers spending in general translates into customers spending with you.
I finish with the four things I'd want you to do before November: don't plan for disaster, get your entry and mid price points right, stop relying on footfall alone, and keep enough flexibility in your stock budget to react to what's actually selling.
Chapters
00:00 How was the summer for retail, really?
02:51 What the ONS sales numbers actually showed
05:26 Why footfall fell but spending didn't
07:18 Online's strongest share since 2021
10:00 Small treats, rising confidence and the October budget
12:56 Four things to do before Christmas
Resources and links
Free Christmas guide and week-by-week planner: https://www.resilientretailclub.com/christmas
Episode 316, Retail Christmas Strategy: Why August Decides December: https://www.resilientretailclub.com/podcast-episode/christmas-planning-for-independent-retailers/
All episodes of the Resilient Retail Game Plan: https://www.resilientretailclub.com/podcast/
Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/catherineerdly
The Resilient Retail Game Plan shares retail industry trends, insights, and best practices for the retailer who's serious about building something that lasts. New episodes every Thursday morning.
Mentioned in this episode:
Capify
Retail Christmas Stock Planning: How Much Should You Actually Buy?
Before you place one more Christmas order, stop and ask a different question. Not "how much money have I got left to spend?" but "is my stock actually ready for Christmas, and where are the genuine gaps?" Hi …
Show notes
Before you place one more Christmas order, stop and ask a different question. Not "how much money have I got left to spend?" but "is my stock actually ready for Christmas, and where are the genuine gaps?"
Hi, I'm retail strategist and founder of Resilient Retail Club, Catherine Erdly.
This episode is brought to you by our sponsor Capify - business funding made simple. Find out more at capify.com
I said this was going to be a four-part Get Set for Christmas series, but there's one thing I didn't dig into properly, and it's the thing that quietly decides whether your Christmas is profitable or just busy: the stock itself. The trade shows are done, the catalogues keep landing, the reps keep calling, and every new range looks like the one that's going to make the difference. The temptation to keep buying is enormous, and it's easy to justify because Christmas matters so much.
In this episode I walk you through how to work out whether your stock is ready, and I mean properly ready, by category, not just a list of bestsellers. I show you the check that reveals when something is badly out of line (the one where jewellery is 40% of your sales and 10% of your stock), the question almost everyone forgets to ask about what they want left on 31 December, and the calculation the Stock Doctors run for every client that turns a vague budget into a specific gap to fill. I run the numbers on a worked example so you can see exactly how £6,000 on the shelf, £2,000 on order and a £10,000 sales expectation become a real buying budget.
By the end you'll know how to tell a genuine gap from a gorgeous distraction, how to buy strategically rather than opportunistically, and how to come out of January with cash in the bank instead of a stockroom full of problems. If you've ever bought something because you loved it rather than because your business needed it, this one's for you.
Chapters
00:00 Stop before you buy anything else for Christmas
01:31 Your buying budget isn't a pot of money
02:20 Look at last Christmas by category, not by bestseller
04:45 Sales mix vs stock mix: the 40% / 10% test
06:30 Set a realistic Christmas sales target
07:50 What do you want left on 31 December?
09:55 The balance-back calculation (the £5,000 example)
12:36 The 80/20 rule, and what to do if you have no data
15:04 Nine questions to ask before your next order
Resources mentioned
Free Get Ready for Christmas guide and planner: https://www.resilientretailclub.com/christmas
Stock Doctor, my done-for-you stock management service: https://www.resilientretailclub.com/stock-doctor/
Episode 316: Christmas planning first steps: https://www.resilientretailclub.com/podcast-episode/christmas-planning-for-independent-retailers/
Episode 317: Christmas cash flow planning: https://www.resilientretailclub.com/podcast-episode/retail-cash-flow-planning-for-christmas/
Episode 318: Your Christmas product range: https://www.resilientretailclub.com/podcast-episode/how-to-plan-your-christmas-product-range/
Episode 319: Christmas promotions: https://www.resilientretailclub.com/podcast-episode/christmas-promotion-ideas-for-independent-retailers/
All episodes of the Resilient Retail Game Plan: https://www.resilientretailclub.com/podcast/
Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/catherineerdly
Mentioned in this episode:
Capify
Retail Christmas Promotions: 7 Ways to Drive Sales Without Discounting Everything
If your Christmas promotional strategy is "20% off everything", then you probably haven't got a Christmas promotional strategy.Hi, I'm retail strategist and founder of Resilient Retail Club, Catherine …
Show notes
If your Christmas promotional strategy is "20% off everything", then you probably haven't got a Christmas promotional strategy.
Hi, I'm retail strategist and founder of Resilient Retail Club, Catherine Erdly.
This episode is brought to you by our sponsor Capify - business funding made simple. Find out more at capify.com
This is the final episode in my four-part Get Set for Christmas series, and it tackles the bit most independent retailers leave until a panicked evening in November: the promotions. The fourth quarter has become the noisiest, most discount-driven time of the year, and when every other brand starts shouting about money off, it's very easy to react, slash prices and find yourself at the end of December with a great sales figure and no profit to show for it.
In this episode I walk you through the seven types of promotion available to you, from the most premium to the most distressed, and explain why I think of them as a continuum. Some barely move sales at all but do wonders for your relationship with your customers. Some absolutely will drive sales, but every time you use them they work a little less well and your brand looks a little more worried. I also share the one question you should ask before you run any discount, the mistake I see big high street names making over and over again, and my honest view on whether you need to take part in Black Friday at all.
By the end you'll be able to build a week-by-week promotional calendar for the whole of Q4 that hits your sales goals, delights your customers, looks after your VIPs and leaves your margin intact, so that when the busy months arrive you can focus on selling rather than working out what to say next.
Chapters- 00:00 If your strategy is "20% off everything"
- 01:31 What a promotion really is, and who discounts are actually for
- 05:56 The seven types of promotion, from giveaway to red sale
- 13:55 Your Q4 timeline: what to do in September, October, November and December
Resources and links- Free Christmas guide and week-by-week planner: https://www.resilientretailclub.com/christmas
- Episode 316, Retail Christmas Planning: Why Independent Retailers Should Start in August: https://www.resilientretailclub.com/podcast-episode/christmas-planning-for-independent-retailers/
- Episodes 317 and 318 (cash flow, and your Christmas product range)
- All episodes of the Resilient Retail Game Plan: https://www.resilientretailclub.com/podcast/
- Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/catherineerdly
The Resilient Retail Game Plan shares retail industry trends, insights, and best practices for the retailer who's serious about building something that lasts. New episodes every Thursday morning.
Mentioned in this episode:
Capify
Retail Christmas Range: Stop Trying to Stock Everything
The biggest Christmas mistake I see is not ordering too little. It is trying to stock everything.Hi, I'm retail strategist and founder of Resilient Retail Club, Catherine Erdly.This episode is brought to you by …
Show notes
The biggest Christmas mistake I see is not ordering too little. It is trying to stock everything.
Hi, I'm retail strategist and founder of Resilient Retail Club, Catherine Erdly.
This episode is brought to you by our sponsor Capify - business funding made simple. Find out more at Capify
Every year I watch independent retailers try to turn themselves into a one-stop shop for December. More lines, more categories, more just-in-case. And every year the same thing happens. The money goes out across everything, the shop looks busy, and the sales still land on a small handful of products you could probably have named back in August. It is not about having everything. It is about having the right things. The reason most of us get that wrong is that we plan Christmas as though it were one single, homogeneous block of spending.
