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Best Retail Marketing Strategies That Actually Work and Drive Sales

What is retail marketing exactly?

The basics of any retail marketing strategy, common types of retail marketing, developing a retail marketing strategy step by step, retail marketing strategies you should try out, real-life retail marketing strategy examples that actually worked.

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The ultimate goal for any business is to turn a profit — the question is, how? Sales wouldn’t be possible without an effective retailer marketing strategy. However, attracting customers isn’t as simple as it used to be. If ever it was.

To help you and your budding business out, we at Selzy have researched and combined the strongest, most effective tactics for your own retail marketing strategy.

Retail marketing is the promotion of goods with the end goal of generating sales. Essentially, it’s letting people know what you have to offer and trying to convince them to buy it.

Depending on what products you provide, there are many marketing tactics you can use. It can be something as simple as placing a sign on the street or handing out flyers. However, technology has changed the way retail marketing works. Today, you can advertise on TV, social media, via emails, and participate in partnerships with influencers.

Retail marketing can sometimes be overwhelming. So, to make things simpler, here are two models to help you understand the basics of retail marketing strategies.

The 4 Ps of retail marketing concentrates on four concepts: product, price, place, and promotion.

One of the most important factors of the retail marketing strategy is the product. What goods your business sells will ultimately dictate the approach and intensity when marketing. Thus, profound knowledge of the product is a must to properly present it to your target audience.

Speaking about presentation, you should also consider packaging . First impressions matter. And the packaging is the first message you send to your target audience through the product. 

Take Pepsi, for example:

The sleek design is not only nice to look at, but the use of different colors also communicates the various flavors of Pepsi drinks. 

It’s all about knowing your audience well and understanding how to make your product packaging appealing.

Pricing can be tricky. You want to earn enough to cover the cost of production, marketing, and overhead charges, while still maintaining a profit. 

Some businesses follow cost-plus pricing wherein the total production costs (including overheads and labor) are combined with the expected profit you want to gain. 

Another approach could be value-based pricing wherein the price of the product depends on the value it adds to the consumers’ day-to-day life. 

Several businesses also gain from psychological pricing. The item’s price is slightly lower than a whole number to “trick” customers. For example, pricing an item $2.99 instead of $3.00.

Businesses also edge out competitors by means of competitive pricing . You can ensure that you offer the best price on the market by studying the prices offered by your competitors on the same product. 

High/low pricing can also drive up sales, especially of seasonal items. It’s when an item is priced high at first and offered at a much lower “sale” price when demand decreases.

Lastly, everyday low pricing or EDLP is  consistently offering the lowest prices on items. This will save you time and effort from setting up sales and encourage customer loyalty thanks to constantly low prices. 

There are many places you can choose from to set up shop for now. 

You need to make sure that your brand and your products are where your target audience can reach them. To achieve this, many businesses combine physical and digital stores to maximize potential reach.

Your store can be:

• A physical store or stall
• Part of a virtual marketplace
• A social media page

Last, but certainly not least, you have to consider how you promote your products. This is where the marketing aspect comes in.

Some of the most common promotional tactics include billboards and email promos. However, social media ads and influencer partnerships are also effective and getting more and more  popular.

Word-of-mouth is free and considered one of the most effective methods of promotion. Build strong relationships with clients for strong recommendations.

In 1990, Professor of Advertising Robert Lauterborn declared the 4Ps irrelevant to the modern consumer. Instead, he proposed a more customer-centered approach to marketing by introducing the 4 Cs.  

Consumer wants and needs

This first C, Consumer wants and needs, is meant to replace the first P — Product. Instead of focusing on the manufacturing of products, businesses should focus on what consumers want and need. 

This shift allows companies to dedicate time and resources to creating services and products that their audience will actually benefit from. This provides them with a goal and keeps their target market pleased.

Cost is meant to replace the Price. This C intends to shift the focus away from solely monetary costs. And instead, consider the overall expenses and losses of your customer that they experience while getting your product.

Aside from the actual price of the product, the costs can also include travel time or loss of other opportunities.

Convenience to buy

Instead of focusing on your location or Place, Convenience to buy directs attention to customers’ comfort.

Do they need to travel far away to buy your product? Do they have to pass through a middleman? Are your services available to customers throughout the day or at times when they need them most?

If consumers have to make too much effort to buy your products, it may put them off entirely.

Communication

Lastly, Communication replaces Promotion. The latter can seem one-sided and is often associated with manipulation.

