Essentials have been selling. Now it’s all about turning consumer ‘wants’ into ‘needs’?
Persuading customers to come back and start spending again requires resilience and skill post coronavirus pandemic.
Similar challenges face online and bricks-and-mortar retailers, says Ashley Rossiter, MD of MirrorMePR, an equestrian PR & social media marketing agency.
As an award-winning agency, we know how to market our clients' products and brands. As a retailer, you need to think about how you’re marketing your merchandise.
Delivering a fabulous shopping experience is going to be more crucial than ever in the weeks ahead.
Create a sense of urgency
This is a great way to usher the purchasing process along. Flagging up limitations on stock availability, or declaring limited time offers with deadlines, can activate spend. It’s particularly useful for sale rails, both virtual and instore.
Colour psychology
Studies show that men are more likely to buy products with prices written in red. And, indeed, the association between red and sales/discounts is likely to be strong. Throughout your shop interior (website or bricks-and-mortar) choose colours wisely to create the right environment for spending time and money. Bright, colourful merchandise at the entrance can lift the spirits and encourage spending.
Set the mood
Music has a significant impact on how long shoppers spend browsing in physical stores. Keep the volume low, and the music calm and slow, and you'll encourage a browse/buy culture. Website retailers can set the mood for their stores and products through well-written content and high-quality imagery. Copywriting content can also focus on SEO, so serves a dual purpose. In any store, looks and performance are everything.
Merchandising layout
Putting essentials to the back of your store encourages customers to walk past other items - both there and on the way back to your till point. And that creates double the opportunity to pick up a few other items. Achieve the same effect with a ‘other customers bought these items too’ footer section in your e-commerce store.
Pay the way
Offer a wide variety of payment options online from PayPal to Apple and Google Pay. Make the buying process smooth and seamless. The same applies to instore purchases. Contactless payment is more popular than ever. And product bundles offering a saving at till points provide a feel-good factor and chance to upsell an 'irresistible addition' when the customer already has their card or cash in hand.
For more information www.mirrormepr.co.uk