It is not. Your customers are not walking in to buy "Christmas". They are on missions, and every one of those missions has its own budget, its own timing and its own deadline. The Secret Santa buyer and the Christmas Eve panic buyer are not the same person, they are not spending the same money, and they will not be in your shop in the same week. In this episode I walk through the buying missions that actually make up December, roughly what each one is worth, and when each one turns up. Once you see them written down, the gaps in your range become uncomfortably obvious.
Then I get to the part that quietly decides your whole December: your hero products. The small group of lines that will carry the majority of your Christmas sales, why identifying them now changes how you market, price and reorder everything else, and why your strongest one probably does not look remotely festive. By the end you will know exactly which lists to make this week, which gaps to fill before the autumn trade shows, and where the room is to try something new without gambling your peak season on it. Press play and I will walk you through it.
CHAPTERS
00:00 The one-stop shop mistake, and what to do instead
01:16 Think like a Christmas shopper: the missions people are actually on
06:11 Hero products: the 20% that will carry your Christmas
08:51 Filling the gaps, and the 20% where you get to have some fun
LINKS
Free Get Set for Christmas planner: https://www.resilientretailclub.com/christmas
All episodes of the Resilient Retail Game Plan: https://www.resilientretailclub.com/podcast/
Catherine on LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/catherineerdly
Parts one and two of this series: episode 316, Christmas Retail Strategy: Why August Decides December, and episode 317, Retail Cash Flow at Christmas: Four Ways to Ease the Squeeze.
Episode 309 with Hannah Bartlett on Christmas trends: https://thechristmasinsider.com/
Find out more about Stock Doctor: https://stockdoctor.net
Say hello on Instagram: @resilientretailclub
Mentioned in this episode:
Capify
Retail Christmas Cash Flow: Four Ways to Ease the Squeeze
Your sales aren't bad. So why does it suddenly feel like there is no money in the bank?Hi, I'm retail strategist and founder of Resilient Retail Club, Catherine Erdly.Every September and October I have the same …
Show notes
Your sales aren't bad. So why does it suddenly feel like there is no money in the bank?
Hi, I'm retail strategist and founder of Resilient Retail Club, Catherine Erdly.
Every September and October I have the same conversation, and it is almost always with someone who is convinced they have done something wrong. You planned Christmas properly. You placed the orders. And now, right on cue, the invoices for all of that stock are landing while the Christmas sales that are supposed to pay for them are still months away. Your VAT, your wages and your rent carry on regardless. That is the Christmas cash flow pinch, and it turns up in the same fortnight every single year.
What I want you to understand is that this is not a mistake you made. It is the shape of a seasonal business. Retail runs on the gap between paying for stock and selling it, and Christmas stretches that gap wider than any other point in the year. It happens at the very top of the industry too. When I worked in big corporate retail we had a standing set of meetings for exactly this problem, with a name I have never forgotten, and the thing we were protecting was not the bank balance you would assume. At Paperchase we took half our year's revenue in the fourth quarter, sometimes more. You do not survive a shape like that on optimism.
So in this episode I take you through four things you can do over the next few weeks to ease the squeeze. Which stock is quietly holding your money to ransom, and how to get it out. How to build a Christmas buying budget so that every pound you spend has a job to do instead of being a hopeful just-in-case. How to reshape your delivery dates and your payment terms so the cash leaves your account later than it otherwise would. And the one thing not to do when the balance looks tight. By the end you will know exactly what to review this week, what to ask your suppliers for, and why September feeling like this is information rather than a verdict. Press play and I'll walk you through it.
CHAPTERS
00:00 The Christmas cash flow pinch (and why it isn't your fault)
05:20 Way one: free the cash trapped in old stock
07:57 Way two: buy with intention, not "just in case"
09:14 Ways three and four: flow your stock in, and don't panic
LINKS
Free Get Set for Christmas planner: https://www.resilientretailclub.com/christmas
Free cash flow planner: https://www.resilientretailclub.com/cashflow
Find out more about Stock Doctor: https://stockdoctor.net
All episodes of the Resilient Retail Game Plan: https://www.resilientretailclub.com/podcast/
Catherine on LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/catherineerdly
Faire (mentioned in this episode): https://www.faire.com
Mentioned in this episode:
Home and Gift Association is our sponsor this month
https://www.homeandgiftassociation.org.uk/
Capify
Retail Christmas Strategy: Why August Decides December
The retailers who have a brilliant Christmas are not the ones working hardest in December.Hi, I'm retail strategist and founder of Resilient Retail Club, Catherine Erdly.It is the middle of August, and I know …
Show notes
The retailers who have a brilliant Christmas are not the ones working hardest in December.
Hi, I'm retail strategist and founder of Resilient Retail Club, Catherine Erdly.
It is the middle of August, and I know that for a lot of you the word "Christmas" right now produces a small internal flinch. But here is the uncomfortable thing about peak season: by the time December arrives, almost every decision that will determine how it goes has already been made. The buying, the sales plan, the staffing, the storage, the marketing calendar. Every one of those is a retail management decision, and every one of them gets made weeks or months earlier, usually in a rush and usually on instinct. The effort you pour in during December is real, but it is spent inside a retail strategy you built in August whether you meant to or not.
In this episode, the first of four I am running across the next month on getting ready for Christmas, I want to talk about where you actually start. Not with this Christmas, but with last one. There is an exercise that every large retail business I have worked in runs religiously, and that almost nobody in indie retail ever does. It takes about half an hour, it uses data you already have, and it will tell you things your memory absolutely will not, because we are all very good at quietly editing out the worst bits of the last peak season. I will walk you through the questions it should answer: which products were really carrying your Christmas, what surprised you, what you were too timid on, and which bits of your small shop marketing genuinely earned their keep and brought you repeat customers.
Then I want to talk about the two things that turn that review into a plan: choosing one clear goal for this Christmas instead of trying to fix everything at once, and being honest about whether your business can physically cope with the Christmas you are hoping for. That second one matters most if you are scaling a retail business, because retail business growth is wonderful right up until the week you cannot fulfil it. Demand you cannot fill is expensive and stressful, and it is far easier to see coming in August than in the last week of November.
By the end of this episode you will know exactly what to sit down with, what to look for, and what to have decided before the next one, where we get into the cash flow to fund it all. Press play, then go and grab the free planner.
CHAPTERS
00:00 Why a great Christmas is decided in August
01:12 The Lessons Learned exercise big retailers never skip
05:37 Choosing your one Christmas goal
07:18 Capacity planning: can your business actually cope?
LINKS
Get Set for Christmas planner (free): https://www.resilientretailclub.com/christmas
All episodes: https://www.resilientretailclub.com/podcast/
Catherine on LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/catherineerdly
Mentioned in this episode:
Capify
Home and Gift Association is our sponsor this month
https://www.homeandgiftassociation.org.uk/
Retail Profit: Sales Down 23%, Profit Up 22%
One of my clients finished the month with sales down 23% on the year — and profit up 22% in that very same month.Hi, I'm retail strategist and founder of Resilient Retail Club, Catherine Erdly.There's an old …
Show notes
One of my clients finished the month with sales down 23% on the year — and profit up 22% in that very same month.
Hi, I'm retail strategist and founder of Resilient Retail Club, Catherine Erdly.
