The Resilient Retail Game Plan - retail insights, retail trends and best practices

How Artichoke Built a Profitable Online Shop by Ignoring “Best Practice” If you’ve been told that online retail growth means more ads, more automation, and more noise — this episode will quietly challenge that. With thanks to this episode’s sponsor SumUp . Get 10% off SumUp hardware with the code GamePlan10 at https://sumup.co.uk I’m Catherine Erdly , and this is Resilient Retail Game Plan — pract...

Why Retail Business Growth Starts to Feel Heavy at Six Figures If your retail business is doing well on paper, but somehow feels heavier than it used to, this episode is for you. With thanks to this episode’s sponsor SumUp.com. Get 10% off hardware with the code GamePlan10. I’m Catherine Erdly , and this is the Resilient Retail Game Plan — product business advice with a healthy dose of reality. Th...

Meta Ads Have Changed – What Actually Works in 2026 If Meta ads feel like a wild goose chase lately, you’re not alone—and you’re not imagining things. With thanks to this episode's sponsor SumUp ( https://sumup.com ) Use the code 'GamePlan10' to get 10% off hardware from their online shop! Hi, I'm Catherine Erdly , and this week on The Resilient Retail Game Plan, I’m rolling up my sleeves with Met...

Ever wondered what Christmas really felt like at the sharp end of retail—and what it’s whispering about your 2026 playbook? This episode of "The Resilient Retail Game Plan" is brought to you by SumUp . Get 10% off their hardware by clicking the link and using the coupon code "GamePlan10" I’m Catherine Erdly, and welcome to this festive edition of the Resilient Retail Game Plan—your product busines...

January clearance doesn’t have to feel like a panic move, a brand compromise, or an admission of failure. This episode of "The Resilient Retail Game Plan" is brought to you by SumUp . Get 10% off their hardware by clicking the link and using the coupon code "GamePlan10" Hi, I’m Catherine Erdly. This week on the Resilient Retail Game Plan , I’m walking you through how to run a proper stock clearanc...

On paper, Anna Scaife 's business Anna Lou of London looked unstoppable — multi–seven-figure turnover, dream stockists like Selfridges and Harvey Nichols, celebrity customers, even a Carnaby Street shop. But behind the scenes, the numbers were quietly telling a very different story. This episode of "The Resilient Retail Game Plan" is brought to you by SumUp . Get 10% off their hardware by clicking...

The shopfront of retail is about to change—will you be on the right side when the robots come knocking? Hi, I'm Catherine Erdly . This week on the Resilient Retail Game Plan , I’m laying out the four seismic shifts set to hit independent retailers by 2026. Think agentic AI that shops for your customers, TikTok Shop turning the high street digital, trust as your most valuable currency, and the resa...

Ever feel like your money’s gone missing—but you know you’ve already spent it? In this episode, I’m diving into one of the most common and costly problems I see in product-based businesses: trapped stock . That unsold inventory piling up in your stockroom, storeroom, or studio? It’s not just taking up space—it’s tying up thousands of pounds you could be using to pay yourself, invest in your bestse...

Christmas is close enough to smell the cinnamon, but I know for many indie retailers this is also the “please don’t let me be stuck with this stock in January” moment. In this episode, I’m talking you through the three big troublemakers you need to get on top of right now: slow sellers, overstocks, and the infamous “brown bananas” — those products that basically lose all their value the second Chr...

Christmas 2025 is shaping up to be a season of cautious confidence — and coziness. Hi, I'm Catherine Erdly . In this episode of The Resilient Retail Game Plan , I'm sharing insights from my Forbes.com research, drawing on data from Shopify, Etsy, Klaviyo, LoyaltyLion and more to reveal what shoppers are really planning this festive season. Discover why UK consumers are expected to spend over £91 b...

Ever wish a retail expert would walk into your stockroom, pull up your numbers, and just tell you exactly what to do? Hi, I'm Catherine Erdly . This week on the Resilient Retail Game Plan, I’m tearing down the myths and fears behind a stock audit and showing why getting your inventory under control is the most powerful move a product-based business owner can make. After 25 years in retail, I’ve se...

If you’re tired of winging it with your retail sales, this episode of The Resilient Retail Game Plan is your turning point. I'm Catherine Erdly , and in this episode I'm revealing how mapping out your sales year gives you more creativity, not less. Plus, we're all about calmer launches, better cash flow, and loyal customers. Learn how to replace last-minute panic with a confident plan that fits yo...

