What Retailers need to do to stay Relevant in 2024

Retailers today need to take a cue from fashion’s more famous quote, “Everything old is new again.” In today’s modern world this statement is as relevant today as it was back in the 1700s when author Jonathan Swift first coined it.  Think about what has been working for retailers recently.  Localization, personalization, convenience, private label, repurposed, and recycled were all being done by the top retailers a century ago and the ones that are successful today are doing that still!

Direct to Consumer Retail

Direct to consumer (DTC) Retail is no longer a catchphrase. It is core to winning in your business and a model that needs to be refined and personalized to attract and retain your customers. But with DTC becoming mainstream, the space has increasingly become cluttered, making it harder to stand out. The key is to be authentic to who you are and share those brand attributes not just in voice but with action too.

Anti-tracking Laws

And don’t get me started on all the rules and changes with anti-tracking laws! They are important to prevent invasive behaviors but they will make it more difficult if you are an online retailer to get in front of your customer and know them.  As a digital brand you will need to rethink how you find customers and create loyalties with them.

Experiences that Go Beyond Digital

How do you do that? Meet your customer where they are. Give them experiences that go beyond digital. Nothing replaces being able to feel that luxurious fabric against your skin. Or the smell of your next signature scent on the inside of your wrist. And sliding your feet into a pair of shoes ensuring a perfect fit like Cinderella. None of those experiences can be done online.

Transcend the Digital Brand

So, to win, you need to take it to the streets, literally (hello bricks and mortar) and give your customer the experiences, they desire. You need to transition from online only to pop-up stores. From massive department stores to shop-in-shop with dedicated product lines and customized merchandisers within a larger footprint store. By doing this, you can transcend the digital store brand into a living, breathing representation of your brand in a physical environment that heightens all the senses for your customers.

It also deepens the DTC relationship, boosts your marketing and sales efforts organically, while creating a vertical enterprise across multiple channels for your branded products. 

How to Win the Loyalties of Customers

So, what else can we do to find and win the loyalties of our customers? By knowing our customers values and understanding what drives their buying behaviors. Each of our brands and customers have a unique set of attributes. But they also share values that exist among most of our customers. Today, more than ever, our customers are becoming environmentally conscious consumers. With the most eco-friendly demographics soon to become the largest buying power for brands.

Image by Cariuma

Give our Customers a way to Become Activists

To appeal to this new consumer we need to adopt this new altruistic way of thinking in all areas of our operation in order to build connections with them.  Take a look at how these brands have risen to the top while advocating for a better world. Cariuma – “Get a pair of Sneakers, Plant 2 Trees, Bombas “One pair purchased gets one pair donated”, 4Ocean – “By purchasing this bracelet, you will remove 5 pounds of trash from the world’s oceans, rivers, and coastlines”,  SEG Systems, “Use SEG frames with a lifetime warranty and 100% recyclable aluminum that can be recycled, reused, and repurposed and keep our landfills empty!”. 

These are powerful statements, made by companies winning the relevancy race with their customers. They do this by giving their customers the emotional benefits of becoming activists while doing something they love, shopping!

There is a lot to think about for our future in Retail but if history can serve as our conscious and guide, I think we will do just fine.