There's an old business adage I wheel out more often than I probably should: turnover is vanity, profit is sanity, and cash is reality. Most of us know the phrase. Far fewer of us have ever been shown what it actually looks like inside a real independent retail business, month by month.
That gap matters, because almost everything we are taught to celebrate — a big sales month, a record week, e-commerce growth — sits squarely on the vanity side of that sentence.
In this episode I dig into what a healthy-looking top line can quietly hide. How much are you actually paying for those sales? What did the stock behind them cost, and what are you still sitting on unsold?
I share the story of a retailer whose online sales grew enormously and who became less profitable as a result, and another whose order numbers fell while the business underneath got noticeably healthier. If you have ever had a month that looked wonderful on paper and felt awful in the bank, you already know the gap I am describing.
I also get into the part almost nobody looks at until it starts to hurt: the cash locked up in your stockroom, and the one number that tells you whether your stock is working for you or quietly working against you.
By the end of this episode you will know exactly which three numbers to check every single month, why the margin you set on the way in and the margin you actually achieve on the way out are two completely different things, and what it really takes to finish a year holding less stock and more money.
Press play to hear how.
CHAPTERS
00:10 Sales down 23%, profit up 22% — the month that shouldn't add up
02:18 What a big top line quietly hides
06:39 In margin vs out margin — where the profit actually came from
15:13 Cash is reality — the client now holding £900,000 less stock
LINKS
Find out more about Stock Doctor and apply: https://stockdoctor.net
Connect with Catherine on LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/catherineerdly
All episodes of the Resilient Retail Game Plan: https://www.resilientretailclub.com/podcast/
Catherine's book, Tame Your Tiger: How to Stop Your Product Business Eating You Alive
Mentioned in this episode:
Home and Gift Association is our sponsor this month
https://www.homeandgiftassociation.org.uk/
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Retail Sales Are Vanity. Retail Profit Is Sanity
A retailer I once worked with was selling children's clothes by the hundred. When we finally costed everything properly, she was making about 50 pence an item.Hi, I'm retail strategist and founder of Resilient …
Show notes
A retailer I once worked with was selling children's clothes by the hundred. When we finally costed everything properly, she was making about 50 pence an item.
Hi, I'm retail strategist and founder of Resilient Retail Club, Catherine Erdly.
Most of us build a product business the sensible way round — get trading first, worry about the back end later. And that is the right instinct at the start. But somewhere along the way the sales data ends up living in Shopify, the stock data lives somewhere else entirely, the costs live in your accountant's software, and when you finally put the three side by side, none of them agree. This week I'm joined by Stacey Dorrian, who I've known since we were the two senior merchandisers at Coast, and who has spent 25 years since then working in retail data. We talk about what actually happens inside a growing product business that has never built any structure underneath its numbers.
We get into the questions most retailers never stop to ask. Are you recording your cost of goods anywhere at all? Is your best seller genuinely your best seller, or just your busiest product with the margin quietly stripped out of it? Are you staffing, stocking and reordering a corner of your business that isn't earning its place on the floor? And if you're carrying eight, ten, thirteen thousand lines, how would you ever know? Stacey explains why a sales report only ever answers one of the four questions your data is capable of answering — and why the other three are where the money actually is.
I also share the moment that retailer realised she had never had a sales problem at all, and Stacey walks through exactly where she would start if your numbers are currently a mess and the whole thing feels too big to open. By the end you'll understand why gut decisions get more expensive the bigger your order quantities get, what "sales is vanity, profit is sanity" really costs you in practice rather than as a slogan, and the three things to fix, in the order to fix them. Press play to find out where to begin.
CHAPTERS
00:00 The signals your shop is missing
04:40 The four questions your numbers can answer
06:15 Sales is vanity — the costs nobody records
12:02 Where to start if your numbers are a mess
LINKS
Apply for Stock Doctor: stockdoctor.net
All episodes: https://www.resilientretailclub.com/podcast/
Catherine on LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/catherineerdly
LSE Data Analytics Career Accelerator (mentioned in the episode): lse.ac.uk
Mentioned in this episode:
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Ghost stores, fake shops and what they mean for real independent retailers
"It's with a heavy heart that we share this message with you." A little boutique closing its doors after years of love and care, one final sale, the owners off to enjoy being grandparents. Except the shop never …
Show notes
"It's with a heavy heart that we share this message with you." A little boutique closing its doors after years of love and care, one final sale, the owners off to enjoy being grandparents. Except the shop never existed."Hi, I'm retail strategist and founder of Resilient Retail Club, Catherine Erdly.
I started this episode pulling on one thread — a closing down sale that didn't add up — and ended up somewhere I wasn't expecting. The photo of the owners had the smooth, too-perfect look of an AI image. The listing named a local town, but the shipping notes said the orders ship from a warehouse thousands of miles away. And it turned out I hadn't found one fake shop. I'd found an entire business model: set up, run a huge "closing down" sale, collect the money, wait for the bad reviews to pile up, disappear, start again. Chris Emmins of consumer protection organisation KwikChex tells me there are thousands and thousands of them, and that even the people whose job it is to count them can't keep up.
Here's the part that should worry every independent retailer. The standard advice given to shoppers is to be wary of a company they've never heard of — which is a fairly accurate description of almost every small business in the country. Research from Bazaarvoice, which I dig into with their CMO Doug Straton, found that 97% of shoppers no longer buy from a single source. They're cross-checking your website against Instagram, Reddit, TikTok, your reviews and a quick Google before they'll spend anything with you. That isn't paranoia, it's adaptation. So when someone sees your ad, they go looking. The only question that matters is what they find when they get there.
In this episode I look at what a genuinely sceptical customer is hunting for, what a fast-growing brand like Passenger does that most independents don't, and the shift that caught me off guard: the trust signals you build aren't only being read by people any more. AI models and shopping agents are reading them too, and deciding whether to put you in front of a customer at all. By the end you'll know what to check on your own website this week, which signals carry the most weight, and why the one thing that makes you almost impossible to fake is something you already have — you're just not showing it. Press play and I'll walk you through it.
Chapters- 00:00 — The closing down sale that never happened
- 02:28 — Inside the ghost store business model, with Chris Emmins of KwikChex
- 04:50 — The 97% rule, and the question customers now ask you
- 08:15 — What a fast-growing brand does differently, and why AI is reading your trust signals too
Links and resources- Resilient Retail Club podcast: https://www.resilientretailclub.com/podcast/
- Catherine on LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/catherineerdly
- Catherine's Forbes piece on this investigation: https://www.forbes.com/sites/catherineerdly/2026/06/26/how-fake-online-stores-are-damaging-legitimate-retailers/
- KwikChex: https://www.kwikchex.com
- Bazaarvoice: https://www.bazaarvoice.com
- Passenger: https://www.passenger-clothing.com
- Which? investigation into bogus boutiques: https://www.which.co.uk/news/article/the-bogus-boutiques-ripping-off-shoppers-aqruM5i1zJLH
- Say hello on Instagram: @resilientretailclub
Mentioned in this episode:
Home and Gift Association is our sponsor this month
https://www.homeandgiftassociation.org.uk/
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The Retail Stock Mistake Even Veteran Retailers Make
I’ve had retailers with 18 years in business tell me the same thing after just a few months working with us — and it isn’t what you’d expect.Hi, I’m retail strategist and founder of Resilient Retail Club …
Show notes
I’ve had retailers with 18 years in business tell me the same thing after just a few months working with us — and it isn’t what you’d expect.