Resilient Retail Club member Petrina Reddy from " Saints at Sea " thought she was doing everything right — until the numbers told a different story. In this episode, she joins me, Catherine Erdly , to share the moment she realised her retail business wasn’t actually working the way she thought it was. We talk honestly about the emotional side of facing your figures, the hard decisions that come ne...

Sound familiar? Ever felt your sales rhythm drop from celebration to silence overnight? Welcome to the Resilient Retail Game Plan podcast, where I, Catherine Erdly , cut through the feast-or-famine fog so many independent retailers face. In this episode, I crack open the real reasons your product business swings from record months to radio silence and arm you with retail-savvy strategies that’ve w...

Ever wondered why your sales are stuck in first gear – and what you can actually do to shift them? I'm Catherine Erdly and this episode of the Resilient Retail Game Plan drills into three mistakes I see again and again with small product businesses. If you’re posting on Instagram, trying in-person markets, running the odd promotion yet still seeing stubbornly flat sales month after month, you’re n...

Black Friday: Profit or Pitfall? The Retail Game Plan for Indie Brands Black Friday isn’t designed for indies, so why do so many small retail business owners still feel pressure to play? In this episode of the Resilient Retail Game Plan , I pull you behind the screens and into the real numbers; sharing where the opportunities actually lie for UK product businesses come November, what the headlines...

Loyalty in retail isn’t just about discounts anymore — it’s about creating experiences customers remember. In this episode, Catherine Erdly talks with Charlie Casey, CEO of LoyaltyLion, about what loyalty means in 2025. You’ll learn: Why discounts alone don’t drive loyalty How experiences like VIP drops & events keep customers coming back Real examples from brands using loyalty to boost sales...

Teetering bank balance, shelves groaning with unsold stock, and a to-do list that rustles louder than tissue wrap? Lean in—this festive crunch is survival mode for indie retailers. Christmas is coming, and with it, that age-old retail cash flow pinch. I’m Catherine Erdly—host of the Resilient Retail Game Plan and twenty-five years deep in this glorious, gritty industry. In this episode, I break do...

Are you running your retail business – or is it running you into the ground? I’m Catherine Erdly, and on this episode of the Resilient Retail Game Plan, I peel back the glossy sales charts to reveal what really comes after that six-figure milestone. I’ve seen it firsthand: when independent product business owners hit £100K or more, the chaos, decision fatigue and burnout can hit even harder – unle...

Will your Q4 plan make or break your Christmas sales? I’m Catherine Erdly , drawing on 25 years in retail trenches, and this episode of the Resilient Retail Game Plan podcast is your hands-on guide to prepping a joined-up Q4 marketing plan. Featuring insights from PR guru Rosie Davis Smith, email strategist Katie Farrell, ad creative powerhouse Narada McCoy, and social storytelling pro Emily Hanse...

Will your Christmas cash flow jingle or stall? Hi! Catherine Erdly here, host of the Resilient Retail Game Plan. It’s that time of year when indie retailers either outsmart January’s excess stock blues or get a cash flow headache that lingers long past the mince pies. In this episode of the resilient retail club podcast, I’m rolling up my sleeves with a no-fluff checklist for peak season stock pla...

Four levers, infinite impact: Which one’s your sales superpower? Ever feel like you’re pouring all your energy into driving new traffic but your sales aren’t leaping as much as you hoped? You’re not alone. In this episode of the Resilient Retail Game Plan, I pull back the curtain on the actual four ways to grow a product business—ways that go way beyond just chasing new customers. With 25 years in...

Could missing a simple £170 expense cost you your entire business overnight? This week on The Resilient Retail Game Plan , I sit down with the sharp, straight-talking Lucy Wheeler of Lucy Legal to tackle the legal booby traps hiding in plain sight for indie retailers. Hi, I'm Catherine Erdly and I’ve seen it too many times: stock room full, launch morning on the horizon… only for a cease-and-desis...

Ever feel like your till’s ringing, but your bank balance is whispering “not this month”? I’m Catherine Erdly, and this episode of the Resilient Retail Game Plan gets painfully real about the truth behind cash flow for retailers. If you’ve ever panicked at 3am, wondering how to pay that looming supplier invoice, you’re not alone. I break down my “SHOPS” framework; Sales, Having It Mapped Out, Over...

When your best-selling supplier pulls the rug out, what’s your next move? I’m Catherine Erdly and this week’s Resilient Retail Game Plan episode dives straight into the Jellycat drama that’s rocking UK indie retail. Plush toys flying off the shelves one day, a curt rejection letter from your biggest brand partner the next. So how did Jellycat, the darling of TikTok and Instagram, go from indie ret...