Tips for Brick-and-Mortar Retailers to Improve Revenue Amidst COVID-19

leslie-img

Saffron Edge

icon-calendar

Jan 11, 2021

icon-timer

7 min read

Brick-and-Mortar Retailers

The arrival of COVID-19 has made all the predictions regarding 2020 go astray. All the businesses that were expecting growth and profit during 2020 have to come up with new survival strategies since COVID-19 has changed many things for most of the industries. You will be surprised to know that about 60% of the businesses from all over the world have been closed because of COVID-19 and this number is going to keep on increasing.

Although each and every type of industry has been affected because of COVID-19, the one particular sector that has been affected the most because of the arrival of the virus is the retail sector or what people call as brick and mortar retailers. If you are running a similar kind of store and finding it difficult to keep your business alive then it's high time to come up with new strategies in order to improve revenues. 

The year 2020 might have turned out to be a big opportunity for online businesses but the same year has turned out to be a nightmare for brick and mortar retailers. But in order to make things easy for you, in this blog post, we will not only discuss possible solutions for retail stores to improve their revenue but also go through the current situations and look at the most common issues. 

The effects of COVID-19 on the retail sector 

When the dust will settle and COVID-19 will be gone completely, a new normal will arrive in the market and this new normal will include drastically changed human behavior and habits. One such change in human behavior and habit will be a shift from impulse buying to planned purchase. Window shopping will keep on decreasing and this will lead to reduced sales in retail shops.

Another trend that you will see on the rise is crisis spending where customers will be restricted to purchase only essential products because of the economic slowdown. The crisis spending will continue to be a part of the consumer habit even after the end of the virus. 

Another change that we are currently encountering is focused on individualism. For example, you will see that there is a sudden decrease in the demand for group items since gathering is being completely avoided.

Tips for improving revenue amidst COVID-19

Just because the current situation is tough and you will have to go through many changes, this doesn’t mean that you should also belong to the 60% of the business mentioned at the outset of the article. There are many retail shops out there that are still surviving and making improvements to their overall revenue.

improving revenue

Source: Unsplash

Here are some of the tips that you can use in order to improve revenue amidst COVID-19

Increase customer engagement via various mediums

If you are running a retail store then you must be aware of the fact that only 20% of your customers produce 80% of your revenue. Since these customers will always remain important for the survival and growth of your business, it is crucial for you to pay special attention to these customers, especially during the current situation. The loyalty of these customers will keep your retail store alive during the pandemic and this is why you can’t ignore them.

Whether it is emails, blogs, articles, or newsletters, you will have to use all the mediums possible in order to stay connected with these customers as they should be your main focus, especially when you are struggling to survive. If you succeed in illustrating that you are there for your loyal customers during a tough time, you will be able to nurture your loyal customers. Identify your loyal customers and start making changes to your current strategy. 

You can follow down on the path of focusing your investment towards marketing efforts and build a presence online. This will help your customers connect with you more easily and you will be able to boost engagement. It will also help you target new customers who are looking for viable options. Localizing your digital marketing strategies will enhance the chances of people finding you and it will eventually bring in business. 

Leveraging social media

Social media engagement has increased multifold over this past year. If you own a brick and mortar retail business, it becomes essential for you to garner an audience for yourself. You can also leverage the platforms in educating the masses about latest trends that you follow or the sanitization process you use to keep you customers safe and whatnot. If you are having trouble bringing in business, do not get disheartened and work towards building a brand. You need to think long-term and set up a digital base for yourself. No matter how local your brand is, you would need to establish a presence digitally to survive what this pandemic has brought on you. 

Gift cards

This might look like a marketing tip from the 90s but you should know that it works really well even during the current situation. Gift cards provide all the different types of retailers with an immediate injection of cash and in addition to this, it also improves repeat purchases among customers as well. You should know that gift cards are an amazing way to stay in front of the audience and it can also be helpful in acquiring new customers as well. Even during the current situation, you can easily send digital gift cards to all your customers and make them feel special. But your digital gift cards shouldn’t be limited to your customers only as you can use them even for your prospects. 

Enhance your digital presence by structuring your messages 

The importance of messaging has increased by many folds just because of the current situation. All the firms out there now need to be more sensitive when it comes down to customer’s needs and this can only be done when firms will start reworking their marketing and advertising strategies.

If you were running a campaign that included the gathering of people, you will need to make some changes to those campaigns as you will need to show the reality of the current situation through your marketing campaigns. You can’t keep using the same marketing campaign if it doesn’t fit according to the current situation.

But this doesn’t mean that you will have to completely change your core branding message as all that you will need to do is to make sure that your campaigns fit like a glove in the current situation. Instead of being opportunistic, you will have to stay authentic during these tough times. Common and regular mistakes in your marketing campaign will mean that customers are less likely to interact with your company. This would be the best time to invest in making your marketing efforts more aligned. You can even get your digital marketing outsourced to save up on the extra expenditure. 