Instead, this final C encourages the dialogue between companies and customers. Allow clients to give feedback. This way you’ll better understand your audience and give them what they need.

Consumers today look beyond the sheer quality of the product. They also consider experience and customer service when making decisions and recommending a product.

Store-based marketing

Store-based marketing, from the name itself, happens within the four walls of the physical store. This approach provides customers with a great experience when shopping.

Some examples of this type of marketing include:

• Offering freebies, tokens, or even drinks upon entry
• Speaker announcements about ongoing and upcoming promos
• Promotional banners with the latest releases, discounts, and sales
• A personalized, assisted shopping experience
• Events (sales, promotional parties, etc.)

Non-store-based marketing

Non-store-based marketing, on the other hand, is used outside of the physical store. 

Some examples of non-store-based marketing include:

• Door-to-door selling
• Telemarketing
• Television advertisements
• Network marketing

Digital marketing

This approach uses various digital channels to reach potential customers and promote the products. 

Some methods of digital marketing include:

• Email marketing
• SMS marketing
• Search engine advertising
• Promotional websites
• Promotional mobile apps

Develop your brand

The company’s brand is its identity. So you need to develop a strong brand and consistently communicate what it represents. 

Next, you come up with a style that fits your brand’s aesthetic and resonates with your target audience. You need to pick a name and logo. The logo is usually complemented by other elements like a certain color palette, fonts, and other details that form the style.

Identify your target audience

Find out who your products are for. Who will get the most out of your products? How will you reach them?

While it may sound simple enough, determining a clear target audience can be quite tricky. First, research your potential audience by monitoring statistics and trends or holding surveys.

Next, segment your target audience based on demographics. Will both men and women like your products? What age groups buy from your business most?

Last, keep tracking their likes and dislikes to further specify your target audience and stay relevant to its interests.

Determine the benefits of your products

What do your consumers get out of purchasing your products? Will it improve their lives? How? These are some questions you need to address when it comes to the benefits of your products.

To be sure about your products’ benefits, consider their function, market value, sellability, and customer feedback.

Decide how you want to promote your product

Now, it’s time to put the spotlight on your product and promote it to the public. 

Some of the best and most effective ways to advertise your products are:

• Social media ads.
• Email marketing.
• Influencer partnerships.
• Referrals. 

Set a budget

Promotional campaigns can get pricey. You need to account for costs in services, platform fees, loss of profit as a result of discounts, etc. If left unchecked, these expenses can rack up so quickly that instead of making a profit, you end up losing money.

Setting a budget also allows you to see which marketing approaches are appropriate for your business model. For example, small businesses will most likely benefit from social media marketing and other low-cost strategies as opposed to launching an expensive nationwide TV campaign.

Start the campaign and track the results

Now for the exciting part — launching the retail marketing strategy! If you successfully finished the previous steps, go ahead and start your promotional activities. 

After launching your campaign, you need to keep track of how well it’s performing. Take an email marketing campaign, for example. What are the campaign’s open rates? Are attached links gaining more traffic and click-through? Have sales on advertised products increased?  

Note what’s going well and what you can improve. The results of your first campaign(s) will guide the next one. 

Not sure how you want your retail marketing strategy to play out? We’ve got you covered. Here are some methods that are guaranteed to get results.

Maximize your social media reach

Take advantage of the popularity of social media and set up an account for your brand and products. 

You can set up a Facebook page, create an Instagram account, or even make TikTok videos that expose your services to potentially millions of people. You don’t have to create brand accounts in all social media at once — rather, analyze where your target audience spends their time and begin testing media in descending order of priority.  

Promote your business on Google

Google is more than just a search engine. It is also one of the world’s biggest online platforms with over 4 billion users all over the world. 

You can promote your business on Google by:

• Listing your business on Google My Business
• Setting up Google Ads
• Using strong keywords for SEO

Use partnerships and collaborations

No man is an island and no business should be either. Partnering up with other companies or even collaborating with influencers can boost your business’s popularity and exposure and try out something different, for example, have a go at inclusive marketing .

Partnerships are especially great for small and medium-sized businesses because they often don’t require any budget at all. It is much easier to agree on placement and work on a partner’s ready-made platform than to start your own channel for the sake of experimentation.

Try out email marketing

Looking for a convenient marketing strategy? Give email marketing a try. This way you can not only promote your products but also build lasting, trusting relationships with your customers.

Not to mention email marketing will be a breeze if you have the right service provider. Here at Selzy, we offer great email marketing plans to suit any business goal .

