design:retail - July 2015 - (Page 36)

shopper insights 036 The Connected Shopper IRA L. GLESER PRESIDENT AMPLIFY MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS ira@amplifymc.com R ECENTLY, TWO NEWS items around investing in shopper marketing caught my attention. First, a study by Cadent Consulting Group of 1,000 retailers and manufacturers found that shopper marketing spending has more than doubled over the last two years, growing from 6 percent of the marketing budget between 2012 and 2014 to 13.5 percent. That represents a $17 billion increase. Next came news that Walmart not only is the biggest IT spender in retail, but the biggest investor in IT worldwide, with an estimated investment of more than $10 billion, according to global market intelligence firm IDC. Walmart announced that a large portion of this IT expenditure will be focused on investing in the integration of physical and digital over the next 18 to 24 months. Folks, that's a "B," as in billions of dollars. One has to wonder what all these dollars are being invested in. Could it be that the silver bullet for omnichannel really does exist, and manufacturers and retailers are pursuing it like the search for the Holy Grail? Most likely not. Walmart's U.S. CEO Greg Foran was quoted as saying, "The big price for us in the future goes back to this integration of digital and physical. We've got to make sure we develop the goals and technology to get there." Okay, so Walmart's journey looks like an investment in their global technology platform, a next generation fulfillment network and recruiting best-in-class talent in the area of digital innovation. That's Walmart's plan. What about the rest of us? Well, before you go betting the ranch on making significant investments in shopper marketing, you might be interested to hear an astute observation made by a senior executive at Catapult, a conversion JULY 2015 DESIGNRETAILONLINE.COM marketing agency. There is little data to support a correlation between having omnichannel expertise and accelerated retail sales. Specifically, many of the companies with the strongest growth rates on the National Retail Federation's 2014 ranking of the "Top 100 Retailers" made no appreciable investments in omnichannel marketing. From my vantage point, there are two fascinating dynamics at play here. On the one hand, the majority of consumers now expect retailers to offer a digital experience in-store, but the majority of retailers just aren't there yet. The retail industry has the potential to be the fastest adopting bricksand-mortar business embracing the opportunity to integrate the physical and digital experiences. And as part of this opportunity, manufacturers and retailers need to invest in sophisticated tools and data to gain valuable insights on their shoppers, but they must also rely on the intuition that comes with really listening to shoppers in order to create the best possible and repeatable experience. All these investments notwithstanding, it all is about "creating a memorable shopping experience." The exciting and maddening part of this journey for brand marketers and retailers is that because we as a shopper society are more social, mobile and customized than ever before, the "memorable shopping experience" won't look the same for everyone. It may be product selection, it may be having my size, it may be a knowledgeable, friendly salesperson. Or it may be the way you've integrated digital into your shopping experience, or the real-time coupons or discounts you offer your loyal shoppers to encourage them to pay your store a visit. So, as you "invest" in trying to find the right formula to engage the "connected shopper," consider some key takeaways offered by Michael Dill with Match Marketing Group at a recent marketing conference: 1. Learn what consumers want out of their shopping experience and cater it to their needs. Are your shoppers looking for sales? Or perhaps a deeper connection that complements what they get online? 2. Shoppers see brands and retailers as "providers." A provider is not just a place to buy things. A provider gives value, engagement and content. Consumers want brands to entertain them, show them what they do with a product and who else is using it. 3. Build an experience. A brand experience is not a moment, it is a state of mind. It is something that is felt and emotional, and takes place over a long duration of time. IRA L. GLESER IS PRESIDENT OF ATLANTA-BASED AMPLIFY MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS (AMPLIFYMC.COM), WHICH HELPS BRANDS AND ORGANIZATIONS CONNECT MORE EFFECTIVELY WITH CLIENTS, CUSTOMERS AND PROSPECTS. Illustration courtesy of ISTOCK/THINKSTOCK http://www.AMPLIFYMC.COM http://www.DESIGNRETAILONLINE.COM

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of design:retail - July 2015

design:retail - July 2015
Contents
Editor’s Note
Show Talk
On Trend
We Love This!
Designer Picks
Clicks & Mortar
Have You Heard?
Mingle
Perspectives
Shopper Insights
Shopping with Paco
From Concept to Completion
Brothers Marketplace
Nebraska Furniture Mart
Fixture Leaders
Fixture Products
Backstory

design:retail - July 2015