4 Lessons from Retail Trends

WE READ THE RETAIL-TREND REPORTS SO YOU DON’T HAVE TO

Retail, in many ways, is the purest for of digital marketing. It was the original e-commerce, and it has the shortest path between message to purchase. So, when we’re looking for trends and lessons about what’s working in the world of digital, retail is typically the first place to start.

This week, we dug deep into a few retail reports and they really do expose the current state of digital business. Here’s what we learned:

1. WHEREVER PEOPLE SPEND TIME, RETAILERS CAN BE THERE

81% of retailers are planning to expand the number of digital channels they sell on in the next 12 months. That means retailers are expanding their thinking beyond the Meta-owned channels, to include opportunities like YouTube, TikTok, Pinterest, and shopping apps. This pairs naturally with the Omnichannel buzzword we’ve all been talking about for years.

When we can understand that each touchpoint is just another way to show up in the customer journey, we can be much more effective. In fact, in one project that Junction ran for a well-known Canadian retail brand, we were able to show that IRL store visitors who were prompted to take at least one online action (sign up for email, follow on social, etc.) increased their average value per year by over 3X – we wrote about the results of that project here.

2. AUTOMATION IS ACTUALLY ENHANCING CUSTOMER EXPERIENCES

When we add a layer of automation to our processes, there’s always a risk that we’ll remove the human touch, and thereby devalue the overall customer experience; However, research has shown that 73% of consumers actually prefer that local retailers use automation instead of staff in at least one area of the shopping experience.

The answer, of course, is not to hand over the whole customer journey to the robots, but to seek out points of friction that could be made more efficient, and therefore create a better overall experience for your customers.

3. CUSTOMERS REALLY DO WANT TO HEAR FROM BRANDS

Figuring out when, and how often, to reach out to customers can be a delicate balance; However, 86% of customers report that they prefer when when brands proactively communicate with them. Specifically, 60% of people wanted to hear from retailers via email, 32% preferred Facebook, 31% like SMS, and other social channels landed in the 10-20% range. The bottom line is that, when our messaging is contextual and valuable, people actually appreciate brand communications.

4. PERSONALIZATION IS HAPPENING THROUGH AI AND DATA

The robots are here to stay. Retailers are leveraging AI and data analytics to deliver personalized shopping experiences. By analyzing customer preferences, purchase history, and browsing behavior, retailers are finally delivering on the promise of tailored product recommendations, promotions, and communications, all in a way that is now accessible at mid-tier budgets.

CONTENT SPENDING IS UP

WHEN TIMES ARE TOUGH, THE CONTENT GETS GOING

Defying economic turmoil, 69% of marketers report that they’ll actually be increasing their spend on producing content. The quest for audience engagement is fierce, and marketers know they can't skimp on compelling content.

According to the State of Content Marketing report by digital asset management company, Bynder, while ad budgets may be the easiest to cut, it’s become clear that the connections we continue to build are some of the most valuable parts of our businesses.

Bynder’s CMO, Warren Daniels, said: “Content is a strategic business asset, and despite tough economic headwinds… global marketing teams are increasing or maintaining their spend on content creation, management and distribution, as this is where they believe they will see the most return on investment.”

Read the full report

HOW TO GET STARTED IN DECENTRALIZED SOCIAL

A SIMPLE WALK-THROUGH TO GET YOUR FEET WET

Last week we let you in on Bluesky, Jack Dorsey’s effort to create a new, decentralized social media network. While Bluesky is starting to pick up momentum, it’s just one of a growing a number of similar platforms, so this week we’re sharing some simple steps that you can use to dip your toes into the newest social media wave.

For this exercise, we’ll use one of the more prominent brands: Nostr.

Nostr isn’t a single app, it’s a platform that apps can be built upon (think: websites built upon servers). The Nostr technology is free and open source, so when apps are built on top of Nostr, they inherit its various benefits, especially the decentralized and censorship-resistant network.

To try Nostr out for yourself, follow these steps:

1. Pick a Nostr-based app (we suggest iris.to)
2. Fill out your profile
3. Follow a bunch of people
4. Share your Nostr account with your current social channels by posting and Tweeting about it
5. Learn about using Relays to secure your messaging
6. Start exploring other Nostr-based (this is a great list to start from)

Just like every new channel that comes along, figuring out the way you’re going to use it will be half the fun. Find communities of people, share content about your hobbies, and most of all, just get curious and see where the rabbit hole takes you.

GOOGLE INTRODUCED AI-POWERED SEARCH

ALSO, BARD GETS A MAJOR UPGRADE

Google's unveiling of an AI-enhanced search function marks a significant shift in AI’s roll out to the mainstream. A lot has been made about their chatbot, called Bard, and its lukewarm launch, but the way that it’s using those same AI-tools to power regular old search results is potentially even more impactful. By understanding user intent and context, Google is now able to deliver more accurate results, moving from keyword-centric mechanisms to context-awareness and conversational language.

This innovation highlights the importance of AI for businesses to refine targeting, improve customer experiences, and drive better marketing results.

At the same time, Bard’s public-facing tool is in the process of rolling out to many more countries this week — 180 to be exact — and it is coming armed with a lot of new features. Most importantly, Bard can search the live web, using real-time information to serve up answers. This is a huge upgrade from even ChatGPT, which, until recently, has only been able to use data created up to 2021 to inform its results.

The AI-race is on, and Google just made a major move to catch up to its rivals. Read more about it here.

A FEW FOR THE ROAD

MORE NEWS TO KEEP YOU ON THE CUTTING EDGE

• Expedia gets into the content marketing game by launching a “shoppable” platfom for travel
• Google gives very specific website SEO advice: Avoid “Coming Back Soon” pages
• Sprout Social published a useful guide on how to plan, launch and measure an influencer marketing strategy

Written by Conner Galway, Junction Consulting