3 Marketing Lessons From the Great Retail Meltdown

According to a recent article in The Atlantic, America’s retail industry is going through a massive transformation, which the author calls the "Retail Meltdown" of 2017 — lots of retail companies are closing stores or even going bankrupt. There are many reasons for this downturn in the retail industry that are indicative of broader trends in the way people shop and make purchase decisions. No matter what industry your business is in, there are a few key lessons you can learn from the changing fortunes of American retail. American retail is being reshaped by mobile shopping, an excess of retail space and changing consumer preferences for experiences over material goods. Even if you’re not in the “retail” business, you can still adapt your marketing strategies to stay ahead of these crucial trends. Here are a few marketing insights from the Great Retail Meltdown that your sales organization needs to be aware of: 1. Mobile Commerce Is More Important Than Ever According to data cited in the Atlantic article, mobile shopping has now reached 20 percent of all digital spending, up from 2 percent in 2010, and Amazon’s North America sales have grown from $16 billion in 2010 to $80 billion in 2016. It’s no secret that people have been using mobile devices to research products and do price comparisons online — sometimes while standing in a brick-and-mortar retail store — but mobile shopping is becoming faster, easier and more prevalent than ever before. More people are using mobile devices as their primary way of going online, and mobile shopping is becoming more important even for higher-dollar, more complex B2B sales. If you're not reaching your customers via mobile marketing and making it easy for them to buy from their mobile devices, you're missing out. And don’t assume that your business is immune to this just because you don’t sell products to consumers — your B2B buyers are “people” and “consumers,” too, and they are starting to use their mobile devices more often to conduct research, respond to emails and review marketing literature, even for complex deals. So make sure your marketing processes are keeping up, or you might get left behind with the latest struggling retailers. 2. Why Do We Still Need "Stores?" Another factor in the Great Retail Meltdown is that America has built way too much shopping mall space, with too many brick-and-mortar stores competing for too little foot traffic — mall visits declined by 50% from 2010 to 2013 and have been decreasing ever since. The rise of online shopping raises a provocative question: Why do we still need stores? Or rather, in the 21st century, what should a “store” be? The in-person shopping experience needs to be re-evaluated from top to bottom. What are you offering to your customers at your in-store locations that cannot be replicated online? It doesn't mean that all stores are obsolete, but we need to re-imagine "in-store selling" for the new realities of how people shop. Lots of companies still are not doing a good enough job of this. For example, if your company has a brick-and-mortar space, consider using it to do product demos or to handle scheduled appointments or to do live Facebook video broadcasts to answer questions from customers. Consider using your retail space to host live seminars or guest speakers or to partner with other organizations on live events that can be recorded and shared on social media. Unless all of your customers live in your same city and come visit your business in person, you need to think more broadly about how to market your business — by using your store/retail/brick-and-mortar location as a hub of activity, but not as the only destination. 3. Focus Relentlessly on Customer Experience Another insight from the retail meltdown is that consumers are less interested in logos, labels, and big brands than they used to be. Instead of buying a fashionable new outfit from a stylish brand at the mall, the new way for people to demonstrate their social cachet is to spend money on real-world experiences (like nice restaurant meals, travel, or exclusive events) that can be broadcast and shared with their friends on social media. People are more worried about looking good on Instagram and Facebook than they are about looking “cool” in real life. The lesson for your business? There is opportunity here to reinvent your business as a premium customer experience. Don't let your company become a commodity; in an era of online shopping and experience-driven consumerism, the mainstream "mass market" is fading away. So the big opportunities now are for companies that can create a one-of-a-kind customer experience and become a niche brand with a loyal customer following. Give your customers an experience that they will want to share on Instagram. The Great Retail Meltdown has been a cause of worry for many people in the retail industry, but for most other businesses this is an exciting era of new opportunity. Pay attention to what consumers are telling you: They want to shop online; they want exciting, share-worthy experiences; they want to buy from companies that are ready to re-imagine the in-store experience and make the purchase process easier and more enjoyable and seamlessly integrated between “in person” and online.

Performance Marketing

3 Marketing Lessons From the Great Retail Meltdown

Gregg Schwartz

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Gregg Schwartz