Working on shipping cost 

If you are planning for any type of cost-cutting then you should consider your shipping department for such a purpose. If possible, you should start looking for fulfilling your orders manually and you should never forget including local shipping features.

If the customers that you are serving are close to your firm then you can offer them a local delivery option in which the local rates will be applied to selected zones. You will have to align the shipping cost according to the current situation.

The NEED to move online 

You should know that because of the shift in consumer behavior during the lockdown, most of the consumers have moved online to purchase goods. There are many countries out there that are still going in for a lockdown because of the second wave of the coronavirus and this will further fuel the growth of online usage.

Even people who restricted digital platforms in the past are now moving to it because they have no other options. When the dust settles, people will get into the new normal, the usage of the online platform will keep on increasing. 

Because of this you will have to shift to the online platform and it doesn't mean complete closure of your brick and mortar shop, it just means having another platform for the consumers to buy your goods. 

You can simply start by choosing a website developing company and get your website built in a professional manner. There are maximum chances that the website developing company may provide SEO services through which you will be able to rank up in the search results and this will further boost your digital presence. Soon after the shift to the digital platform, you will witness a robust growth in your revenue. 

Get ready for the new normal because even after the end of the pandemic as consumer behavior and habit will continue to evolve. Now, if you are ready to step ahead and evolve with them, connect with Saffron Edge now! 

Over the years, our performance marketing experts have redefined brand marketing and customer-centric experiences. We provide strategic direction to our clients for effective, scalable, and profitable outcomes. Do you want to increase your market share? Saffron Edge is here to help ambitious teams like yours, enabling you to convert your ideas to reality!

Collaborating with Saffron Edge has provided our clients with sustainable growth. They can leverage our ability to be inventive and execute campaigns at a great pace. Our team holds a high focus on accomplishing client goals.

We give your marketing plan a growth-oriented approach. We evaluate your business’s key features to curate lucrative growth plans for strategic and long-term growth.

As a DTC business, you need to tackle increasing market competition and personalization. You need to align your campaigns with the latest consumer trends. Leverage our data-driven strategies to scale aggressively.

It is a long established fact that a reader will be distracted by the readable content of a page when looking at its layout. The point of using Lorem Ipsum is that it has a more-or-less normal distribution of letters, as opposed to using 'Content here, content here', making it look like readable English. Many desktop publishing packages and web page editors now use Lorem Ipsum as their default model text, and a search for 'lorem ipsum' will uncover many web sites still in their infancy. Various versions have evolved over the years, sometimes by accident, sometimes on purpose (injected humour and the like).

To unleash your growth accelerating capabilities, we rely on a process of extensive campaign optimization and cost-benefit analysis so that you drive higher conversion rates and ROI.

We launch your campaigns once we have evaluated revenue opportunities and critical growth areas. We also tweak those campaigns according to dynamic market trends and behavioral analytics.

At Saffron Edge, we offer a complete range of services that build up business value, from the initial idea & formulation of product strategy to building a prototype and testing it with users. Unleash your growth accelerating capabilities with our integrated growth marketing plan designed specifically to uplift business revenue.

The future of marketing is content that is genuinely valuable to your prospects. Saffron Edge is not just the NJ’s best content marketing agency; we are content curators, creative writers, and expert editors. We help create content that helps increase website traffic from all online marketing channels. Wondering why your digital marketing isn’t working to the full potential? Consult Saffron Edge for comprehensive business consultation services. We are a reputed business consultation agency in NJ with over a decade of experience in the industry.

Today, if you aren’t maintaining an active web presence for your business, you are losing out on a lot of potential customers. By just having a website, you open the door to anyone who has a slight interest in taking up your services or the products you have to offer. The power of data is remarkable; when you have data at your disposal your business drives success like never before. Saffron Edge is a New Jersey-based leading Digital Marketing Analytics Agency that employs a data-driven approach to help businesses make strategic decisions to maximize their profits. Our digital marketing strategies have been designed using the leading industry practices, consumer trends, and years of expertise.

We aren’t afraid to pursue multiple experiments that can help us optimize and improve the results. We help our clients grow their base grows organically and build brand advocacy. Let’s achieve tangible business outcomes and deliver superior digital experiences to your customers. Our experts understand the future of eCommerce; that is why we rely on progressive ROI-focused strategies for our clients. End-To-End digital solutions that lead the digital change! We create 'Impactful, People-First, & Goal-Driven Digital Marketing'. We offer end-to-end digital solutions that lead the digital change! We craft human connections using data analytics and strategic market research; it helps us deliver solutions that increase your enterprise value!

Direct-to-consumer brands have to tackle increasing market competition, the need for personalization, and evolving consumer habits. With Saffron Edge's data-driven eCommerce strategies, your DTC business can break through the noise. Establish a deep connection with your consumers and increase your sales!