[11/2009] They
may have been the saving grace for countless retail marketers throughout 2009
but classic BOGOF or pure-play 241 style discounting offers have had their day
according to the 100 retail marketing experts questioned by Mohive during the
build-up to this month’s In-store Marketing event.
Speaking
to retail marketing professionals attending the In-store marketing seminar this
month, Mohive CEO Lars Unneberg said: “With discounts of up to 70 or 80 percent
now commonplace on the High Street, the retail marketers taking part in our
studies are telling us in no uncertain terms, that shoppers have become
desensitised to the big number price reductions that have kept so many stores
trading through ’09.
“Further
research from IGD Retail Analysis compounds the problem with claims that more
than one quarter of consumers actually want to see an end to BOGOF style
multi-buy promotions because they encourage waste.
"In
a retail environment where classic promotional drivers like price are being
overtaken by issues of ethical trading, sustainability and the environment, the
ability to present new product benefits, to understand the customer’s needs, to
up-sell – in essence, the ability to get maximum bottom-line impact from every
customer interaction – will be essential to success, if not survival, in 2010”
Asked
to highlight the top five concerns to address for 2010, the 100 retail
marketers participating in Mohive’s study said (from 5 to 1):
5.
Keeping product campaigns fresh and effective: Product range has contracted
over the recession but retail marketers say they are actually promoting less
product with more campaigns. With old standards like BOGOFs and 241’s looking
somewhat tired to many consumers these days, marketing managers worry about
keeping promotional initiatives fresh.
4.
Converting in-store browsers into transacting customers: Footfall is down 19
percent, and with no significant spike anticipated in consumer spending anytime
soon, retail markets know they need to do everything possible to convert
browsers into customers.
3.
Keeping product campaigns aligned to customer needs: Course realignment has
been the retail marketers’ mantra this year, but while most now say that they
are supporting the right products with the right promotions, right now, no one
expects things to stay the same for long.
2.
Rolling out product campaigns faster: The pace of retail promotions has
accelerated dramatically over 2009 and there’s no sign yet of any slowdown. In
sectors like fashion, promotions that may have lasted an entire season before
the recession now come and go within just weeks. In food and grocery the number
of flash promotions lasting between 1 and 3 days has increased fivefold.
1.
Keeping store managers and staff in the loop: Keeping the customer entertained
with a dazzling array of tempting offers and promotions remains (rightly) the
primary focus for marketers, but as the pace of promotional churn goes into
hyper-drive, many believe that staff in-store are struggling to keep up. Should
marketing programmes recognise the contribution of a well informed sales force
and allocate communication resources to front end staff; or is this a task that
someone over at internal comms should be working on? Retail marketers see the
problem, they’re just not sure it should be their problem?
About In-store Marketing:
In-store
Marketing is a brand new event created especially for retail marketers. Focused
on the most compelling in-store marketing initiatives available in retail today
this new event will demo and detail the next big concepts coming on-stream for
in-store customer marcomms.