Tips on Surviving the Retail Apocalypse
The competition between e-commerce and brick-and-mortar stores has reached ominous proportions. It’s a difficult time for retailers, as a huge number of major brands and outlets are closing, many are consulting experts to modernize their business and strategize just to survive.
Despite a robust economy, traditional store closures have reached levels last seen during the great recession 9 years ago and literally speaking, walking through a mall in 2017; seems like walking through a graveyard.
According to the research firm Fung Global Retail & Technology, there are more than 8,000 stores that have closed nationwide last year and it is expected to peak in 2018. Many have signaled the beginning of the “retail apocalypse”, however, that probably exaggerates the reality, because elsewhere, there have been signs of life and it’s all not doom and gloom.
This is not the end for the brick-and-mortar store, rather an opportunity to embrace your physical and digital storefront, improve experiences to engage -especially the young consumers -both online and in store. Retail isn’t dead, it is undergoing a transformation!
Here are some tips how you can resist the impending doom and survive the retail apocalypse.
Deliver a seamless customer experience
Retailers have to service where their customers are. There are a lot of opportunities to purchase behavior and catch their attention, from the item that they wanted, to selling things they didn’t realize they needed. It is significant to reward customer loyalty and cross-device engagement by transforming interaction to unique experiences. One perfect example is through the use of augmented reality. This enable brands to create one of a kind in-store experiences and bring merchandising to the next level. Another strategy is producing exclusive events to VIP members (like product launching, early access to new products, extended hours, etc.) to provide sort of exclusivity for consumers desires.
Creating relevant content
Great branding empowers customers and helps them develop their own sense of identity. According to the latest study of Epsilon, 80 percent of consumers are more likely to make a purchase when brands offer personalized experiences. Inspiring content, built around customer activities and interest, help consumers decide how they can use the product in their everyday living. Another aspect to consider is how to effectively communicate content to different channels, example, reaching loyal customers with more personalized campaigns online. Understanding consumers shopping behavior can create more compelling in-store visits.
Encouraging and rewarding customer engagement
Engaging and keeping customers with your loyalty programs can be challenging. To make them interested, they have to be constantly reminded of their benefits and other rewards suitable for them or else they might forget and will potentially cause a negative effect on your business. Make your rewards program fresh, enticing and innovative with new exciting offerings and perks. Your customers want to get the latest updates and do not want to miss out any of your promotions and new offerings.
The retail landscape is changing rapidly and surely retailers can’t control all of the shopping behavior of consumers. Stores that fail to innovate will not survive. When you have a clear understanding of your consumer and identify, maintain and improve their in-store experiences plus invest in new strategies, you can absolutely survive the retail apocalypse.
Clip Strip Corp. is a leader in retail POP display products and has been creating and manufacturing quality accessories for retailers since 1980. Contact us to learn more how we can help you.