As the scale of vaccine manufacturing and distribution has increased globally, the strictest of lockdowns have been lifted and life is slowly returning to a closer shade of normal.
What can retailers expect during The Great ReOpening?
Interestingly, we at Raange saw a glimpse into the future in our brick and mortar customer data.
Recent Raange data shows that as restrictions began to lift across Canada, consumers went back to physical store.
When we segmented our data for Brick and Mortar Retail – Fashion and Accessories, we found that our customers’ in-store registrations were up an astonishing 4700% YoY in June as compared to the same period in 2020.
Even with rapid changes in today’s retail environment, the physical channel is still an important part of the customer journey.
Another significant development during the pandemic is how consumers have been switching brands at an unprecedented level. A recent Mckinsey report, found that 75 percent of consumers tried a new shopping behaviour – new brand, different retailer, etc. – since COVID-19 started. These changes in consumer behaviour benefit larger, more established brands.
This means that the retail environment is going to become even more competitive and brick and mortar retailers are going to have to work even harder to build loyalty to drive repeat purchases.
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What is The Great Opportunity and what can retailers do?
The good news is, The Great ReOpening creates a huge opportunity for retailers. The increase in traffic that we’re projecting for the summer gives brick and mortar retailers a generational opportunity to build loyalty by growing and scaling their customer database like never before.
The days of using your stores as a simple sales channel are gone. As Doug Stephens The Retail Prophet has pointed out on countless occasions, the retail store should not be measured simply by sales, but should be looked at through the lens of media.
And one of the best ways to start measuring your store as media, is to implement # of opt-in contacts collected – as you collect email addresses on your website – as a new KPI for stores.
Opt-in contacts unlock the key to building loyalty, growing your audience and increasing repeat purchases.
This kind of fly-wheel effect is key to the success of your business in 2021 and beyond.
And puts the customer relationship back into the hands of the retailer and not a third-party advertising platform.
It’s crucial for brick and mortar retailers to take advantage of The Great ReOpening and The Great Opportunity to bridge the gap between physical and digital.
If you want to get more granular and learn specific strategies on how to increase your opt-in contacts in 2021, check out our FREE, onDemand webinar here .
Or book a call with our sales team to dive a bit deeper into how you can connect your in store shoppers to your digital strategy.
