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Consumer Retail trends

Clicks and Cliques: Understanding Modern Shopper Tribes

Knowing your customer is essential in the best of times. In a post-pandemic world, it will be the difference between survival and failure.

I had the pleasure to work with Klarna on their latest report Clicks and Cliques: Understanding Modern Shoppers where we identified five distinct shopper tribes for the post-COVID world. Based on a survey of 4,000+ consumers across Europe, the UK, USA and Australia, the report examines how shopping behaviour has evolved and how retailers can stay relevant in a fast-moving world.

Good value for money is naturally a top priority for shoppers this year, with more than two-thirds (67%) suggesting it has become more important since the start of the pandemic. It’s followed by promotions and deals (60%), a good reputation and trustworthiness (60%) and having a wide range of products available (58%) — perhaps fuelled, in part, by shortages on the shelves earlier in the year.

Over half of respondents said that an easy returns process (55%) and next or same day delivery options (51%) have become more important this year — naturally coinciding with 49% doing more of their shopping online and 44% doing most or all their shopping online now.

The ability to pay flexibly has also grown in importance, according to 45% of respondents — and this can be a real dealbreaker. Four in ten (42%) prefer to shop from brands or retailers that offer flexible payment options, while three in ten (32%) won’t shop from those that don’t.

Commenting on the research, Luke Griffiths, CCO at Klarna, said: “This year’s events have transformed the way we browse and buy, reinventing our relationships with brands and retailers and accelerating change at an unprecedented rate. Merchants must keep a finger on the pulse of their customers wants and needs and adapt their products and service offers accordingly to build a connection with shoppers to drive loyalty and, ultimately, sales.” 

Natalie Berg, Retail Analyst and Founder of NBK Retail, added: “The retail industry is no stranger to disruption, yet nothing in our lifetime has jolted the industry like Covid. As retailers look to navigate the new normal, resilience and agility will be essential for survival. There will be no return to the status quo. The days of being everything to everyone are well and truly over: in order to find their tribe, retailers need to be bold about who they are and what they stand for. Opportunities have emerged, enabling retailers to reimagine both physical and digital commerce for the future.”

Download the full report here.

Categories
Retail trends Store of the future

The Retail Exchange Podcast: 2020 Review & 2021 Predictions

Natalie Berg joins Karl McKeever, MD of Visual Thinking, as co-host of The Retail Exchange‘s final podcast episode of the year. 

If you were trying to end this year by winning a prize for its greatest understatement, you could describe 2020 as ‘eventful’. It is difficult in many respects to argue that 2020 was an especially good year. Emerging trends didn’t just gather momentum, they marched forward to turn the industry on its head in ways we could never have imagined. For retail, it’s been a year of contrasting fortunes. Some have faltered. Others have thrived.

To set the tone, we revisit some of the interviews and discussions that have shaped The Retail Exchange’s podcast episodes in 2020, with special co-hosts Karl McKeever and Natalie Berg reflecting on the past year – the challenges faced, things we’ve learned, the opportunities taken – and looking ahead at what’s to come in what we all hope will be a brighter 2021.

You can listen to the full episode here.

Categories
Retail trends

Future of Retail 2020

What will shopping look like in 2021, 2025 and 2030? I had the pleasure of speaking to Raconteur for this annual supplement in The Times. Always an interesting read but especially this year given that we are in the middle of a pandemic that has upended the industry like nothing before. You can catch my thoughts in the following sections:

You can download the full PDF here.

Categories
Retail trends

DTC: 2020 Review and 2021 Expectations

Ding dong, Avon calling!

The direct selling channel is one of the few bright spots in retail right now. But how does a model that is based on human interaction adapt to today’s challenge of social distancing?

This week, I had the pleasure of chairing a roundtable discussion hosted by the Direct Selling Association and the opportunity to learn more about this £2.7 billion-a-year channel of UK retail where products are sold directly to consumers outside of a fixed retail environment.

Panellists included:

  • Cliff Jones, Sales Director, The 1:1 Diet by Cambridge Weight Plan
  • Peter Kropp, Global Director, The Body Shop at Home
  • Alessandro Martinez, Managing Director, Vorwerk UK
  • Susannah Schofield OBE, Director General, The Direct Selling Association
  • Andy Smith, General Manager, Amway UK & Ireland and Chair, The Direct Selling Association

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Here’s what the direct selling channel gets right:

Agility. Direct selling is an inherently nimble, flexible, and low-risk channel. One thing that has become clear this year is that necessity is the mother of invention so when the pandemic hit, at-home demonstrations and shopping parties quickly went virtual. The panellists believe that this blended experience will stick post-COVID as online and offline worlds continue to merge. Pandemic pivots have actually enhanced certain aspects of the CX and enabled brands to reach a broader customer base.

Community. The panellists all stressed the importance of selling an experience, not a product. Moving beyond the transaction to build a community and foster a sense of belonging is going to be vital for traditional retail as we move into 2021. The pandemic has reinforced the importance of strengthening community in a digital setting – an active online community that swaps ideas, recipes and advice will garner greater loyalty in the physical world.

Brand evangelism starts internally. The very nature of this model grants its ‘consultants’ a significant amount of autonomy which empowers and enables them to offer a highly personalised, relevant experience to customers. The panellists stressed the importance of authenticity here – consultants are the brand’s first customers; if they don’t believe in the product, they’re not going to not sell it. We must not underestimate the importance of training and supporting consultants/staff. They are the face of the brand and, ultimately, retail’s most important asset.

Some important lessons here for the wider retail industry as we begin to emerge from this crisis.