Businesses often send promotional campaigns or newsletters to keep in touch with their clients while advertising their latest products and offers. To learn more read about some of the email marketing ideas and email campaign examples .

Start a referral program

If your business has a good reputation and a lot of satisfied customers, then a referral program might be just right. 

A referral program allows customers to recommend a product or brand to their friends and family. Usually, a successful referral rewards the recommendations with gift cards, discounts, or even raffle tickets. 

This is a win-win situation for you and your customer. You get a new potential client, and they get rewards and freebies.

Be accessible

Perhaps the simplest marketing strategy is to just be accessible. Now, this doesn’t mean building ramps and wider doors so that everyone can get into your store. It means ensuring that everyone can access your products, be it in-store or online.

Some simple ways to ensure your accessibility are:

• Having a reliable customer service line (in-store, chat, call, email).
• Ensuring that locations are within your customers’ reach.
• Creating social media pages and websites for your business.
• Additionally, consider implementing a convenient Store Locator feature to help customers easily find your physical store locations. This can further enhance your accessibility and improve the overall shopping experience for your customers.

Casper — Referral program

Casper is an e-commerce company that sells sleep products. E-commerce is great but what Casper needed was a deeper connection with their customers on the emotional level. So they launched a referral program with the following conditions: when a customer refers to a friend, they receive a $75 Amazon gift card and the friend gets 10% off their first order.

The offer stands today albeit with somewhat changed conditions:

Results: 7x higher ROI, 13% increase in referral conversion rate, 220% share rate increase.

American Eagle — Partnership with influencers

American Eagle is a lifestyle, clothing, and accessories brand. In 2020, they partnered with a TikTok star Addison Rae Easterling and produced a set of videos with Addison Rae posing and dancing in American Eagle outfits:

@addisonre Mickey Mouse & I are celebrating the @disney x @americaneagle holiday collection the only way we know how...dancing! #aepartner ♬ Disney x AE Holiday 2020 - Addison Rae

Results: $4.26 million in Media Impact Value (MIV). 

Soluna Garden Farm — Email marketing

Soluna Garden Farm is a farm in Winchester, Massachusetts, that specializes in herbs and flowers. Before 2020, their main sales channel was brick-and-mortar outlets, but after the pandemic hit, they needed other options. 

They decided to use their email list and focus on their online audience which made wonders with one-day sales equalling what normally would have taken them a season to sell in-person.  

Results: online sales increase of more than 500%.

There is no single approach to guarantee success in retail marketing. What’s important is that you keep your business goals in mind and construct a marketing strategy that works for you.

To keep success within reach, remember:

• Know your product.
• Research your target audience.
• Be accessible.
• Combine marketing strategies to ensure maximum reach and relevance.

The market is always changing. Make sure that your business changes with it to maintain success and sales.

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8 Retail Marketing Strategies to Drive Sales

November 21, 2018

Any retail business that does not generate sales is bound to fail. However, generating sales without marketing is virtually impossible. Marketing is concerned with how prospective customers and current customers, as well as the market or segment your retail business belongs to, perceive and talk about your business.

Using the right marketing strategies can be very advantageous to your retail business, driving awareness of your brand and producing a certain trust for the goods offered in your online and brick-and-mortar stores. Effective marketing strategies also deliver a steady stream of new customers, generate referrals attracted by word of mouth from satisfied customers and, of course, improve the allocation of scarce marketing resources.

There are a lot of specific aspects of your retail business that must be addressed with the right marketing tactics to boost sales, and below you will find eight marketing strategies to consider adopting.

1 - Create impressive storefronts

The growth of e-commerce stores has forced brick-and-mortar stores to increase their experiential appeal. Customers have multiple options when it comes to buying products, and for a retailer to stand out, it must offer a great experience. And although many businesses are fond of overlooking this important aspect of their retail marketing, the only way to attract passersby to your online or physical stores is to optimize the design of your storefronts.

For brick-and-mortar stores, you have to design your storefront for better visibility with custom designs and adopt a minimalist approach to the storefront design that subtly attracts customers instead of screaming at them.

Even for e-commerce storefronts, including your social media platforms and websites, considerations like website loading speed, website navigation, blog posts and other valuable content, mobile optimized user interfaces and SEO visibility can serve as a pull or push mechanism to bring in customers or chase them away.

2 - Motivate your employees with better wages and compensation packages

Your employees are your retail business' brand ambassadors, and you need to give them incentives in order to get the best results. When you compensate your employees properly, you can create an exceptional impression on your customers with memorable experiences.

