The global health pandemic has changed the way people live. Everybody’s stuck at home, working remotely, and shopping online. That has affected the way retailers communicate with customers and do business with them. After taking serious sales hits in the start of 2020, retail businesses have found new grounds to get back on their feet.
Continuing to face the challenges in the next year, retailers are coming up with new business trends. You want to become a part of this winning team of retailers? Make sure you cover these 5 retail trends in your business strategy.
Contactless Payments
As coronavirus continues to spread, people are freaked out about touching anything. Looks like they won’t be cool with paying cash or even swiping their card to pay for stuff. But that doesn’t mean they won’t buy things. So, retail stores are introducing contactless payments to deal with this paranoia and to keep their customers safe.
Basically, you need to have a system that allows you to send invoices to your customers with a “Pay Now” button. They can simply click that button, enter their card information, and pay you online for your products or services. See, no human contact, just safe online payments!
E-commerce
As people are staying home, they are not coming down to stores to get things. As a result, there’s almost no foot traffic in brick and mortar stores. So, there’s no point in opening your physical store and waiting for a customer to walk-in and ask you for a product or service. Instead, you need to take your products and services where the customers are. No, not their homes, their phones.
Follow another rising trend of the retail industry by setting up your online store and moving towards e-commerce. Display all your products and services on your online store with their prices and available stock.
So, customers can visit your store on their laptops and phones and order your products and book appointments for your services online at the ease of their homes. You can then manage their product orders and service appointments and give them what they need.
Social Commerce
Ever heard of social media shopping? It’s when someone buys something from social media platforms. With the closure of brick and mortar stores, social commerce has become such a popular thing among consumers.
To make the most of this sales opportunity, retail businesses are actively managing their Facebook and Instagram pages. They post about their products, services, offers, discounts, and deals to get the attention of potential customers while they scroll through social media. They are also investing in Facebook and Instagram ads to introduce their brand to the social media users who don’t follow their pages.
If you also want to get new customers from social commerce, it’s high time that you start managing your social media pages and put some ads there as well.
Fast Delivery Service
With the closure of brick and mortar stores and growing trends of e-commerce and social commerce, customers are no longer walking into the store but rather shopping from home, right? This means that when they order from your online store or social media pages, you need to get their ordered stuff delivered to their homes.
For that, you need to have a freaky fast delivery service. Because customers these days expect you to deliver their orders the same day of their purchase.
It’s okay if you don’t have enough resources to make this happen. You can partner with a delivery service company like Shipt that can take your packages and get them to your customers. Many retail businesses are doing that.
Influencer Marketing
Remember how customers used to walk the doors of your brick and mortar store, pick what they like, try or test it out, and then buy? That’s not happening in 2021. Because now customers are buying from your online store or social media pages. They can’t see or try your products and services in real time.
What are retail businesses planning to do about that? They are getting in touch with individuals who are admired and trusted by their consumers and ask them to market their products and services.
So, when consumers will see these influencers talking about your products, they will take their word for your brand and buy from you. And that means, more sales and new customers for your business. Yikes!
Make 2021 your year!
2020 has thrown many changes our way. 2021 is going to be all about figuring out how to deal with those changes. Retail businesses are mapping out their retail strategies for the coming year with innovative trends.
You can come up with an even stronger strategy if you have a retail point of sale (POS) software. It will help you set up an online store, maintain a smart customer base, manage product orders and service appointments, offer contactless payments, and manage your sales and revenue all with just a few clicks.
From clothing brands to restaurants and repair shops, there’s a dedicated POS software for every type of retail business. You can choose from a range of POS systems and get the one that best fits the needs of your business.
That’s about it for the latest retail trends in the coming year. Contactless payments, e-commerce, social commerce, faster and better delivery services, influencer marketing, and a retail POS software, hope you make them a part of your game plan and they help you make up for all the sales you lost in 2020.