As the marketing world moves closer to unlocking the full potential of AI and Google’s algorithms become more and more intuitive – it can be hard to know how best to keep up as a retailer. There will always be familiar themes when it comes to keeping up with retailer marketing trends - like ensuring you are optimised for mobile – however, these will all gain momentum eventually and evolve into more sophisticated approaches. There are even talks of retailers introducing voice shopping and trialling "try before you buy" deals with their products.

Not sure where to start? Have no fear - we’ve cut through the noise and found the easiest and simplest ways in which retailers can better connect with their customers in 2020.

Automating Offers and Deals

It has been found that online shoppers are using browser extensions that find deals and discount codes, automatically adding them to their shopping carts. This is due to the fact that a product solely dedicated to finding them the best deal instils confidence in their purchase all while saving them time. Consider trialling this on your website – make it clear that the best deals you offer right now will be automatically added at checkout.  

Put More Money into Mobile

RetailMeNot has found that retail marketers continue to turn the majority of their budgets to mobile - where 88% of marketers plan to increase mobile marketing investments as well as 81% moving budget towards social media. The number of retail marketers intending to grow their spending towards non-mobile – or digital - and offline has dropped significantly since 2017.

Focus on Your Emerging Audience: Gen-Z

There is a whole new audience getting ready to purchase – you just aren’t speaking to them. Yet. The young adults that make up the diverse group Gen-Z are slowly starting to join the workforce – and they are extremely tech savvy. It’s about time that companies, especially retailers, began to shift focus onto them. RetailMeNot also discovered that, out of 200 senior retail marketers, only 5% said they will be focusing their marketing strategy on Gen Z in 2019, compared to 60% of marketers who will aim to target Millennials.

Build Your Brand and Most Importantly, Take a Stand

The same old sales spiel isn’t going to cut it anymore. Brands being strident about social and political issues might seem counterintuitive – after all, you just sell a product, right? – but it has been found in RetailMeNot’s report that a whopping 87% of retailers said that it's worth it. Perhaps even more striking, 83% believe that not taking a stand is bad for business. Take Lush and Patagonia for example – they recently closed all of their stores to take a stand against climate change and take part in the climate strikes. The result? Enhanced brand awareness, positive brand positioning - and we can guarantee that it will, in turn, increase sales.

Building a transparent, “human” brand is also incredibly important in this day and age. Consumers want to know, on all levels, that they are purchasing from a company ran by human beings who are ‘just like them.’ For example, hiring a savvy social media team who can not only respond to customer enquiries effectively – but also have a conversation at the same time – can boost positive sentiment towards your brand and may influence consumers to choose your product over a competitor. Innocent Drinks and Moonpig are great examples of this, showing that a strong, personable and often very funny social media presence can work wonders.

If you want to speak to us about building your brand through social media marketing or want to discuss a wider retail marketing strategy, get in touch today.

For more information on any of our digital marketing services, feel free to get in touch today on 0800 011 9715, or visit our Retail Digital Marketing hub.