What is Retail Marketing? Importance, Strategies, and Examples

Any retail business that doesn’t generate sales can fail. But without marketing, it’s nearly impossible to generate sales. Marketing is about how potential and current customers and the market or segment of your retail business see and talk about your business.

Good marketing strategies can significantly benefit your retail business, driving brand awareness and instilling confidence in the goods offered in your online brick-and-mortar stores. Effective marketing strategies will also provide a steady stream of new customers, generate word-of-mouth referrals from satisfied customers and improve the allocation of scarce marketing resources.

Your retail business needs to address many unique aspects with the right marketing strategies to increase sales. 

In this blog, you will learn about Retail Marketing, its strategies, importance, and examples associated with the same.

What is Retail Marketing?

It is the process by which retail businesses promote their goods and services to their target audience to create awareness, create goodwill and generate sales.

A salesperson has many ways to sell his services. Some are free, and some are paid. Traditionally, retailing has relied heavily on advertising.

Retailing has evolved quickly to include more peer-driven marketing strategies, such as affiliate marketing and influencers.

Both e-commerce and traditional retailers must use retail marketing. Almost all retailers use some form of marketing. It is also evident that online channels are becoming more popular. 

Retail Marketing vs. Marketing

Marketing is key to guiding customers through the retail process. While the retail process deals with customers who are ready to buy, marketing is everything you do to attract and engage your customer base until you reach that point.

Marketing tactics refer to how a business communicates its value. It includes e-marketing or social media, packaging, pricing strategies, and even where and how products are sold (such as a store or website design).

Retailing, however, is more complicated than other forms of marketing. It is because it requires building strong relationships with customers that lead them to choose your particular product over others – not just because that product is “better” but because of all the other products out there. 

Retailing requires you to consider all the touch points surrounding your customer’s interaction with your product.

Importance of Retail Marketing

1. Retailing dominates supply chains: Goods and services move from producers or service providers to consumers. When the number of users is large and widespread, the role of marketers becomes essential. Retailers are the link between wholesalers and consumers. Thanks to its dominant position in the supply chain, the retail structure has increased over the years.

2. Retailing has opportunities for international expansion: Retailing allows retailers to expand beyond their local market. Retailers focusing on the luxury goods market are expanding their operations internationally. Marketers move to geographically and culturally distant markets.

3. It shapes people’s lifestyles: Retailing is an integral part of society and forms a way of life. In the past, it was part of traditional society. But recently, buying and selling goods has become a dominant brand activity.

4.  Trade contributes to the economy: The contribution of retailing is more significant in modern times than ever before. Since retail trade is linked to a large part of the economy, its contribution to GDP is substantial. It aims to promote continued growth.

5. It is multidisciplinary: The growth rate of retail operations is accelerating. Retailing has evolved from several disciplines, including geography, economics, management, and marketing.

6.  Retailers are gatekeepers in distribution channels: The role of retailers in retail channels is increasingly important. As sellers become more powerful, they can influence suppliers to provide only the products they want to sell. Therefore, the customer can buy only what the seller is offering. Thus, retailers shape consumer demand.

Types of Retail Marketing

1. In-store Marketing

In-store Marketing refers to any promotional activity in your store. It promotes products to customers and provides them with a comfortable experience. In other words, in-store marketing engages customers in their shopping journey.

For example- Providing samples of new products, Collecting Feedback, and Setting up events like Live Music, Product Demonstrations, etc.

2. Traditional Marketing

Traditional Marketing means finding a target audience using offline channels such as print advertising or billboard advertising. Although digital marketing has overtaken traditional marketing for many industries, it is still the best way to connect with your local audience.

For example- Postcards, Brochures, Direct Mail, Newspaper Advertising, etc.

3. Digital marketing

Digital marketing is promoting your store or products through organic and paid efforts using online platforms. There are several paths to a comprehensive digital marketing strategy.

The channels you choose will depend on where your audience is, your budget, and your overall business goals.                                                                                                                                                                

Effective Retail Marketing Strategies

1. Motivate your employees by providing better wages and compensation packages

Your employees are the brand ambassadors of your retail business, and you need to give them incentives to achieve better results. If you compensate your employees correctly, you can create a memorable impression on your customers with an unforgettable experience.

If you can recruit and retain customer-centric, long-term, and committed employees, you’ll increase customer retention, reduce employee turnover, and increase profits. 

You can also encourage sharing new marketing and relationship management initiatives with your employees, as they may have a better contextual understanding of your customers and prospects from personal interactions with them.

2. Satisfy customers’ needs with the right products and services

Knowing what people want and why they want it is one thing. Another is providing them with the right products and services.

Part of creating retail campaigns is ensuring you have the right products for your target audience.