Hi, I’m retail strategist and founder of Resilient Retail Club, Catherine Erdly.
Most of us are convinced we’re on top of our numbers. Shopify pings with every sale, we know our best sellers by heart, and we watch the sales roll in. But in this episode I dig into the uncomfortable gap between looking at your numbers and actually understanding what they’re telling you to do next — the difference that quietly decides whether your stock is working for you or slowly working against you.
I walk through the questions most retailers never stop to ask. Is your best seller selling fast enough, or should you be buying twice as many? Are you carrying twice the stock you actually need? Is one category — or even one supplier — secretly funding your whole business, or quietly trapping your cash? If you’ve ever felt like you’re “all over your numbers” but still can’t confidently answer what to buy, what to clear, or what to plan for next, this one is for you.
I also share the shift that’s helping retailers get more sales from less stock, free up cash they didn’t know was trapped, and walk into their busiest months without panic-buying — plus how to tell whether you need a Stock Doctor, an accountant, or both. By the end, you’ll know exactly why collecting data isn’t the same as making decisions, and what to do about it. Press play to hear how.
In this episode00:00: The confession every experienced retailer makes
02:36: Rear-view mirror vs sat nav: how to actually read your numbers
04:53: What we look for when we analyse your stock
07:52: Stock Doctor vs your accountant — and who this is really for
Useful links- Find out more about Stock Doctor: https://stockdoctor.net
- Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/catherineerdly
- More episodes & resources: https://www.resilientretailclub.com/podcast/
Mentioned in this episode:
Home and Gift Association is our sponsor this month
https://www.homeandgiftassociation.org.uk/
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The 4-Step Sales Strategy Every Independent Retailer Needs
Sales are quiet, and you've already decided it's your fault. It isn't.Hi, I'm retail strategist and founder of Resilient Retail Club, Catherine Erdly.Every retailer I have ever worked with has quiet weeks — …
Show notes
Sales are quiet, and you've already decided it's your fault. It isn't.
Hi, I'm retail strategist and founder of Resilient Retail Club, Catherine Erdly.
Every retailer I have ever worked with has quiet weeks — including the multi-billion businesses. The only real difference is that they have enough stores and enough channels for the inconsistency to smooth itself out. When it's just you, one shop, one website, a couple of marketplaces, there is nothing to smooth it out. So a slow Tuesday doesn't feel like a slow Tuesday. It feels like evidence. Evidence that people have stopped buying, that your marketing has stopped working, that you have somehow lost your touch.
This is the single biggest confidence killer in independent retail, and it has almost nothing to do with your products. It's what happens when you run a business without a plan: a good week means you've cracked it, a bad week means it's all falling apart, and you spend the year strapped into an emotional rollercoaster you never bought a ticket for. Most retailers respond by either setting wildly optimistic goals with no route to hitting them, or quietly setting no goals at all because a missed target feels worse than no target. Neither works. And neither tells you what to actually do on the Monday after a bad week.
In this episode I walk you through the four-step sales strategy I've used with hundreds of retailers to get out of that cycle for good. It won't make your quiet periods vanish — nothing will, and anyone selling you that is lying. What it will do is tell you which quiet periods were always going to be quiet, which ones actually need your attention, and precisely what to do about them. By the end you'll know how to set a number that feels exciting rather than terrifying, how to see the rhythm your business has been running to all along, and how to build the one document that means you never again stare at a bad week and think "maybe I'm just terrible at this." It takes about ninety minutes to build. Press play and I'll show you where to start.
In this episode(00:00) Why your sales feel random — and why it isn't you
Why every retailer, from a one-woman shop to a billion-pound chain, has quiet days and busy days — and why only one of them feels it. The confidence cost of an unplanned year, and what a sales strategy honestly can and cannot fix.
(01:57) Step 1 — Set a sales goal you'll actually aim at
The archery question that exposes how most retailers approach sales, why a target isn't there to make you feel bad, and the last-12-months-plus-run-rate calculation that gets you a realistic number in minutes rather than weeks.
(05:05) Steps 2 & 3 — Monthly targets by channel, and your trading calendar
Breaking a yearly number down by month and by channel, the hidden benefit that reveals the rhythm of your business (and why February is not a personal failing), then building the trading calendar that bridges your sales plan and your marketing — including what to do when a month has no reason for anyone to buy.
(11:50) Step 4 — Track what matters, and why future you will thank you
Why the answer isn't another analytics tool, the four things worth tracking weekly, the four worth tracking monthly, and the one-line note that will save you an hour of confusion this time next year.
Free download for this episodeGrab my free guide to creating a sales strategy for your business: resilientretailclub.com/strategy
Useful links- Free sales strategy guide — https://www.resilientretailclub.com/strategy
- The Resilient Retail Club — https://www.resilientretailclub.com
- All podcast episodes — https://www.resilientretailclub.com/podcast/
- Connect with me on LinkedIn — https://uk.linkedin.com/in/catherineerdly
- Watch on YouTube — https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwFwdhK_WMJvXntxKLZj83Inz1fFNAN2P
New episodes every Thursday. If this one was useful, following the show is the single most helpful thing you can do — it's how other independent retailers find it.
Mentioned in this episode:
Home and Gift Association is our sponsor this month
https://www.homeandgiftassociation.org.uk/
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Drowning in Data? The Only 3 Retail Numbers That Matter
Have you ever opened your Shopify dashboard looking for one answer and somehow ended up with ten new questions?Hi, I'm retail strategist and founder of Resilient Retail Club, Catherine Erdly.Most retailers I …
Show notes
Have you ever opened your Shopify dashboard looking for one answer and somehow ended up with ten new questions?
Hi, I'm retail strategist and founder of Resilient Retail Club, Catherine Erdly.
Most retailers I work with don't have a lack-of-data problem — they have the opposite. They're drowning in dashboards, apps, reports, spreadsheets and AI notifications, yet they still can't confidently answer the three questions that actually matter: Am I making money? Am I on track? Is my stock healthy? More information hasn't made the decision easier. If anything, it's made it harder.
In this episode I talk about cutting through the noise. I share why “tech creep” quietly drains your bank account and your attention, how new AI tools like Shopify Sidekick are changing the reporting game, and why the answer to feeling overwhelmed is almost never another subscription. Then I get into the small handful of numbers that genuinely tell you whether your business is healthy — and why clarity beats complexity every single time.
If you've been feeling unsure about how things are really going in your shop, this one will help you stop guessing. By the end you'll know exactly which three numbers to check each month, what “good” looks like for each, and how to build one simple place to track them so you can see the health of your business in seconds — without drowning in data. The specific numbers, the benchmarks and the exact formula I use are all inside the episode.
In this episode(00:00) Drowning in data, starving for clarity — why more tools won't fix it, and how to cut tech creep
(06:45) Number 1 — Am I making money on every sale? Understanding your sales margin
(11:02) Number 2 — Am I selling enough to cover my costs? The power of breakeven analysis
(14:40) Number 3 — Is my stock turning fast enough? Weeks cover and why stock is cash
Links & resources- Free download — The 3 Key Numbers guide: https://www.resilientretailclub.com/numbers
- My book, Tame Your Tiger: How to Stop Your Product Business Eating You Alive — where I show you how to calculate your breakeven step by step
- Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/catherineerdly
- More episodes & the audio podcast: https://www.resilientretailclub.com/podcast/
Mentioned in this episode:
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Independent Retailer Trends 2026: Plan Christmas Now
The shoppers who start researching Christmas earliest are also the ones who spend the most — and most retailers are invisible during exactly that window.Hi, I'm retail strategist and founder of Resilient Retail …
Show notes
The shoppers who start researching Christmas earliest are also the ones who spend the most — and most retailers are invisible during exactly that window.
