With the launch of the Great Singapore Sale in 1994, the retail industry has always been providing remarkable sales results. However, over the past few years, it is not an uncommon sight to see vacant stores in shopping malls. More retail outlets have been pulling out due to stiff competition and heavy losses from online shopping. With the rising trend of e-commerce, retail marketing is not as easy as it seems nowadays. Brick-and-mortar shops are facing intense competition from online shopping, and many have decided to leave the industry. However, this is not the end of the retail industry in Singapore since marketers can revamp their marketing techniques to increase market share. After all, the real question is, how should retailers change their marketing tactics? Read on to find out how revamping of retail marketing should be done in Singapore’s changing landscape.

1. Integrating retail online and offline

In the past, retail marketing only focuses on the brick-and-mortar aspect, and most of the marketing techniques were done at the storefronts. With technological advancements, consumers are easily reached via digital devices: mobile phones, laptops, and tablets. Moreover, with behavioural tracking, the data could be used to segment consumers based on their search history. This translates to the pervasiveness of marketing as the marketing materials can still reach consumers even when consumers are not at the physical outlets.  

The rise of social media had lead many brands to increase their online brand presence and selling their products on this kind of interactive platforms. As there are integration and balance of online and offline presence, the digital shift allowed us to have more direct customer touch-points. The digital approach of retail marketing, thus, helps marketers to gather information to divide their consumers more accurately and is something that is hard to achieve with the traditional brick-and-mortar marketing method.

2. Emotional appeal

Humans are emotional beings. Marketers can create unique emotional connections with their consumers by appealing to consumers’ emotions and demonstrating that they care for their customers. With 80% of the purchases that young people made are impulsive, when marketers target consumers’ emotions, attitudes, and perceptions towards the brand, it increases the likelihood of securing an impulse purchase from the consumer.

Then it comes to the question: How to appeal to consumers’ emotion? The answer is simple. Companies should always establish positive brand images, value-add the consumers’ lives with their products, and the marketing techniques used should never be intrusive or aggressive. Consumers are spoilt for choices with an array of product choices in the market. To marketers, this means that there are stronger market competitiveness and a greater need to increase the top-of-mind awareness of consumers. With the emotional appeal, companies can try to engage their consumers to come onboard with them via interactive marketing means. After which, consumers would associate positive emotions to a brand and in turn translates into brand loyalty.

3. Building communities

Having a loyal customer base and getting them to voice out their opinions are important. Companies can do this by establishing customer communities. The community should be authentic and transparent. By this, companies must listen to what customers say and make changes accordingly. One example of how companies have used this to their advantage would be–sustainable marketing. Many have hopped onto the bandwagon by rolling out sustainable products and claiming to be more environmentally friendly. When consumers purchase products with the sustainability logo, they would get a sense of validation for being part of a bigger community.

4. Personalisation

Marketers are constantly looking for ways to improve brand loyalty and increase sales, and personalisation is one of the best retail marketing techniques to increase brand loyalty. The research done by Epsilon showed that 80% are more likely to do business with companies that offer personalised experiences. This illustrates how personalisation provides a more enriching experience for them and making them feel particularly included.

With the trend of customisation, there is no way marketers can leave out personalised marketing. It helps customers to better identify with the brands, and would thus be beneficial in the long run for the company to build brand loyalty. These personalisation and customisation require an in-depth understanding of the consumers to figure out their tastes and preferences. Thus, companies can recognise what kind of products and services their customers prefer. Personalisation works best when companies know how to target their consumers specifically.

Personalisation can come in these forms: handwritten notes, customisation of products. It makes consumers feel unique and special since they know that there are no duplicates of the same gift. It is not difficult to do personalisation, and marketers should leverage this technique to increase their brands’ competitiveness.