If you're able to hire and maintain customer-oriented, long-term and committed employees, you're likely to increase your customer retention rate, reduce employee turnover and increase profitability. Also, if you motivate your sales team with compensation packages, they are incentivized to work harder to increase sales.

You can also encourage sharing of new marketing and customer relations management activations with your staff because they might just have a better contextual understanding of your customers and potential customers because of their one-on-one dealings with them.

3 - Provide adequate employee training

Substantive employee training can make the difference between you and your competitors. The experts from EssayOnTime recommend arranging regular training sessions and conferences to retain employees and keep up with industry trends. If you neglect to train your employees, your company will be left behind in your niche.

A retail business that neglects the training of employees will eventually struggle to stay in business. A good practice that will ensure you have great employees with good customer relationship management, retail selling and upselling skills is to train them as soon as they're hired and conduct recurring training annually or every six months to reorient them based on new consumer trends.

4 - Understand the market

To increase sales, you need to do market research to get in-depth retail market data relating to sales performance, store portfolios, and competitor analysis, as well as keeping track of rapidly changing retail and consumer trends.

5 - Engage your customers

Give your customers a reason to love you. This does not involve ineffective, non-subtle marketing techniques like situating a greeter at the storefront to greet incoming customers with scripted lines like, "Hi, how are you doing?" The best way to make customers loyal is to be helpful to them. Answer their questions as truthfully as possible. Relate from their perspective and answer product questions from your own user experience or from real customer user experiences.

When your customers are leaving, thank them for their purchase and invite them to return, leaving a memorable experience with your customers. You should also solicit feedback from customers, post questions and answers online, engage your customers in your market research, and respond to customers' positive and negative reviews. Additionally, you can offer discounts and coupons for returning customers among many other engagement techniques.

6 - Leverage social media capabilities

Almost all businesses, retail or not, have some form of social media presence. However, very few of them have fully leveraged social media capabilities. You can invest in social media advertising which makes it easy for you to get in front of people likely to buy your products and convert them or send them into your sales funnel. With the importance of social media to many people's lives, you can start targeting customers who are specifically interested in the products and services you offer in your retail business, online or offline.

7 - Smart remarketing

You can increase your customer retention rates through remarketin g . Shoppers are usually distracted and can easily forget their positive shopper experience, whether at your online stores or at your brick and mortar stores. You need to remind them of their positive experience by engaging previous shoppers either with promotions and/or discounts based on past purchases or current consumer trends.

8 - Tweak your pricing strategy

There are always changes in product demand due to seasonal or market changes, as well as consumer trends and competitor actions. Thus, you need to stay on top of your pricing game to keep your inventory moving. To do this, you must frequently change retail prices strategically in a way that attracts customers while covering costs and bringing in reasonable profit.

Not all marketing strategies will work for you, so it's important to experiment and be creative in using or combining different marketing tactics with a personal touch to make your retail business grow in awareness, popularity and, ultimately, sales.

About the writer : Serena Dorf is a social media-savvy Los Angeles-based content writer. She is passionate about writing, personal development, marketing, and productivity. In her free time, she is reading classic American literature and learning Swedish. Feel free to connect with her on Twitter .

Join the #retail, #inspiringretail and #SmartStore conversations on Twitter @RetailNext , as well as at www.facebook.com/retailnext .

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9 Effective Retail Marketing Strategies to Drive More Sales

Customer retention and customer acquisition are surely one of the core objectives of every business. Whether you are a wholesaler, distributor, or retailer, you would love your customer base to increase on a regular basis. But the question is, how can you drive more sales with the help of your marketing strategies, especially if you are a retailer?

Well, this is exactly what we are going to discuss today. But before we move to the main topic, let’s have a basic understanding of retail marketing.

Table of Contents

What Is Retail Marketing?

Retail marketing, in simpler words, includes tactics and strategies which a retailer implements to generate more sales. Retail marketing stands on four pillars (the 4Ps), including

• Product: Any physical item(s) which is retailer intends to sell.
• Price: Pricing strategy, which defines how much a retailer wants to charge for its product(s).
• Place: It is a physical space or platform where the retailer intends to sell its product(s).
• Promotion: The advertising strategies to attract customers and drive sales.

The next question is, why is it so important for a retailer to market its business? The most appropriate answer would be “immense market competition.” Yes, fierce competition in the market has left retailers with no choice but to use different marketing tactics to attract the customer. It is obvious that why would someone purchase from you if someone else is selling the same product at the same price?

