As eCommerce and advertising continue to evolve, we stand on the brink of a paradigm shift that could redefine retail – a transition from traditional platforms to a more ubiquitous, off-platform shopping experience.
Spearheading this change are technological advancements by platforms like TikTok and Amazon Anywhere, signalling a new era of ‘Retail Everywhere’. As business owners, navigating this tsunami of change, it’s crucial to dissect and understand the undercurrents of this evolution, especially the critical role of consistency in this burgeoning ecosystem.
Consistency builds trust
Melbourne’s Mauro family runs a butcher shop in the eastern suburbs. The family business has a commitment to consistency that has sustained their business for over five decades. Rain or shine, their shop has opened its doors at the same time every day, embodying the timeless principle of retail: access and availability. However today, you’re just as likely to buy from Mauro’s online outlet, as their physical store. What hasn’t changed though, is the consistency of the service. It’s a testament to the fact that in retail, both on and offline, reliability builds the foundation upon which consumer trust is established.
However, as we usher in the age of Retail Everywhere, the core tenet of consistent availability assumes a digital mantle.
Off-platform shopping technologies are transforming the landscape, offering unlimited checkouts and storefronts through shoppable content dispersed across myriad online environments. This transformation not only extends the reach of retail but embeds it within the fabric of our digital lives, making shopping an omnipresent possibility.
Yet, adopting this model mandates adherence to the principle of always-on availability. Once a brand activates this retail omnipresence, it sets a new standard of consumer expectation – one that demands consistent engagement. It’s not merely about transactional efficiency but about being perpetually present, ready when the consumer is. To falter in this commitment is to undermine the very premise of Retail Everywhere.
Performance vs brand marketing
In this new world, the differentiation between performance marketing and brand marketing blurs. Brands venturing into directly shoppable content cannot afford to treat it as simply a performance tool—a switch to be toggled on during campaigns and off in interim periods. An approach like this would be like the Mauro family deciding to alter their long-standing operational hours on a whim. It disrupts the rhythm of reliability, breaking the covenant of consistency with the consumer.
ecTo thrive in the domain of Retail Everywhere, brands must recalibrate their strategies to embrace an always-on ethos. This doesn’t negate the value of targeted campaigns but necessitates a foundational layer of persistent presence. It’s a marathon, not a sprint, where the return on investment (ROI) on conversions from impressions to sales might initially trickle before it surges. Patience and persistence are the watchwords, as is the willingness to interweave this omnipresent infrastructure throughout all media spends.
Critically, turning off this stream of retail presence because it doesn’t immediately deliver expected results is a miscalculation. This decision parallels the error of presuming that a shop not bustling with customers at every moment is a failure. Presence isn’t merely about the transaction at hand; it’s about being there when the consumer decides the moment is right. Retail Everywhere, then, isn’t just a channel or a strategy – it’s a commitment to be unfailingly available, offering an unwavering beacon of reliability in the shifting sands of consumer expectations.
As brand custodians, the onus is upon us to embrace this change, understanding that consistency isn’t just a principle of retail – it’s the bedrock upon which the future of ubiquitous shopping will be built.
In this always-on, Retail Everywhere world, our narratives, like that of the Mauro family, will be defined not by the products we sell but by our unwavering presence in our customers’ lives. In consistency lies the key to unlocking the vast potential of this new retail landscape, weaving a tapestry of trust and availability that endures.
By Nick Morgan, CEO, Vudoo
This article was first published by Kochie’s Business Builders