As retail reopens and regains momentum, brands must take a thoughtful approach to their store strategies. From social and environmental responsibilities to keeping consumers happy, the brains behind retail have their work cut out for them. We tapped industry insiders for their predictions on what will reign supreme in retail and how brands can start making important moves now.
"The future of retail will see new holistic driven KPIs that measure social and environmental impact as part of the experience. Under social, a store's success will be determined by how well they interact with and support their community, as well as focusing on aiding wellbeing for both their employees and their customers. In addition to this, success of stores will be measured by their attitudes to social causes such as diversity.
As for the environment, stores must be thinking about how they source materials, how materials used participate in a circular economy and also how brands and stores can measure up in promoting regenerative design. Store experiences will have to measure to all of these within their store experiences.” -Freddie Sheridan, Director, Sheridan&Co (check out their report on 'A New Role for Retail' here)
Naked Retail (above) created care packages for New York during the height of the pandemic, illustrating the importance of ‘being there’ for customers and how retail should embody a supportive role, in relation to the aforementioned holistic KPI.
"We’ve all read the headlines – some retailers have simply thrived through the past year. With habits disrupted and new behaviors accelerated, now is the time for these retailers to act. But how? My answer: act in a way that builds a balanced relationship with your customers. Balance across share of heart, share of mind & share of wallet.
Acting on these fronts builds a meaningful relationship between your brand and your customer. They should each make your customer feel something. And when people feel something, they are more likely to do something. Share of heart = I love this brand; Share of mind = I value this exchange; Share of wallet = I got a great deal.
Most brands are out of balance in the relationship they have with their customer, in one way or another. Retailers tend to be merchant-led organizations, with over-developed “share of wallet/promotional” and “share of mind/loyalty” muscles with underdeveloped “share of heart/brand” muscles.
Are retailers missing out by not investing in a balanced relationship with their customers, including “share of heart” activation? Yes. Brands today need to build meaningful relationships with their customers from the first hello to the digital or physical shelf-edge and back again – and it all needs to come from the same brand ethos. Ultimately, brands that build a meaningful, balanced relationship with their customers will create bigger baskets, more frequency and greater lifetime value." -Nikki Laughlin, President, Havas Chicago
"The future of retail is more fluid than ever, whether you are talking about how a consumer finds your product, does research and purchases. Expectations are high, and customers want to transact in the environment of their choosing. This dynamic makes it increasingly critical that a brand have the right infrastructure to look holistically across their retail approach to determine what is meaningful to their customers. The right tools can give insight into how to optimize the experience, whether that is for a DTC approach, a social platform, via eRetailer distribution, in-store or all of the above. Ultimately, having a feedback loop and listening allows a brand to be more responsive on elements like products, bundling, fulfillment, and all other components that are in play, to drive not only volume of sales, but more importantly incrementality and increasing lifetime value.” -Jessica Richards, EVP, Managing Director, Commerce, Havas Media
As the Spring Studios team writes, “Even prior to the pandemic, the role of physical retail was evolving at pace. While extended periods of store closure have accelerated the shift to online shopping, it’s clear that bricks & mortar retailers who create a distinctive and compelling offering can still capture consumers’ imaginations and drive footfall. Savvy retailers are tapping into the emotional resonance of stores reopening and recognising the critical role that they can play in regenerating the livelihood and culture of the communities they serve.
As a result, stores are evolving beyond the traditional retail destination to become cultural hubs, with unique product offerings, experiences and programming that resonate with new modes of consumption and are best enjoyed IRL. Innovative brands and retailers will continue to drive synergies between the digital and physical realms, amplifying content beyond the shop floor and leveraging the latest virtual technologies to engage and reward shoppers.” Check out Spring Studios’ full report on the topic here.
