Retail Apocalypse? Salvaging the Retail Experience in a Shifting Market

Marketing Strategy for Business Growth & Alignment

Chances are you’ve heard the oft-cited phrase “retail apocalypse” dominating media outlets lately. The face of the retail industry, and the retail experience in itself, is rapidly changing – and there’s no ignoring it.

This is nothing new: We’ve been watching this trend for years now. Sears recently closed numerous stores, and we’ve simultaneously watched Amazon’s growth since it was founded over 20 years ago. Online shopping has certainly influenced the changing face of the retail experience.

Consumer preferences for retail depend heavily on the type of product. For some products, like mobile devices or computers, consumers prefer going to a retail outlet to touch, feel, and experience the item. Whether they pull out their phone in the store to price check the product or head home to shop prices online, they easily make the trade-off between instant gratification and price savings.

More often than not, the purchase is ultimately made online. Hence the signage you see at many retailers these days, from Fry’s to Best Buy, guaranteeing price match or matching “internet pricing.”

But the retail crisis comes down to more than just the competition from online shopping: it’s closely tied to the fact that many long-standing retailers are strapped with unwieldy debts that are quickly coming due. Bloomberg’s feature on the looming retail doomsday shows a bleak financial future for many retailers in the U.S.

Does this mean retail is dead? Hardly.

It does mean rethinking the retail experience and brand positioning, however. As lead times shrink and instant gratification becomes increasingly important to Gen Xers and Millennials, company branding, coupled with the in-person retail experience and product ordering experience, will need to change significantly to keep up with shifting consumer demands.

Need help rethinking your retail brand’s positioning in today’s shifting market? Schedule a complimentary strategy session with an Upstart Group expert today.