7 September 2020
The Retail Resilience Checklist
It’s tough out there in the retail world. Here are some quick tips for continued successful trading through the storm.
1. Really understand your customer
Understand the customer so well, that your product or service fits them and sells itself. The first step to understanding your customer is recognising that you are not that customer. It’s called market orientation; setting aside what you think, what you think your customers think, and finding out what they actually think. Are you still following? Good.
2. Drive physical visitation with online activation
The most likely path to a purchase is increasingly “research online, buy offline", as many shoppers value the physical experience and human service provided by offline stores. So, the future for retailers must be a combination of both disciplines. Maximising online opportunities to drive visitation to physical locations.
3. Create rich and cherished experiences
The experiential model aims to drive traffic to a shop or destination with the intention to extend the consumer’s dwell time. Creating experiences for consumers enables them to not only immerse themselves in and engage with a brand, but it also creates positive memories of an enjoyable and tangible experience.
4. Pop up in the right places
The pandemic has caused a slew of empty units across high streets and shopping centres, so savvy retailers and landlords are turning this real estate to their advantage and embracing the world of pop up stores.
Pop ups can be used to provide a unique experience to drive brand love and loyalty, whilst also providing a safe space to live test new concepts.
5. Expand your brand
The power of brand interactions should never be underestimated, no matter what the product. The brand creates an identity, a uniqueness and a personality that people can have an emotional connection with, and it’s this connection that we all subliminally reference when making purchasing decisions. So, when there is a choice of two similar retail offerings, the retailer with the best emotional connection will be become the preference.
6. Utilise available experience
We’ve been helping retailers and brands for 25 years and this will be our second recession to navigate through. We have the experience and we have the expertise, to guide retailers through these turbulent times, making sure they are front of their customers minds and set up to perform to the best of their ability. In times like these, only those that perform will stand the test of time.
Contact us today for a no strings attached consultation. Just a chat about the challenges you’re facing and how we can help you stay resilient. [email protected]