The retail industry has undergone a significant evolution in the past few years as it has adapted to unprecedented market disruptions such as lockdowns, supply chain interruptions, and fluctuating trends in consumer budgets and behaviors. While the industry adapts to a new “normal,” major retailers are benefiting from native infrastructure that supports the entire customer journey, online to in-store.
As we enter 2023, major retailers are focused on supporting a seamless hybrid customer experience from app to aisle. Read on to learn what this means for brands, and how your brand can leverage these trends for retail success.
In-Person Shopping is Here to Stay: Making the Most Out of Sets, End Cap & Promotional Displays
Large format retailers like Target continue to include partnerships with distinct brands among their priorities. We are seeing higher brand investments on impactful sets, end cap facing, and displays accordingly.
While online shopping has become increasingly centered on customer experience and efficiency, the sensory experience inherent to brick-and-mortar retailers cannot be beaten, and the statistics prove it: 72% of consumers are relying on in-person shopping as a part of their primary buying method and 64% of shoppers say the in-store experience has the most significant influence on their purchase decision. Endcaps and promotional displays create great brand exposure and sales opportunities. Fully and correctly stocked displays draw shopper attention and maximize sales.
Leveraging In-Store Window Shopping to Increase Campaign Success
The post-COVID consumer is a hybrid shopper. Brands must leverage both retail brick and mortar, and digital space to promote and advertise themselves. While investing in retail media grows in importance, more freedom to make a statement on retailer shelves means that in-store marketing continues to play an important part in driving sales.
In-store marketing engages customers and helps your product stand out from the competition. Whether it’s shelf signage, displays, or other point-of-purchase materials, shoppers will miss engaging with your products if they are overshadowed by other brands.
Keeping in Mind: Smaller Budgets Mean More Competitive In-Store Dollars
As consumers continue to face staggering inflation, we are seeing these trends continue through 2023:
- discretionary spending is down,
- omnichannel marketing is more important than ever,
- consumer habits are shifting in favor of resale, savings, and community-building
As shoppers tighten their belts, brands are uniquely at risk of losing the attention of existing customers. This means that brands are also uniquely situated to get ahead by winning over new shoppers, as well as by maintaining their existing base. To do so, they must be able to break through the noise of competitors.
Make Sure Your Marketing Investment is Properly Executed
Poor in-store execution can result in up to a 25% loss of retail sales. High merchandising execution rates and ISM help drive consumer purchasing decisions, yet it is unfortunately all too common that expensive displays never make it to the sales floor, products are not optimally stocked, and planograms are improperly executed. As retailers continue to face staffing shortages, average execution rates efforts such as display set-up, stocking, and product turnovers fall around 40% when the responsibility for stocking and displays are left to retailer staff alone.
Third-party merchandising partners can be a crucial part of your brand’s success, increasing in-store execution significantly and thus, increasing profits. The right partner will improve the execution of resets, promotions, and displays to ensure store presentation is optimized and make sure that your products stand out from the competition.
RMS Can Help You Make the Most of Retail Trends in 2023
Retail Merchandising Services (RMS) is an experienced retail execution partner. We have a national field team of industry experts, offer best-in-class merchandising training with over 140 certified trainers across the country, and are managed by retail experts with over 150 years of combined store management experience. RMS is also Backroom Certified at Target and has been a Target Preferred Partner since the program’s inception. See RMS’ web page on Target Services for more detail.
Contact us today to see if we are a good fit!
