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.

00:00 — 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

• 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:

This podcast uses chapters

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:

Faire 50% off - use code 'Resilient50'

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:

Faire 50% off - use code 'Resilient50'

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.

• 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

YAS 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:

Faire 50% off - use code 'Resilient50'

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:

Get 50% off at Faire

Go to Faire.com and enter code "Resilient50"

Faire 50% off - use code 'Resilient50'

Faire 50% off - use code 'Resilient50'

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:

Faire 50% off - use code 'Resilient50'

This podcast uses chapters

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:

Faire 50% off - use code 'Resilient50'

"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:

Faire 50% off - use code 'Resilient50'