With the COVID-19 vaccine rollout now fully underway, retail brands are sifting through the pandemic-era changes in consumer spending habits to figure out which ones will become permanent. Most notably, digital transformation seems here to stay. eCommerce, which allowed consumers to purchase goods and services safely, boomed during the pandemic, with categories such as groceries, books, cleaning, and sporting goods increasing year over year growth by more than 100%.
That evolution is expected to continue post-pandemic, with digital adoption driving changes in how consumers research, shop, and pay for retail goods. For many brands, 2021 will be a paradigm shift in how to build customer loyalty in the new, tech-forward approach to shopping.
In Movable Ink’s latest eBook, Retail Loyalty in the Midst of a Pandemic: Part 1, we partnered with Oracle and Shaw + Scott to help retailers understand how to foster consumer loyalty while budgets are tight, supply chains are inconsistent, and the economic future is uncertain. Radical shifts such as the ones many retailers experienced in 2020 require a seismic shift in how companies communicate and engage with consumers in order to encourage brand evangelism.
The Future of Retail Beyond the Pandemic
There is plenty of optimism that the economy will return to normalcy in 2021. As vaccination efforts continue throughout the world and consumer confidence increases, retail brands will need to ramp up efforts to engage with new and existing customers. That means analyzing existing customer data to understand how the pandemic has permanently shifted consumer behavior, including how, what, and when they shop.
Many retailers successfully implemented new ways of shopping such as buy-online-pick-up-in-store (BOPIS) and novel, digital-first ways of segmenting and marketing to consumers. Oracle and Shaw + Scott build a compelling case for data segmentation and dynamic data visualization. It’s time for brands to utilize their treasure trove of customer data to tell a personalized story that fuels customer loyalty and retention.
Loyalty Programs can Improve Targeting Data
We’ve already spilled plenty of (Movable) Ink on how retail rewards programs help build customer loyalty, especially in the luxury retail space. The concepts are not exclusive to luxury brands, though. Organizations are especially focused on retention as the economy continues to warm, and loyalty programs that offer unique experiences centered on customer experience will help many retailers realize expected growth in 2021.
Loyalty programs also present an often under-utilized opportunity to better understand how retail consumers have changed their buying patterns in response to the pandemic. Engagement data, including surveys and reviews, are an opportune way to learn “what’s working, what’s not, and where to allocate budget” for the rest of the year. This allows brands to reach new consumers and win back existing ones through detailed knowledge of the customer journey.
Utilize Email and Mobile Retail Communications
While it’s true that consumer confidence is increasing, the slow recovery will require proactive, transparent communications between brands and their customers. That calls for organizations to meet every customer, no matter how they shop. Brands that utilize email and mobile messaging are in an enviable position to build dynamic communications that can update consumers on changing inventory, shipping information, and in-store shopping availability.
The buying journey dramatically changed in 2020 as consumers relied heavily on their phones and computers to make purchases during the pandemic. Even as retail stores begin to open again, consumers expect a more online, tech-focused shopping experience that will require open, honest communication. Retail organizations will build loyalty and trust by personalizing their messages through dynamic data visualization.
To learn more about the future of retail loyalty, download Retail Loyalty in the Midst of a Pandemic: Part 1.