Consumers across the globe have missed the in-person shopping experience. As restrictions are lifted and physical stores reopen, brands must prepare for the rise of the ‘revenge shopper’. After spending the best part of a year indoors, revenge shoppers want to make up for all that time they lost. These people are increasing their spending, reclaiming the shopping experiences they’ve been denied.
Predictions indicate that “retail sales during 2021 will increase to more than $4.44 trillion dollars as more individuals continue to get vaccinated and the economy re-opens,”. Revenge shopping has already spiked in China, the “Hermes’ Guangzhou flagship store reportedly did $2.7 million in sales on the day it reopened in April,.”
Over the next few months, retailers across the globe have an excellent opportunity to recuperate financial losses. Brands can also use this opportunity to provide customers with new experiences, taking and implementing what they’ve learnt over the past year across the digital channels.
How can brands get ready for consumer revenge shopping?
As revenge shopping begins across America and Europe brands need to reevaluate their customer experience and marketing strategies. As the CMO and Founder of an Influencer Marketing Agency, I’m certain that brands need to fuse the best aspects of physical and digital shopping, to shape the new type of customer journey. It’s crucial that brands learn from the past year, focusing on live streaming and influencer marketing.
AR and VR have allowed brands to gain back proximity to consumers and even blur geographical borders. The last year has been challenging, yet it’s allowed the marketing industry to reinvent itself, pushing forward with creativity and resourcefulness. Digital technologies have allowed brands to create new consumer experiences. These trends have enriched customers with new shopping habits; we’ve seen a real boom in social commerce.
Brands need to reward customers for their long wait to get back into physical stores. To prepare revenge shopping, brands must be innovative. Combining the best of the digital and physical world is key. By partnering with influencers and content creators, brands can drive social commerce sales and be ready for consumer revenge behaviour.
Working with content creators
Influencers can generate content that merges the offline experience of your brand and the online experience. With the help of influencer marketing, brands can assess this hybrid shopping experience. Influencers can present the new shopping journey in a creative, complementary, and immersive way.
According to Business Insider, as e-commerce and social media converge, influencers will become increasingly vital intermediaries, helping to connect brands with consumers on social media in highly resonant, authentic ways. Equally, influencers can create innovative content that focuses on your physical store. With the help of these content creators, brands can encourage customers to return to stores in person, and elevate the digital shopping journey.
How can brands use influencers to merge the physical and the digital shopping experience?
1. Offer incentives to visit the store: Incentives are a great way to draw customers back into stores. To incentivise customers, brands will need to create unique in-store experiences:
2. Host in-store events: In-person events can encourage customers to visit a brick-and-mortar store. Exclusive workshops are a great option for retail stores. These events should be combined with the presence of a relevant content creator. Influencers can use their expertise, not just to drive brand awareness, but to add extra value to the customer brand experience.
3. Make it ‘Instagrammable': In-store experiences can encourage customers to create UGC- user-generated content. This type of content is a fantastic way to improve a brand’s social marketing. User-generated content comes across as more authentic and natural, which is why it tends to perform better than owned media. Professional influencers can help brands to plan an effective UGC strategy, encouraging customers to create content, and share it among their peers.
What are the ethical aspects of revenge shopping?
As brands are preparing for the surge in revenge shopping, they must be aware of the ethical aspects. Modern consumers prefer sustainable brands with a strong sense of corporate social responsibility. According to data from Unilever, “53% of shoppers in the UK and 78% in the US say they feel better when they buy products that are sustainably and ethically produced.”
Brands need to be careful not to shamelessly promote overconsumption. Companies need to balance sustainability initiatives with their marketing efforts. The idea is to help customers to ‘revenge shop’, as ethically as possible. Brands should continue to prioritize eco-friendly materials, and help consumers to live more sustainable lifestyles. Content creators understand the importance of corporate social responsibility and can design content accordingly.
When Adidas launched their new runner's collection they did it under the umbrella of the ‘Run For The Oceans Campaign’. Consumers are getting ready to run marathons again, and Adidas is helping them to clean up beaches and oceans in the process. The brand has linked its new collection to an important cause, empowered by the voices of top content creators around the globe.
Key Takeaways
Revenge shopping is set to spike across the globe as COVID-19 restrictions are lifted and physical stores reopen.
To draw customers back into stores, brands must focus on creative and innovative ways to merge the best of two worlds: the online experience and the in-person shopping experience, still keeping in mind safety measures that make consumers comfortable to go back.
To merge digital and real-life shopping experiences, brands can use influencer marketing strategies. These strategies will help brands not only raise awareness, but to elevate the quality of the experience.
Partnering with the right influencers at this stage is key. Well-selected content creators can design and collaborate with the brand to create hybrid customer experiences.
To encourage shoppers back into brick and mortar stores, brands should offer incentives and unique experiences.
Retailers need to put sustainability first when leveraging revenge shopping to drive profits.
Original article: The Drum
