Stop the Madness!
COVID 19 has certainly presented a lot of challenges for many retailers and brands alike. For some it has also created opportunities (you might call them the lucky ones). How one addresses these challenges and or opportunities is what will separate the proactive from the reactive, the leaders from the followers and the quick from the dead.
I chose the images above because it is a great depiction of what happens when a major impact event, like a pandemic, sets in motion a chain of events that can be a.) catastrophic is one does not figure out a way to break the chain or b.) crushing if changes are not instituted that impact the potential outcome before the last domino falls. This poor guy is going to get flattened when the last domino falls and the issues have grown bigger and bigger. I guess this has been a bit of an ongoing topic for me in my opinion papers. I wanted to center this one on some specific actions that can be considered (some we have touched on before) to help address the negative chain of events caused by COVID. From what I have been reading, many of the suggestions highlighted have been implemented with success by others. #1 for everyone is digital commerce.
I recently read an interesting article from Fashion United ‘How fashion retailers can survive the lockdowns and create omni-channel experiences for future growth”. Within this paper they
discuss the importance of an ecommerce platform for retailers and the fact that many of these on-line platforms are now made much simpler and easy to use, offer real time reporting, secure payments and merchants can start selling on-line right away. This article also rightly points out that a retailers ecommerce site does not replace the brick & mortar store, but rather offers an enhanced experience to the consumer. BOPIS, try in-store and purchase on line, reduction in que times in store and touchless payment processing to name a few. All of which bring the retailer closer to a true omnichannel approach to commerce.
When talking e-commerce platform providers for retailers (and many brands), most all of the companies offering these services/technologies make claims that they are first in one way or another (biggest, fastest growing, top rated, etc.). In my humble opinion, and from what I have been reading, the platform that Amazon is most concerned about is the one I am going to focus on here. In this case I am referring to Shopify. From everything I have read, this retailer friendly platform has tremendous ‘out of box’ functionality (you do not need to hire someone to build features for usage). Most everything you need is included. No coding or design skills are required. Shopify offers data protection meeting GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) standards and they are a hosted solution. You do not need to invest in expensive equipment to run this platform. I did find a good review from Style Factory should you like to read more. There are certainly many other solutions out there, but for the money I have to believe this would be toward the top of anyone’s list.
Within the action sports industry, there is a wonderful ‘middleware’ company called Exchange Collective that can link a retailer using Shopify or Magento to some of the best surf and skate brands in the industry. A common concern that I have heard from many retailers is tied to inventory and how to get images up on line (a pain in the you know what). The great thing about Exchange Collective is that they link a brands’ product line, images and available inventory directly to a retailers’ platform and presto, you are up and running. This creates an endless isle where retailers can offer products from great brands representing styles, colors and sizes that may not be available in their store. According to Dave Pankratz, CEO of Exchange Collective, ‘using our technology is so simple for both the brand and the retailer and is perhaps the single best alternative to Amazon in action sports. Brands enable retailers to sell
their products direct to customers online while providing the back-end support shipping directly to customers. Retailers get to focus on their customer experience and not the tedious tasks of loading 1000's of products. Together, using our technology, brands get authentic exposure to the end consumer while retailers can expand product offerings and the consumer receives a great experience from click & order to brick &mortar’. Companies such as Exchange Collective make the entry into digital commerce even easier and can expand the reach of any retailer and that of those brands participating as well.
The last area I want to discuss is more about data, putting your best foot forward and how numbers can mislead. I remain in contact with previous colleagues, retailers and certain acquaintances across a few industries. What I have noticed in speaking with some is that YoY data can prevent a brand or retailer from making necessary changes to leverage trends (in a COVID world) that may positively impact their business.
It is great to know where your money has come from in any business. Today, one must know where the money will come from. Many action sport retailers witnessed hard goods and functional apparel driving sales during this pandemic. Never mind that the majority of revenue may have previously come from other categories such as tee-shirts. Now is the time to reset your store to favor those products and brands making the money. It is also the time to do the same on any web-site. Particularly in the latter, I have noticed many ecommerce sites that continue to lead with categories of product that most likely previously sold the best (and may have defined a brand) rather that what the consumer is currently buying. I get it that it takes time to make new product shifts and doesn’t happen overnight. However, I have witnessed sites where products already exist on their site, but are yet to be brought forward for purchase or in performance marketing. This may seem obvious, but my sense is that the math is not telling the truth and will not if trend insights are not actioned upon. Brands and retailers alike must understand consumer trends in this environment and test products in store and on line that can help change course and drive revenue.
The point of all of this is that change is required today if you are to break the chain of events caused by COVID. The impact of this pandemic has influenced consumer behavior that will not go away in the short term and will perhaps be with us for years to come. Waiting out the storm until the tied waters recede is not really an option. Doing nothing is simply madness.