3. Organize window displays

Visual merchandising refers to how you plan, design, and display products to highlight their characteristics. The primary objective is to attract customers and encourage them to buy the product. Good visual marketing strategies will organize your store and help you sell the products on your own.

Planning your retail display is critical to retail marketing success. It allows you to connect with people through the five senses and increase sales in your store.

4. Strategic positioning

Strategically placing items where customers are most likely to buy them is an excellent strategy for increasing sales. A good example is putting small and cheap products at the checkout counter.

5. Build your online presence

 Building an online social media presence can help grow your audience and attract the right customers, even if you have a physical store.

Almost all use two or more social media platforms. The most popular channels for sellers on the market include Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc.

6. Engage your customers

Your customers should be given a reason to love your brand. The best way to make customers loyal is to help them. Answer their questions as honestly as you can. Connect and answer product questions from your customer’s experience or their perspective through real user experience.

As your customers leave, thank them for their purchase and invite them back, giving your customers a memorable experience. You should seek customer feedback, post questions and answers online, include customers in your market research, and respond to positive and negative customer reviews. 

Additionally, you can offer discounts and coupons to returning customers, among many other communication methods.

7. Strategic Store Planning

The store design is the first touch point for customers. Stores designed for people perform better than stores that are not. Colorful and kid-friendly product placement is perfect for a toy store, while classic looks and colors are perfect for a menswear store.

8. Strategic Remarketing

You can increase customer retention through remarketing. Customers in your online or physical store are often distracted and quickly forget about their positive customer experience. You must remind past customers of the positive experience by engaging in promotions and discounts.

9. Change your pricing strategy

Product demand is always subject to seasonal or market changes, consumer trends, and competitive activity. Therefore, you must be on top of your pricing game to keep your inventory moving forward. To do this, you should regularly change the selling prices to attract customers and make a reasonable profit.

10. Work with influencers

Influencer marketing is the practice of partnering with celebrities to promote your products to their followers. 

By working with the right influencers, you can build long-term brand partnerships and run campaigns that resonate with your target audience. 

Retail Marketing Examples

1. Gap

Gap is one of the most renowned clothing brands in the United States. So their marketing strategies are a little different than a typical e-commerce retailer.

Gap’s new partnership with Walmart exemplifies the company’s ability to adapt to changing industry standards and consumer preferences. The new Gap Home line is available exclusively on Walmart.com, helping them take advantage of Walmart’s existing audience.

 Gap’s strategies show that even traditional retailers can redefine their image by connecting their existing brands with new marketing channels.

2. Adidas Workout sessions

Adidas is always looking for ways to make their Shoreditch-based fitness center (a place where they can get to know their customers better). Their campaign is to offer Londoners free gym classes that they can book at the brand’s studio on Brick Lane.

Considered a hangout for exercise fanatics, it regularly hosts fitness classes, running sessions, and nutrition workshops. Adidas also uses Facebook Messenger here, as people can book and view upcoming sessions.

It is something different that other similar brands do not offer. It helps prevent oversubscription and prevents people from taking too many free classes. This helped Adidas’ marketing team learn the types of courses people liked and ensure regular engagement with them on social media.

3. Rothy

Fashion retailer Rothy offers quality products that are sustainable and actively help clean up the marine plastic environment. It also uses several retail marketing strategies that have allowed it to expand. 

It offers customized suggestions based on your information when signing up for the newsletter.

It also works with influencers to increase brand awareness.

4. French Connection Cafe

Customers take advantage of the various spaces at places like Starbucks and Costa Coffee to meet friends, read a book, do something, and everything in between.

Many retailers are already embracing this trend and starting to include coffee shops in their stores; French Connection is an excellent example of this, as it has teamed up with Bravidi Coffee to open a shop on Oxford Street.

This is a talent strategy. Customers will spend more time there because it is not a store. It is a friendly and pleasant place to relax. Also, staying open until 9 pm also affects the night shops, so locals constantly pour out the doors.

5. The Tur-Shirt Company

The Tur-Shirt, a UK company, sells children’s clothing. Creator Terri-Ann Turton appeared in John Levy’s production, one of the UK’s top department stores. The co-branding brought in more social media followers, web traffic, and, more importantly, more sales and repeat customers.

The Final Word

Suppose you want to stand out from competitors in a crowded online market. In that case, you need to find ways to improve your product, price, location, and advertising value by communicating this information to customers.

As consumer attitudes change, so will the types of advertising that appeal to them. Whether in-store, online, or a combination, your product marketing strategy should put the customer at the center.

So keep savvy customers in mind when thinking about your message. Introduce them to lifestyle channels and make buying easy for them when the time comes. Personalize your conversations and show interest in your audience’s interests.

For more help on eCommerce marketing and marketing automation, you can schedule a demo with NotifyVisitors.

FAQs