Member Article

Navigating the new landscape of retail

The traditional shopper stereotype is dead. With global e-commerce changing the way we buy, and with more choice on offer to consumers, shopping trends are becoming less and less predictable.

This represents a serious challenge for brands. The old marketing rule book has become obsolete in a retail landscape characterised by spoilt-for-choice shoppers who expect a tailored and seamless service online. Yet there is also a real opportunity for retailers who are able to successfully navigate the new world order and steal a march on the competition.

The ’worldwide’ web

Brands are competing in an ever more crowded global market place and shoppers are becoming more discerning about the wealth of options available to them. Today, retailers not only need to cater for as many people as possible, but also keep them from drifting to a bigger pool of international competitors.

A 2015 Criteo retail report found that fashion shoppers in particular are some of the most fickle – perhaps down to the fact that they now take inspiration for their purchases from retailers of all sizes and backgrounds, from all over the globe. This has put serious pressure on brands to be more savvy in how they target customers to retain a competitive advantage in the borderless world of e-commerce.

The death of demographics

It is no longer appropriate for brands to pigeon-hole consumers into traditional demographic segments. With people buying differently, living longer and working later, it is vital that online retailers don’t overlook or make assumptions about certain age groups or demographics.

For example, a survey from Greenlight showed that 76 per cent of over 55s shop online at least once a month, but just 22 per cent of British retailers are actively targeting older shoppers on the web.

While it is important for brands not to overlook important shopper segments like these, going after the ‘grey pound’ is too simplistic a strategy for marketers. No two seventy-somethings are the same, just as the worlds in which two millennials live can be very different.

Rather than lumping people together by demographic, brands must listen and learn from their customers so they can target them based on their individual habits and preferences. They might even be surprised by what they discover.

Instead of viewing this as a challenge, retailers should think about the opportunity. By effectively targeting and converting ‘surprising shoppers’, brands can capture a new layer of customers which can result in a significant boost to their bottom line.

So, how can businesses spot and capitalise on the shifts and surprises in the new shopper behaviour?

Adopt a global mind-set

With the world becoming more accessible to consumers, seasonality for purchasing certain items is now less relevant than it used to be. For example, holiday shopping is no longer confined to traditional summer months, with over 12 million people take winter holidays globally.

This is a great opportunity for retailers to extend the purchase power of their products all year round. By adopting a global outlook, they can ensure that they are capturing world-wide, rather than market specific, trends and identifying opportunities for peaks in sales that they might have otherwise missed.

Right consumers, right time

To anticipate surprising shopping, brands need to think carefully and creatively about the times and seasons during which consumers press ‘buy’. The most successful retailers use their customer insights to carefully pick their moment when targeting consumers, ensuring that their engagements remain relevant, timely and personalised.

Moment marketing is one of the best ways of tapping into the elusive ‘right time’ and ensuring that your advertising strategy aligns with consumer demand. To be effective, this approach requires careful thought in advance, anticipating changes in the consumer mind set and developing campaigns accordingly.

By mapping out these seasonal hooks months ahead of time, retailers can not only boost sales, but manage demand and stock levels without any surprises during busier periods.

Make data work harder

Retailers can begin to predict the unpredictable by leveraging the power of data to better understand surprising shopper trends. By tracking customers across their purchase journeys, brands can identify patterns in individual consumers’ behaviour.

By drawing on these insights when targeting them in the future, companies can boost sales by personalising engagements - sending customers details of suitable products at moments they know to be opportune.

Small businesses, staying nimble

Although changing consumer habits can be a daunting prospect for retailers, with the right insights and approach there is an opportunity for smaller businesses to level the playing field with their larger competitors, using their size to their advantage.

Using customer data to understand when and how to target customers does not require large teams or big budgets. A well thought through strategy, and the ability to be nimble and responsive to shifting trends is the key to success.

As shopper behaviour becomes more complex and less predictable, staying close to your customers is the only way to ensure you are giving them what they need, when they need it. In the fight to secure the next purchase, it is the smaller retailers – with their unparalleled customer connections – who have a unique advantage over bigger players.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Sakina Najmi .