Hi, I'm retail strategist and founder of Resilient Retail Club, Catherine Erdly.
If you think July is far too early to be thinking about Christmas, this episode will change your mind. I sat down with Hannah Bartlett — founder of Jolly Festive and The Christmas Insider — to unpack why the shoppers who start researching Christmas earliest are also the ones who go on to spend the most, and why that completely changes how you should be building towards your peak season.
Here's the trap most independent retailers fall into: they treat the research window and the purchase window as the same job. Right now, around 60% of shoppers are quietly building their Christmas shortlists — and holding off on actually buying until November. If you only show up when people are ready to pay, you've already missed the moment that decides where their money goes. That window is your opportunity, not your problem — but only if you know how to be in it.
Hannah has distilled her forecasting into six emotional needs and four distinct aesthetic directions for Christmas 2026. In this episode she shares the framework for choosing the one that's right for YOUR business — not just whatever the big retailers are doing. Press play and you'll walk away knowing how to show up in your customers' research phase, how to plan your stock and marketing around emotional connection rather than discounting, and how to set yourself up for your most profitable fourth quarter yet.
Chapters00:00 — Why the earliest Christmas shoppers spend the most
03:33 — The six emotional needs shaping Christmas 2026
08:02 — The four aesthetic directions to plan around
13:44 — How to choose your direction and bring it to life
Links & resources- Connect with me on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/catherineerdly
- More from Resilient Retail Club — podcast page: resilientretailclub.com/podcast
- Hannah Bartlett — The Christmas Insider: thechristmasinsider.com
- Discover independent brands to stock on Faire: faire.com
- Plan a profitable Q4 with Stock Doctor: stockdoctor.net
Mentioned in this episode:
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Retail Planning 2026: Why a Mid-Year Check-In Beats Starting Over in January
We're coming up fast on the halfway point of the year — and if that fills you with dread, don't panic. Here's the good news: a midyear review beats a New Year's resolution every time, because right now you're …
Show notes
We're coming up fast on the halfway point of the year — and if that fills you with dread, don't panic. Here's the good news: a midyear review beats a New Year's resolution every time, because right now you're not working from a theory about how the year might go. You have six months of real data. This episode is how you use it.
Oh, and the episode comes with a free download - https://www.resilientretailclub.com/recap
(Our sponsor Faire are offering 50% off and free shipping on first orders until July 31st. Simply add the code "Resilient50" at checkout)
Hi, I'm retail strategist and founder of Resilient Retail Club, Catherine Erdly. And in this episode of the Resilient Retail Game Plan, I'm walking you through the exact process I've used with members, course students, and clients over and over again: look back honestly at the first half of the year, then use what you find to spring-board into a stronger second half.
The key word is honestly — without blame, without self-recrimination, and without brushing past everything you've actually achieved.
We start with the numbers: your total sales versus plan, your best sellers by value, units and profit, and a "dead weight audit" of what hasn't moved.
But the real value isn't the figures themselves — it's asking why they happened, because knowing why you succeeded is as useful as the number itself.
From there we look at conversion rate, average order value, your sales channels, a social-media audit, and a relationship audit of the suppliers, stockists, and couriers you depend on.
Then we get subjective — and I make no apology for it.
We celebrate your wins out loud, run a start / stop / continue on the first half, and use a 20-minute SWOT analysis as an emotional clearing exercise to get the 3am worries out of your head and onto paper.
Finally, we refocus.
If midyear admin usually fills you with dread, this is the episode that turns it into momentum.
There's a free downloadable workbook to do it alongside me.
Chapter Timestamps
- 00:00 — Why a midyear recap beats January 1st: you have real data now
- 01:33 — Revisiting the goals you set in January (without the self-blame)
- 03:40 — The numbers that matter — and why you should ask why they happened
- 06:10 — Best sellers: value, units, and profit
- 08:06 — The dead weight audit: stuck stock and disappointing lines
- 09:33 — Conversion rate and average order value
- 10:28 — Sales channels: are you investing where it's actually working?
- 11:20 — The social media and relationship audits
- 13:17 — What worked, what didn't, and start / stop / continue
- 16:29 — How the business feels: SWOT and the 20-year interview
- 19:31 — Refocusing for half two: set your number and key dates
- 21:41 — Your homework
Useful Links
- Free midyear recap workbook: https://www.resilientretailclub.com/recap
- Resilient Retail Club podcast: https://www.resilientretailclub.com/podcast/
- Catherine on LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/catherineerdly
Mentioned in this episode:
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Home and Gift Association is our sponsor this month
https://www.homeandgiftassociation.org.uk/
How AI Agents Are Changing Retail Stores (Retail Industry Trends 2026)
Right now, as you read this, an AI chatbot is running a real retail store in San Francisco — managing the product selection, deciding what to stock, and curating a customer experience. It sounds like science …
Show notes
Right now, as you read this, an AI chatbot is running a real retail store in San Francisco — managing the product selection, deciding what to stock, and curating a customer experience. It sounds like science fiction. It is already open for business. And it is just one signal of how fast the rules of retail discovery are changing.
(Our sponsor Faire are offering 50% off and free shipping on first orders until July 31st. Simply add the code "Resilient50" at checkout)
Hi, I'm retail strategist and founder of Resilient Retail Club, Catherine Erdly. And in this episode of the Resilient Retail Game Plan, I'm exploring one of the biggest shifts I've seen in how customers discover products: agentic AI. This is AI that doesn't just respond to questions — it researches, compares, recommends, and in some cases, actually completes the purchase. For independent retailers and product businesses with an online presence, this changes the rules. The question is no longer just how do you rank on Google — it's how do you become the answer when an AI agent is asked to find the best product for a specific need.
I dig into what agentic AI actually means, how people are already using it to shop, and what that means for the way you present your products online. I share research from the OECD, insights from Andrew Bialecki at Klaviyo, the work of retail expert Jackie Swanson, and a fascinating case study in the form of Andon Market — a real shop in San Francisco that is being managed end-to-end by an AI chatbot called Luna, which was given a three-year lease and told to make a profit.
If you're an independent retailer or product business owner with an e-commerce presence, this episode is essential listening. The shift is already happening. Understanding it now means you can take simple, practical steps to make sure your products are visible in the new discovery landscape — before your competitors even realise the rules have changed.
Chapter Timestamps
00:00 — Are robots taking over shopping? And what agentic AI actually is
02:05 — AI at both ends: retailers using AI and shoppers using AI — the data
04:50 — Luna and Andon Market: the AI chatbot running a real retail store
07:00 — Agent-to-agent commerce: Andrew Bialecki on what retailers need to prepare for
09:30 — What to actually do: getting your data right for AI discovery
11:25 — How customer search behaviour is changing and what it means for your product pages
13:45 — The three things to start with: titles, key info, and natural language
14:48 — The philosophical question: are we handing over too much to AI?