Change in consumer behavior is another reason why retail marketing is important. As consumers realize that they have so many options to choose from, they have the upper hand. Apart from that, they want proper facilitation at every contact point, such as online platforms, physical stores, etc.

If a retailer or any business wants to grow in the market, it is mandatory to have a strong marketing strategy in order. If you are looking forward to boosting your retail sales but don’t know how to do it, here are some helpful and effective tips for you.

Effective Retail Marketing Strategies for your Retail Store

Before we start the discussion, it is important to understand that these factors or tips are helpful when you use them in “synergy.” That is, these strategies are only effective if they are implemented simultaneously and are integrated. Here are 9 effective retail marketing strategies for your retail store to drive more sales.

Make Your Storefront Attractive

Do you ever wonder why there is a formal dress code in the corporate sector? Why do the bankers or sales agents follow a “formal” dress code? It is because the first thing most customers notice is their physical outlook and communication skills; the same applies to the retailers regarding their store’s outlook.

Imagine, if you are selling clothes and there are so many other retailers around you, how would you differentiate your offerings ? How would you attract customers? How would you maximize your visibility? The only answer is, “make your storefront look attractive.” 

You can use easily visible colors or choose a minimalist design. It would be even better if your storefront itself depicts what you are selling. Or, you can change it dramatically to make it look unique. For instance, this radio-shaped storefront from Diesel is breaking stereotypes and turning tons of heads.

Provide Proper Training to Your Employees

Business practices change rapidly. Sometimes it is due to technological advancement, or it may be due to change in market practices, etc. Either way, it is important to equip your employees with the latest skills.

Training your employees is vital to stay competitive. For instance, for a retailer, it is important that his/her employees know the significance of customer relationship management, upselling skills, retail selling, etc. Ideally, you need to train your employees as soon as you hire them and then conduct training sessions every six months so that they can cope with changing trends.

Motivate Your Employees by Giving Them Incentives and Rewards

Most business owners fail to understand the fact that employees are your assets, not liabilities. They are the ones who bring business for you and convert your plans into reality. They are your brand ambassadors, and they will treat your business the way you treat them. Therefore, you have to motivate them, and for that, incentives and rewards programs are a must-do thing.

You can start with the “employee of the month” program, or you can initiate the profit-sharing schemes (very common in insurance companies ). Then, there are healthcare facilities, paid leaves, bonuses, salary raises, fun gifts, etc.

Most importantly, don’t forget the fact that mental support is as important as monetary support/rewards. For instance, Groupon , an American global eCommerce market place has a unique employee rewarding system. Apart from other benefits, they give free bright green Adidas jackets to employees for every year they serve in the organization. Employees can customize the jacket with a nickname. This is a gesture of appreciation for employees’ efforts.

Similarly, Influence& Co. rewards its employees with a professional wrestling-style championship belt.

Partnerships and Collaboration

Striking partnerships or collaborating with other relevant brands can be a huge booster for our retail marketing campaign. However, you can also pair up with brands or institutions that don’t share the same line of business with you.

You can collaborate with other retail stores in your area by asking them to offer your coupons to their clientele, and you do the same for them. If you think coupons won’t work effectively, you can set up a pop-up shop for a day near your partner’s retail store.

Another very effective way to market your retail business is to coordinate with charity organizations. Participate in charity events; this will establish your business as a caring one, and you will be able to advertise your brand.

Engage Your Customers through SMS and Email Marketing

Any marketing campaign is incomplete without SMS and Email marketing because it is one of the most cost-efficient and effective forms of marketing. You may not believe it, but the average open rate of emails ranges between 28-33 percent, while for SMS, it is 97%. Even after the emergence of other marketing channels, email marketing is still one of the most sophisticated and standard forms of marketing.

You can use SMS and email marketing in different ways, such as;

• Wishing your customers on special occasions and send them different discount offers via SMS or email.
• Enabling SMS loyalty programs for qualifying customers.
• SMS alerts about new offers or product launches.
• Seek customer feedback

To fasten up the process, you can use different SMS and email marketing tool to automate your marketing campaigns.

Advertise Your Business on Google

If you don’t have your business presence on Google, you are missing a massive opportunity to get customers. Google is the biggest global search engine that caters to 90% of queries on all search engines . Moreover, consumers now prefer to search everything on Google. For example, if someone wants to dine in traditional cuisine, they will search on Google before going out.

