While rising inflation is putting increasing pressure on consumer budgets, there are still ways that retail businesses and brands can capitalize on the various opportunities that the upcoming peak shopping season presents.
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has combined its own research with Google and Trinity McQueen’s annual Path to Peak 2022 report to find ways to engage consumers and understand their current shopping behavior.
To simplify the organizations’ findings, FashionUnited has highlighted five comprehensive ways to reach consumers in the run-up to Christmas.
omnichannel focus
While omnichannel shopping isn’t necessarily a new trend, according to the BRC, many advertisers and retailers aren’t fully embracing this strategy. To underscore this, Google pointed out that a third of retail shoppers make their purchasing decisions in-store by browsing online before visiting the store.
The BRC also found that those who have improved their digital presence are benefiting. The organization reports “significant improvements” in the online retail experience over the past two years.
According to the three companies, retailers need to ensure their online and in-store teams are set up to collaborate and serve cross-channel customers, and that in-store sales data is connected to online marketing.
Window shopping online
The searches customers are making online have become more general, with searches shifting from “Charlotte Tilbury makeup” to “natural makeup,” for example.
This change in behavior suggests that consumers are no longer going online with a specific brand in mind, but are instead using the internet for inspiration and discovery.
According to Google, this is reflected in the increasing reliance on visual touchpoints, with many consumers making increasing use of Google images and the search engine’s Shopping tab (62 percent) to inform their decisions. Videos have also gained in importance, with 88 percent of consumers believing that YouTube makes purchasing decisions easier.
Promote new brands
This ties in with the next point of the report, which relates to the trend that consumers are becoming more adventurous in retail and therefore more open to trying new brands.
In the fashion sector, the number of consumers who have tried new brands has increased from 24 percent in 2020 to 34 percent in 2021 and is now at 51 percent, Google has found.
The BRC found that consumers are developing “increasingly jumbled” shopping habits. The organization said it saw a similar trend in other retail categories it surveyed.
Communicating with a wider audience
The BRC emphasizes the need to communicate with a wider audience as consumers increasingly shop online.
The organization first proposed using Google’s Broadmatch solution, which allows retailers to cover every possible angle a person might use when searching for products online. She found that by expanding this network, advertisers are able to achieve an average of 25 percent more conversions with the same efficiency.
In addition, the BRC noted expanding storefronts by doing more upper-funnel marketing online ahead of peak season, and the need to focus on developing a strong visual presence.
Automate for Personalization
According to the BRC, in order to achieve more flexibility in the coming season, a maximum of automated tools will help retailers to remain agile.
Additionally, in light of the current macroeconomic uncertainty in retail, using first-part data to drive automated campaigns can provide greater reliability and predictability.
This translated article originally appeared on FashionUnited.uk.