Useful Links
Resilient Retail Club podcast: https://www.resilientretailclub.com/podcast/
Catherine on LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/catherineerdly
Mentioned in this episode:
Home and Gift Association is our sponsor this month
https://www.homeandgiftassociation.org.uk/
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How retailers can build demand on TikTok
What would it mean for your retail business if — right now, at this very moment — three thousand creators were actively requesting samples to promote your brand? That's not a fantasy for Luke Arnall-Cameron …
Show notes
What would it mean for your retail business if — right now, at this very moment — three thousand creators were actively requesting samples to promote your brand? That's not a fantasy for Luke Arnall-Cameron, founder of YASS CLEAN. It's Tuesday. That's just how his business works.
Hi, I'm retail strategist and founder of Resilient Retail Club, Catherine Erdly.
This episode is brought to you by Faire. As you will hear in the actual show, they're offering 50% off and free shipping against your first order. Use the code "Resilient50"
In this episode, I sit down with Luke Arnall-Cameron — a former John Lewis graduate buyer and marketing director turned TikTok creator and brand founder — to unpick one of the most significant shifts happening in retail right now: discovery commerce. TikTok Shop has fundamentally changed how products reach consumers. Instead of paying for ads, brands are now building creator networks — and the smartest ones are doing it in a way that mirrors exactly what every good retailer already knows about range building, customer loyalty, and repeat purchase.
Luke launched YAS CLEAN in November 2024. His first livestream generated £70,000. Within his first year he fulfilled over 650,000 orders across six countries, sold 10,000 bottles of one product in seven days, and achieved 45% repeat customer rates in December — for a cleaning brand, in the hardest trading month of the year. He also won TikTok's Breakout Seller of the Year Award.
But what makes this conversation genuinely useful for any product business owner isn't the headline numbers. It's the retail logic behind every decision he made — why virality isn't a strategy, how to think about product range in a world driven by social selling, and what discovery commerce means for anyone selling physical products. If you want to understand whether TikTok Shop belongs in your channel mix, this episode is for you.
Chapter Timestamps- 00:00 — The hook: 3,000 creators waiting to promote one product
- 01:26 — Luke's retail career: From John Lewis buyer to TikTok creator
- 04:12 — YAS CLEAN launch: £70K first livestream and 650,000 orders in year one
- 10:02 — Building a product range vs chasing viral moments
- 15:45 — Discovery commerce explained: How TikTok Shop's creator model works
- 19:34 — Live shopping as real-time customer feedback
Useful LinksYAS CLEAN on TikTok: @yasclean
Get 50% off and free shipping with Faire - https://fairewholesaleinc.sjv.io/APj4ax
Resilient Retail Club: www.resilientretailclub.com/podcast/
Catherine on LinkedIn: uk.linkedin.com/in/catherineerdly
Mentioned in this episode:
Home and Gift Association is our sponsor this month
https://www.homeandgiftassociation.org.uk/
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Retail Trends 2026: How Independent Retailers Should Use Generative AI
AI is everywhere in retail right now — but are you actually using it in a way that's helping your business grow, or could it quietly be working against you?This episode is brought you by Faire who are offering …
Show notes
AI is everywhere in retail right now — but are you actually using it in a way that's helping your business grow, or could it quietly be working against you?
This episode is brought you by Faire who are offering 50% off and free shipping against new orders. Use the code "Resilient50" at checkout.
This episode also features a free downloadable resource. Go to http://resilientretailclub.com/ai to claim it.
Hi, I'm retail strategist and founder of Resilient Retail Club, Catherine Erdly. And in this episode of the Resilient Retail Game Plan, I'm sharing the honest picture of how independent retailers are actually using generative AI in 2026.
According to government data, just 16% of UK businesses are formally using AI — yet surveys suggest up to 80% of SME decision-makers have tried it in some form. The reality? Most people are using it to write emails faster, draft product descriptions, handle awkward customer messages, and generate ideas. And that's where it genuinely shines.
But there are pitfalls too. I'm talking through the messy data problem that makes AI-powered sales analysis fall flat, the real concerns around AI imagery and brand trust, what I think went badly wrong with AI content (including something from my own business that I'm still mortified by), and why leaning on AI for big decisions might be giving you confidence you haven't earned.
If you want to use AI smarter — and stay distinctly, unmistakably you — this episode is for you.
In this episode:
• How retailers are really using AI in 2026 — the stats and the reality
• Product pages, agentic AI, and why clarity beats fluff
• The messy data problem and what to fix first
• AI customer service: the triage approach that works
• AI imagery — the jury's still out, and here's why
• What NOT to use AI for (including fully AI-written content)
• The voice note / brain dump method that keeps your content sounding like you
• The confirmation bias problem with using AI for decisions
CHAPTERS:
00:01:25 How Retailers Are Using AI Right Now
00:07:32 Customer Service, Data & AI Imagery
00:13:43 What Not to Use AI For — and the Voice Note Method
Connect with Catherine:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/catherineerdly/
Podcast: resilientretailclub.com/podcast
Mentioned in this episode:
Home and Gift Association is our sponsor this month
https://www.homeandgiftassociation.org.uk/
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Retail Outlook 2026: Why 71% of Independent Retailers Are Growing - And How to Join Them
71% of independent retailers in the UK are growing or stable. And 9 in 10 shoppers say AI has made them MORE likely to trust your shop over an algorithm. Here is what the data actually says.(Our sponsor Faire …
Show notes
71% of independent retailers in the UK are growing or stable. And 9 in 10 shoppers say AI has made them MORE likely to trust your shop over an algorithm. Here is what the data actually says.
(Our sponsor Faire are offering 50% off and free shipping on first orders until July 31st. Simply add the code "Resilient50" at checkout)
Hi, I'm retail strategist and founder of Resilient Retail Club, Catherine Erdly.
Are you tired of reading headlines that make it sound like independent retail is finished? The noise about AI, empty high streets, and big-box competition can feel genuinely frightening if you are running a small business. But what if the data tells a completely different story — and what if that story is one you desperately needed to hear?
In this episode, I sit down with Elyse McAvoy from Faire to unpack the Voices of Retail report — a landmark piece of research that surveyed 650 independent retailers and over 2,000 UK consumers. It is the first time a report of this kind has merged the retailer perspective and the consumer perspective into one honest picture of what is actually happening on Britain's high streets. And the findings will surprise you.
Once you listen, you will leave with a clear understanding of what is separating retailers who are growing from those who are struggling, a completely new perspective on AI and your business, and three specific actions you can take this month. If you have been feeling uncertain about whether your shop has a future, this is the episode that will give you the data — and the confidence — to move forward.
CHAPTERS
00:00 — Introduction: Why This Report Matters for Every Independent Retailer
02:30 — Key Findings: AI, the 71% Statistic and the Branding Gap
07:13 — Consumer Spending Power: What Shoppers Are Ready to Spend With You
10:28 — What to Do Now: Three Practical Actions to Take This Month
USEFUL LINKS
📥 Download the Voices of Retail report free from the Spring Fair website — link in show notes
🛒 Explore Faire as a wholesale marketplace: faire.com
🎙 More episodes: resilientretailclub.com/podcast
🔗 Connect with Catherine: linkedin.com/in/catherineerdly
Mentioned in this episode:
Capify
Retail Time Management: Stop Juggling Everything and Finally Get Ahead!
Do you ever feel like you're doing everything right, yet somehow still falling behind?If you run an independent retail business, you are not imagining things. Between buying stock, managing your team, keeping …
Show notes
Do you ever feel like you're doing everything right, yet somehow still falling behind?
