Best Digital Marketing Strategies for Retailers and Retail Industry
The retail industry has gone mainstream and the lines between digital and offline channels are clearing. Consumers browse online and use their mobile devices to check the price of the products available in the store, and purchase through which ever channel that happens to be accessible at that particular point of time. This is clearly the age of customers which is nothing new for those working in the retail industry.
However how huge is digital really when it comes to influencing customers? Are your digital marketing strategies keeping up with the trend? As retail brands continue to mature digitally, using technology and wealth of statistics available to connect more effectively and engage with the connected customers is something that needs to be treated with utmost priority.
The way we shop has changed drastically in the last decade and some retailers are suffering while some of them are thriving. Everyone has their own inimitable perspective on what works, here are some common themes that every retailer / retail industry can use for digital marketing strategies.
1. Analytics & Cross-device for Targeting unified shopping experience :
Like many of the retailers / retail industry today are already using user data and analytics to understand customer and purchasing behaviour, the presence of multiple communication channels today and customer sharing brand experience from different devices can lead to data overwhelming. But this is how the retail industry is today and has their work cut out for them.
By grasping how your customers are using all these different online channels, you can create a more accurate customer profile which will help you to target and engage with them better in your retail marketing efforts. To connect more with the customer experience across multiple devices, retail marketers today are already making use of ID authentication, walled garden environment and device fingerprint to follow their customer’s behaviour throughout every device they’re on.
2. Build a Customer - Centric UX for a better shopping experience :
More than any other way for retail industry to drive conversions online is by giving the purchaser the best possible user experience and ensuring that the shoppers can complete the checkout conveniently and make a purchase. Simple and handy navigation is essential for customers to find the product which they require. The key is in making online shopping as convenient or improved than having to make actual trips to the store. This means that giving your customer all of the access to the product variations, sizing charts and FAQs that guide them to complete the checkout process without any hesitation.
3. Provide convenient Payment Method :
It comes as a no surprise that every single one of the retail brands who made it to the top fashion retailer’s offer after pay. To be competitive retailers you need to run offers that allows the buyer to buy now and use the pay later service that almost every customers are looking for today. This is an integral part of the retail shopping experience today as it should be made available on your website. This is because almost about 44% of the retailers alongside also make an offer with the same day or next day deliveries in metro areas for better customer experience.
4. Answer customer queries with a Live or chat feature :
There is some reason most of the successful and time tested brands out there are those with the best customer relationships experience. To win a customer’s heart nowadays, retail brands need to start treating their customer as real people. Brand loyalty is built with good customer experience. They need to create not only a great online shopping experience but an experience that is built on faith so that they continue to come back and refer to their friends and family. As of today, more than 25% of retail industry are providing customer service operations and integrating live chat features.
5. Offer Discounts & Promotions :
Customers love discounts and promotions, so making the most of these offers even on a digital space is crucial to driving traffic and conversions. On your webpage target the highlight discounts and promotions alert for home ware, clothing, footwear, or anything else you are offering a discount on. You also need to make use of fun promo codes to encourage your online customers to participate in it. Use clothing to offer deadlines to entice the customer to check out quickly or complete the purchase whether online or in store.
6. Use Proximity or Local Area marketing :
As the increase of “near me” searches on mobile phones is dramatic with a 100% growth rate make sure to tap your local market area as well. This will serve as the main source of acquiring daily and loyal customers. With customers turning to their device for their micro moments and making last minute shopping sprees, retailers need to rank on top of these search results. To start leveraging local area marketing use these tips for ranking the highest:
- Ensure your store listing contains your updated address and contact information,
- Always ask for a review from your customers or visitors,
- Use paid ads to increase visibility over SEO.
6 Unique and Best Digital Marketing Strategies for Retailers in 2021
- 1. Your Audience is Online
- 2. Easy to Track
- 3. It’s Easy to Automate
- 4. Ability to Personalize
4 Best Digital Marketing Strategy for Retail Industry in 2021 : Podcast