Winning Retail and Brand Strategy
Technology is Changing the Customer Experience
Technology is growing at an exceptionally quick rate. Those retailers who are adapting and evolving are the ones that will likely succeed most.
Mobile Shopping Will Grow by Double Digits in the Next Five Years
Adobe’s 2016 mobile retail report showed a 54% year-on-year increase in visits to retail sites from smartphones. This trend will only continue as millennials gain buying power and older generations become more technologically adept.
Protect the Brand
Whether you are a wholesale brand, vertical brand, or retail brand, retailing in the US is undergoing a revolution. The rise of online commerce is disrupting some of the retail industry’s biggest names, forcing many to retool their businesses for the digital age and killing off weaker members of the herd. The US is particularly challenged, given the vast overbuilding of stores and shopping malls in recent decades. Companies must learn to diversify and take their brands global. It’s important not to let one marketplace determine the fate of the brand.
Personalization is the Future of Retail
Businesses that are currently personalizing their customers’ online journeys, and have quantified the results, are seeing a double-digit increase in sales on average.
Global Brands Need to Think Locally to Survive
There is a significant difference between evolving and dissolving. There are so many admonitions regarding the bricks-and-mortar retail world being in a complete meltdown and consumers preferring to do anything and everything online or via their mobile phones. Many believe the physical stores will no longer be a relevant part of the consumer journey; however, this couldn’t be farther from the truth and is shortsighted on many fronts. Companies must be careful not to overcorrect or swing the pendulum too far.
Stay True to the Brand Attributes
A brand requires something distinctive that sets it apart from the rest of the players—its own “uniqueness.” The best brands have knowledge—a thorough understanding of their target market’s demographics, their interests, and their communications preferences. All brands must have passion which can lead to enthusiasm and joy; passion will also overcome inevitable setbacks in the business. Brands must also have consistency; consumers want to be able to depend on the brand for its quality when they come back to the business for repeat sales. And finally, brands need to be exposed. With the Internet and social media, there are more tools than ever before to get the brand noticed.
Improve Retailing with Incentives
Retailers shouldn’t let a customer walk out if they don’t have their size in stock. Rather, they should allow the sales associate to order the item from another branch store and get credit for the sale. Too many retailers don’t credit the staff or reflect it in their targets if it comes from another store, and this leads to lower morale and lost sales.