If you run an independent retail business, you are not imagining things. Between buying stock, managing your team, keeping up with your marketing, handling customer service, and everything else that lands on your desk — the sheer volume of what your job involves would overwhelm anyone.
This is not a time management failure. It is simply the reality of running a retail business single-handedly.
But there is a question underneath all of this that most retailers never stop to ask, and it is the one that changes everything.
Hi, I'm retail strategist and founder of Resilient Retail Club, Catherine Erdly. And in this episode of the Resilient Retail Game Plan, I'm unpacking the framework I use with my one-to-one clients in my Retail by Design programme — a step-by-step approach to understanding how you're really spending your time, building a structure that actually works, and protecting the focused work hours that move your business forward.
If you have been telling yourself for months that you will start that project "when things slow down" — this episode is for you. I work with clients who have just two hours a day after the kids are in bed, and clients who get one day a week away from the shop floor. The system I'm sharing works at every capacity level. Listen to the end to discover a clear, practical path out of the overwhelm — and toward a calmer, more intentional, and ultimately more profitable week.
Listener Benefits (What You'll Discover)
- Why most independent retailers have less time than they think — and why that's actually the start of something useful
- The exact time-tracking method that reveals where your hours are really going (with a free tool recommendation)
- How to build a weekly structure around your BAU tasks so you're not starting from scratch every Monday
- Why being "always available" is silently costing you hours every week — and the simple boundaries that fix it
📍 Ready to reclaim your time? Free resources:
resilientretailclub.com/juggle
Chapter Timestamps
00:00 – Introduction: Why Independent Retailers Are Always Falling Behind
02:34 – Steps 1 & 2: How to Track Your Time and Understand What's Really Happening
06:10 – Steps 3 & 4: Building Your Weekly Structure and Batching Your Tasks
12:35 – Steps 5 & 6: Quarterly Planning, Decision Fatigue, and Knowing When to Let Go
Links & Resources
🔗 Free time management resources: resilientretailclub.com/juggle
🔗 The Resilient Retail Club: resilientretailclub.com
📱 Toggl (free time-tracking app): toggl.com
🎙️ Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube — new episodes every Thursday
Mentioned in this episode:
Capify
Home and Gift Association is our sponsor this month
https://www.homeandgiftassociation.org.uk/
Retail Stock Ordering: Two questions every product business must answer
"How much should I order?" sounds like one question. It's actually two — and most product business owners only ever answer one of them.(This episode features a free download resource at …
Show notes
"How much should I order?" sounds like one question. It's actually two — and most product business owners only ever answer one of them.
(This episode features a free download resource at http://resilientretailclub.com/order)
Hi, I'm retail strategist and founder of Resilient Retail Club, Catherine Erdly.
In this episode, I'm breaking down the critical difference between product-level stock ordering (the tactical "how many of this line") and business-level stock planning (the strategic "what can I afford overall"). Drawing on my time as a buyer at Paperchase and the frameworks in my book Tame Your Tiger, I'll explain why forecasting apps, Shopify Sidekick, ChatGPT and Claude can all give you the right answer to the wrong question — and how that slowly turns a healthy business into a cash-hungry "tiger".
In this episode:
- Why most stock forecasting tools assume you have unlimited cash
- The simple reorder calculation that still matters
- What "the tail" is
- Three better questions to ask before you place a single order
- The supermarket scanner analogy that makes stock budgeting click
If you're constantly reordering but never feel on top of your stock, pause and plan with this one.
🐅 Tame Your Tiger — my book on stock, cash flow and building a calmer product business
💬 Come and say hi on Instagram: @resilientretailclub
Prefer to watch podcasts? Here's mine - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwFwdhK_WMJvXntxKLZj83Inz1fFNAN2P
Mentioned in this episode:
Home and Gift Association is our sponsor this month
https://www.homeandgiftassociation.org.uk/
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Retail insights around the "Invisible Ceiling": Why Your Shop Has Stalled
You’ve opened your shop. You’re selling. You have loyal customers. And yet something feels stuck... (this episode features a free download resource at http://resilientretailclub.com/systemsYour sales are …
Show notes
You’ve opened your shop. You’re selling. You have loyal customers. And yet something feels stuck... (this episode features a free download resource at http://resilientretailclub.com/systems
Your sales are inconsistent, stock builds up or runs out, cash feels tight even on the good weeks.
Hi, I'm retail strategist and founder of Resilient Retail Club, Catherine Erdly.
In this episode, I'm naming the “invisible ceiling” independent retailers hit when they move from opening a shop to running a proper retail business — and explain exactly what structure the next level needs.
Drawing on my recent road trip through Devon, Cornwall and Dorset, and nearly 20 years inside seven-, eight-, nine- and ten-figure retail chains, I'll talk you through the systems that separate hobby shops from real businesses: sales plans, stock plans, trading calendars, cash flow visibility, team roles and SOPs.
If you’ve ever wondered “is there more to this?” — this episode is your answer.
In this episode:
- Why so many independent retailers start their business “almost by accident”
- The invisible ceiling that stalls shops around the 1–3 year mark
- The difference between opening a shop and running a retail business
- The six systems every next-level retail business needs
- Why there is no such thing as a “natural business person” — and what to do instead
- How to know whether you need the Stock Doctor, Retail by Design, or just the back catalogue
Resources mentioned:
- Episode 299 — Retail Bottleneck: How to Stop Being the “Go-To” for Every Answer in Your Business
- Book: Tame Your Tiger: How to Stop Your Product Business Eating You Alive
- Stock Doctor — done-for-you stock management
- Retail by Design — my 1:1 service
- The Resilient Retail Club — reopening later this year
- resilientretailclub.com
Mentioned in this episode:
Capify
Retail Stock, Profit and Mindset: Three Pillars of a Resilient Retail Business
This episode contains a freebie download. Scroll down to find it.Believe it or not — today is episode 300 of the Resilient Retail Game Plan.Hi, I'm Catherine Erdly and in this episode, which is six years, 300 …
Show notes
This episode contains a freebie download. Scroll down to find it.
Believe it or not — today is episode 300 of the Resilient Retail Game Plan.
Hi, I'm Catherine Erdly and in this episode, which is six years, 300 episodes, and over 1 million downloads later since I started this podcast, I'm sharing a fast track to the biggest themes that have shaped this podcast and the retailers who listen to it.
In this milestone episode, I'll walk you through the four essential episodes from the back catalogue that I believe every independent retailer needs to hear.
Whether you're brand new to the show or a long-time listener, these are the ones that cut to the heart of what it really takes to build a resilient retail business.
So what are the three big themes?
Stock. Profit. And mindset.
Visit the episode's show notes for links to all the episodes mentioned at https://www.resilientretailclub.com/podcast-episode/retail-stock-management-profit-and-mindset/
And ensure you go to this link for your free download: resilientretailclub.com/300.
Mentioned in this episode:
Capify
Retail Bottleneck: How to stop being the go-to for every question in your business
This episode is sponsored by Intuit Mailchimp. Do your retail team ask you the same questions over and over? Has "what are we focusing on this week?" become the soundtrack to your inbox?Hi, I'm Catherine Erdly …
Show notes
This episode is sponsored by Intuit Mailchimp.
Do your retail team ask you the same questions over and over? Has "what are we focusing on this week?" become the soundtrack to your inbox?
