Retail Marketing Competition Conundrum – Financial Post Weighs In
The entrance of Target onto the Canadian retail scene has had a lot of tongues wagging over the last year – for a number of reasons – but as a recent Financial Post article suggests, one of the biggest reasons is its impact on competition.
If you are a retailer in the CPG industry, you are no doubt aware of the high level of competition out there. The stakes are high, and if you can’t keep customers coming through those doors, you might as well close them. As a the article, titled “Food fight among retailers expected to continue keeping prices lower,” proposed, price plays a big role – but is it the only factor?
Is cost the only thing that keeps customers coming back? No – and even if your prices are on par with other retailers, that doesn’t necessarily equal sales. When a customer shops, they are not only looking for the best deals and a variety of choices, they also shop at certain locations because of the atmosphere – even if unconsciously. If a customer enters a store and makes his/her purchases and has an overall positive experience, they will return. If, however, they leave the store feeling dissatisfied or put out by the experience, the chance of them returning has now seriously decreased. It isn’t rocket science – so why ignore it?
We all know what things make the customer happy – helpful staff, a clean store, products on the shelf, not having to wait long at the checkout – so is your store making the most of the resources available and ensuring that when a customer leaves, they are leaving with the intention of returning?
The Financial Post article argues that most CPG retailers are using specific products as loss leaders to draw the customer in with the hopes that they will spend more on the bigger ticket items. We argue that this is not enough. If your prices are great but the shopper always leaves displeased, there is no guarantee that they will choose your store again.
In order to compete, customer experience should play a major role in your retail marketing. Whether this means increasing your staff during peak times to avoid line ups or to restock shelves, merchandising the store to make it more appealing, or even dealing with emergency product recalls in a timely manner, you need to be prepared.
To find out how you can beat the competition with a retail marketing strategy that sells, please contact Marketsupport today by calling 1-877-421-5081, or visit us online at www.storesupport.ca.
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