Michael Epstein’s Post

Fully agree with this point. The crack cocaine analogy is highly pertinent as price promos pump up gross revenue, which then becomes difficult for management to let go of, whilst the damage to margin is either ignored or actively hidden. And that's before we start talking about the inevitable cohort of negative margin customers. Apologies to all those that have heard me rant on this before.

At Retailbound we work with consumer brands – both large and small – who are either launching a new product in retail or trying to position themselves more competitively in the space. Some obvious topics most companies think about (and sometimes get right) include pricing, packaging, promotional strategies, and which channels they’d like to place their products. The blog post below is not about the obvious, but instead is an attempt to describe unseen challenges that product brands face when launching in retail. Robert Bruza #retail #challenges #productlaunch #newproducts #ecommerce #newproductlaunch https://lnkd.in/gXfqaUNZ

Direct to Consumer brands continue to capture market share. 1. 81% of consumers plan to purchase directly from a Brand this year. 2. Direct to Consumer brands are able to bypass traditional retail, and dealerships giving their customers the best value, and experience they have to offer. 3. Brands can locate, and curate a personal relationship with their customers utilizing social, and eCommerce platforms. 4. The traditional model of a retailer as a Brand selling other Brands is no longer a viable Business model. They are subject to Showrooming, and provide no unique competitive advantage in the marketplace. 5. If we look at the winners, and losers in the marketplace today it is easy to see. Losers- Macy’s, Sears, Nordstrom, Bed Bath & Beyond…. Winners- IKEA, Tesla, Decathlon, Apple, Gap, Levi’s, Lululemon, and so many more!!! In years past the only option for Brands was to partner with 3rd party retailers, distributors, and dealerships. However, this model posed a problem for Brands. 1. The relationship existed with the 3rd party retailer, and not the actual customer purchasing their products. 2. The Brands were essentially held hostage to the 3rd party retailers buying power, and level of service offered to their customers. This would result in lower margins for the Brand, and a very small customer base exposing Brands to the fiscal health of the Retailer. 3. 3rd Party Retailers can make or break a Brand..in some cases they can give one Brand a competitive advantage over another on price or coveted location in store. 4. If your Brand is successful a 3rd party retailer may start its own in-store Brand to compete against you. 5. Modern eCommerce platforms, and automated supply chains are the Game Changers for Brands to service their customers directly. This is by far the best model for Brands Today. 1. The ability to complete 1000’s of transactions directly with their customers at a very low cost. 2.Capture all relevant customer analytics, and responding to customer feedback instantly. 3. Instant cash flow, at the highest margins from customers contributing to the overall financial health of the Brand. Check out the article below! #business #yyc #retail

This is fascinating. Flagship Retail highly correlated (causation) with DTC and Wholesale Revenue. Flagships drive multichannel revenue (and multichannel declines when flagships are closed) Exactly the causation we see when we have opened a branded flagship door in a DTC or wholesale market - retail stores can create big brand awareness and consumer inertia for all channels. Cannibalization is always the first concern, but in my experience, flagships raise all ships. "Just as there is a positive impact on the average online basket when stores open, for emerging retailers, there is a negative impact when they close physical stores,” ICSC said, noting that the average online basket dropped from $126 to $109 after a store’s closing. While emerging retailers experienced a 13.5 percent decrease in the average online basket when closing a store, established retailers, typically having more stores, experienced no impact on the average online basket, which remained at $91, the report said. “Stores are not just sales drivers, but they can also help emerging retailers drive brand awareness and build trust with consumers,” ICSC offered." #consumer #retail

Retailers face an underwhelming holiday season, but that makes it all the more essential to maximize the remaining opportunities. AlixPartners surveyed over 1,000+ customers and found that 26% of consumers plan to spend less and trade down on this season’s gifting, but both new advancements like AI and more traditional approaches like the right marketing will separate leaders from laggards. Our experts outline the best way to use these tools to find success even through a tough holiday season in this article: #Retailing #B2C #HolidaySeason

An insightful consumer survey on their projected spend this holiday, and how retail leaders can use emerging technology to better target and yield results. #Retailing #B2C #AI #Holiday2023

Retailers face an underwhelming holiday season, but that makes it all the more essential to maximize the remaining opportunities. AlixPartners surveyed over 1,000+ customers and found that 26% of consumers plan to spend less and trade down on this season’s gifting, but both new advancements like AI and more traditional approaches like the right marketing will separate leaders from laggards. Our experts outline the best way to use these tools to find success even through a tough holiday season in this article: #Retailing #B2C #HolidaySeason

Retailers face an underwhelming holiday season, but that makes it all the more essential to maximize the remaining opportunities. AlixPartners surveyed over 1,000+ customers and found that 26% of consumers plan to spend less and trade down on this season’s gifting, but both new advancements like AI and more traditional approaches like the right marketing will separate leaders from laggards. Our experts outline the best way to use these tools to find success even through a tough holiday season in this article: #Retailing #B2C #HolidaySeason

The transformation of Brand marketing continues as RMNs such as Adsta evolve. This is a very informative blog and I hope you enjoy the read. DM me if you desire any additional info on Adsta. #cpg #brandmarketing #retailmedianetworks

7 secrets to driving retail velocity from Moiz Ali & Nik Sharma. The most recent episode of Limited was all about driving retail velocity. Here’s what Nik & Moiz shared. 1️⃣ Never do .com only. Every retailer has an online platform, i.e., target .com, nordstrom .com. What happens when you do try .com only is that Target bids up your brand search terms. You lose half your margin drop shipping and have to deal with shipping and returns. Meanwhile, the majority of sales are happening in stores. And you miss out on the awareness that stores drive. 2️⃣ Your first retailer defines you Retailers (and shoppers) will make associations based on where they see you first. You don’t want to be pigeonholed as a specialty or deep discount. Retailers will also be able to see your sales figures via Nielsen. Pick your first store wisely—choose a retailer and customer base that is aligned with your brand. 3️⃣ Launch with your best products. You must hit the sales volume targets. Or risk being removed from the set and store. It’s not the SKU that gets blamed - it's the brand. Maybe they’ll let you swap a SKU, but they could remove the entire brand. Conversely, if you exceed the targets and sell out, you can set yourself up for more shelf space. 4️⃣ Run promotions out of the gate There are many levers to drive sales velocity. 🎯 End caps 🎯 On-shelf signage 🎯 Sampling 🎯 Rebates/coupons End caps act as a billboard to promote your product and get 10x more traffic. Moiz also shared that on-shelf signage touting online reviews (10k 5-star reviews) is a great way to show credibility and drive sales. Sampling is a power move here for food and beverage. The last lever to play here is using cash-back tools (Rakuten, Ibotta, Brij rebates) to stimulate in-store purchases. 6️⃣ Leverage your website and owned lists Add a store locator to your website. Use your SMS and email list strategically. Let people know you are in Target. Consider emailing all of your customers with a $5 coupon just for Target. Moiz suggests temporarily making a popular item sold out on the website to push people to buy it in-store. 7️⃣ Bonus tip: Add a Brij experience to your packaging, signage, and geo-targeted ads. If you are a new product in a new store sitting next to a dozen competitors, the odds are stacked against you. By adding a Brij experience to your go-to-market, you kill 4 birds with one stone. → Product education → Incentivize purchases (rebate, sweepstakes) → Data collection (email, SMS) → Direct sales Now, let's go sell some product in retail. Thanks, Nik and Moiz, for some amazing tips here. #retail #retailvelocity #sellthrough