Hi, I'm Catherine Erdly and in Episode 299 of the Resilient Retail Game Plan, I'm explaining why so many independent retailers and product business owners accidentally become a bottleneck inside their own business — and walk you through exactly how to fix it.
You'll learn why the classic wheel-and-spoke information flow creates constant delays, inconsistency and interruptions; why growing your team makes it worse rather than better; and how to build a single source of truth that finally gets your team self-serving the answers they need.
I'll also share a £100,000 lesson from my Coast days on what poor information flow really costs a business, the categories to include in your single source of truth (weekly focus, key dates, stock and order trackers, priorities, SOPs), and the crucial step most business owners skip — how to actually make your team use it.
If you've built a business that can't run without you in the room, this is the episode to start unpicking it.
Chapters- 00:00 Why Everyone Asks You
- 01:18 The Bottleneck Wheel
- 02:52 Build One Source of Truth
- 04:20 What £100,000 of Poor Information Flow Really Costs
- 05:50 What to Put in Your Single Source of Truth
- 08:27 Why It Won't Stick (And How to Fix It)
- 10:22 Holding the Line With Your Team
- 13:05 Where to Start (Small and Specific)
- 14:20 Wrap-Up
Related links- Resilient Retail Club: https://resilientretailclub.com
- Retail Roar 2026 summit: https://retailroar.co.uk
- Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts
- Prefer to watch? Full episode playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwFwdhK_WMJvXntxKLZj83Inz1fFNAN2P
About the podcastThe Resilient Retail Game Plan is a podcast for independent retailers and product business owners who want to build more profitable, sustainable businesses. Hosted by Catherine Erdly — retail expert, coach and founder of The Resilient Retail Club.
If this episode helped, hit like, subscribe and share it with another retailer who needs to hear it.
Mentioned in this episode:
Home and Gift Association is our sponsor this month
https://www.homeandgiftassociation.org.uk/
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Retail Growth Through Data: Email & SMS Marketing Secrets with Intuit Mailchimp
If you're sending the same email to everyone on your list and wondering why it's not driving the sales you expected, this episode is for you.I'm Catherine Erdly, and this is Resilient Retail Game Plan — …
Show notes
If you're sending the same email to everyone on your list and wondering why it's not driving the sales you expected, this episode is for you.
I'm Catherine Erdly, and this is Resilient Retail Game Plan — practical product business advice with a healthy dose of reality.
In this episode I'm sitting down with Ali Wood from Intuit Mailchimp to get practical about how independent retailers and e-commerce brands can get dramatically more from their email and SMS marketing — using data they already have.
We talk about why fragmented data is costing retailers real money, how segmentation can transform your customer relationships, and why the retailers who win over the next few years won't be the ones with the biggest budgets — they'll be the ones who are smartest with their data.
In this episode you'll hear about:
- Why sending the same message to your whole list is leaving money on the table
- How to use customer lifetime value and buying propensity to automate smarter campaigns
- The power of combining email and SMS — including a 22x ROI stat from SMS alone, and 41x when Shopify data is in the mix
- Creative ways to collect richer customer data through quizzes, pop-ups and behavioural signals
- What clean data + AI + human creativity actually looks like for a lean retail team
Whether you're just starting to think about segmentation or already running email campaigns and want to level up, this conversation will leave you with a genuinely different way of thinking about your marketing.
CHAPTERS
00:00:40 The Gold Mine Independent Retailers Are Sitting On
00:02:10 Meet Ali Wood from Intuit Mailchimp
00:04:40 How Intuit Mailchimp Evolved from Email Tool to Full Automation Platform
00:08:22 The Segmentation Shift: Stop Sending the Same Email to Everyone
00:11:29 Creative Ways to Collect Better Customer Data
00:14:45 Using SMS to Drive Email Open Rates
00:15:11 How We're Working With Intuit Mailchimp
00:16:33 Measuring What's Actually Working Across All Your Channels
00:18:30 Think Strategy, Not Just Open Rates
00:21:17 SMS Best Practices: What's Working for E-Commerce Brands
00:23:24 The Trust Factor: Why Phone Numbers Are Different from Email Addresses
00:23:44 The Numbers: 22x ROI on SMS, 41x with Shopify
00:25:58 AI + Human Creativity: The Future of Small Business Marketing
00:27:45 Clean Data, Automation & Analytics: The Loop That Wins
00:29:07 Catherine's Key Takeaways & Call to Action
Mentioned in this episode: resilientretailclub.com/mailchimp
Note: This episode was produced in partnership with Intuit Mailchimp. All views expressed are Catherine's own.
Mentioned in this episode:
Capify
The Shop Window Pyramid: Visual Merchandising Secrets for Independent Retailers
Your shop window isn't just a display — it's a salesperson working for you around the clock.I'm Catherine Erdly, and this is Resilient Retail Game Plan — practical product business advice with a healthy dose of …
Show notes
Your shop window isn't just a display — it's a salesperson working for you around the clock.
I'm Catherine Erdly, and this is Resilient Retail Game Plan — practical product business advice with a healthy dose of reality.
In this episode, I'm joined by Sarah Manning, visual merchandising consultant and course leader, for a practical masterclass on how to make your window impossible to walk past.
Sarah shares her four guiding principles — including her signature framework, The Power of the Pyramid — and explains exactly what should (and shouldn't) go in your window. You'll learn why putting your bestsellers on show is usually the wrong move, how to refresh your display every four weeks without a full rebuild, and practical solutions for shallow, narrow, or open-backed windows.
We also explore how post-2020 customer expectations have shifted the balance between product display and brand storytelling, and discuss the concept of 'external theatre' — the tools even small independents can use to draw customers in before they reach the window at all.
Whether you sell from a shop, at markets, or at events, this episode is packed with actionable insight you can put to work immediately.
What You'll Learn:
- The Power of the Pyramid framework and how to apply it to any display
- Why new, seasonal, and promotional products belong in the window — not your top sellers
- How to change your window every four weeks without starting from scratch
- Creative solutions for awkward, shallow, or open-backed windows
- How the hotspot inside your store connects to your window display
- Where to find visual merchandising inspiration on a limited budget
📌 CHAPTERS:
- 00:37 About this episode — how the topic came from Spring Fair
- 01:35 The Power of the Pyramid — Sarah's four guiding principles
- 02:30 Brand story vs. product push: what's changed since 2020
- 04:36 What should actually go in your window?
- 05:53 How often should you change your window display?
- 07:27 The permanent skeleton approach
- 08:33 Working with difficult or shallow windows
- 10:18 Open windows vs. backed windows
- 11:55 External theatre: beyond the glass
- 14:57 The hotspot — your 'third window' inside the store
- 16:45 Where to find visual merchandising inspiration
- 20:00 Outro and where to find Sarah Manning
Connect with me 🔗:
→ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/catherineerdly/
→ Resilient Retail Club: https://www.resilientretailclub.com
→ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/resilientretailclub/
🎧 LISTEN ON YOUR FAVOURITE PODCAST APP:
→ Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/resilient-retail-game-plan/id1558090069
→ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2EIPFznxQFQHIXmC3QoBFQ
Resources Mentioned:
- Sarah Manning: visualmerchandisingcourses.co.uk | @visualmerchandisingcourses
- The Shop Drop Blog by Tim Nash — free newsletter every Thursday
Mentioned in this episode:
Capify
Home and Gift Association is our sponsor this month
https://www.homeandgiftassociation.org.uk/
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