That is why, as a retailer, you need to make sure that you have enough online presence so that consumers can easily find you. You can create your Google business profile where you can add your store location, website, category description, and product images. You can also encourage the visitors to leave a review on your business profile.

Leverage Social Media

Retailing is a customer-based business, and leveraging your social media capabilities is extremely vital to reach out to your customer. Here is an eye-opener for you, 81% of people use social media o find the product they want to buy.

Talking about social media, a retail business must have its presence on these social media platforms.

These platforms give businesses a wonderful opportunity to showcase their products. For instance, you can set up a business shop on Facebook and Instagram, run targeted ads, and ask customers to leave feedback. In a nutshell, these platforms can take your retail business to the next level if you explore them properly.

Launch a Referral Program

Word-of-mouth marketing is probably the undisputed champion of marketing. The words of a happy customer are stronger than you can imagine. People trust the recommendation from their friends or family more than the ads you run.

You can use referral marketing to bring more customers. That said, you can entice your current customers to refer your brand to their friends, family, colleagues, community members, etc.

The question is, how can you do that? Well, you can offer rewards for word-of-mouth marketing. For instance, you can offer your loyal customers a share in sales they generate. Or, you can give them a commission for every new customer they bring. Moreover, special offers, discount vouchers, loyalty points, etc., will be very helpful.

Be Visible Locally

“Tea can never replace coffee and vice versa.” No matter how strong your digital marketing campaign is, you cannot ignore the importance of the local visibility of your retail business. We are talking about utilizing local advertising tools such as billboards, local newspapers, brochures, etc.

46%  of consumers believe that billboard advertising is the best way to bring new products to consumers’ attention .  Currently, there are more than 342,000 billboards in the US. Talk about newspaper advertising; Stack Zolnikov reported (January 15, 2020) that 34 percent of consumers still trust print advertisements. Are you sure you want to miss that huge advertising opportunity?

About The Author

shaharYar Ahmad Ranjhaa

• Deutsch (German)

MARKETINGBLATT

7 modern retail marketing strategies for product promotion.

The retail landscape is rapidly evolving every day, and businesses need to implement effective marketing strategies to make their business a success. Technology is playing a crucial role in reshaping consumer behaviour and consequently competition is also intensifying. In this scenario, retailers need to stay ahead of the curve and relevant among their competitors.

In this article, we present 7 innovative retail marketing strategies to improve customer engagement, increase sales and build brand loyalty. From leveraging data-driven insights to the latest trends in omnichannel marketing, discover how retailers can adapt and succeed in the digital age.

Download our free flyer to get an insight into our top 7 options for your next retail marketing strategy right now!

Table of Content

• Omnichannel Presence
• In-Store Engagement
• Gamification as a Retail Marketing Strategy 3.1 How Gamification can change your Retail Marketing 3.2 W4 Gamification Service: Online Advent Calendar
• Personalised Recommendation with Email Marketing
• Social Media Engagement
• Collaboration with Influencer
• Mobile Marketing

Bonus: 3D Visualisation Marketing Strategy

1. omnichannel presence.

In these digital times, establishing a robust omnichannel presence has become pivotal for retail businesses, so it is no coincidence that this strategy is at the top of our list.

Omnichannel marketing is the kind of strategy that is all about creating a seamless and integrated shopping experience for customers across multiple channels, be it physical shops, e-commerce websites, mobile apps or social media platforms. Every business has their own way of using this strategy, but what it all boils down to is that your brand is available on all channels, so your customers can interact with it at any time. This not only increases your brand awareness, but also customer loyalty and sales.

Case Study: Sephora

The example of Sephora makes it easy to see how they have mastered this strategy. The online presence and in-store experience are well known to customers. On one hand, there is the retail shop where professional sales staff give beauty tips, offer free makeovers and try products. On the other hand, Sephora's online channels allow customers to have their own online beauty bag, watch tutorials, create wish lists, receive suggestions for personalised items, be part of a community and much more. Thanks to this attention to customer engagement and the fact that they are always where their customers need them, the company has steadily increased its sales.

Screenshot of Sephora’s community section

2. In-Store Engagement

A retail shop is not simply a product display. Retailers need to transform their physical shops into experiential spaces where customers can engage with the brand on a deeper level. Interactive displays, product demonstrations, or 3D visualisations , events, workshops, and loyalty programmes are among the tactics that create lasting memories, encourage longer visits and promote positive word of mouth. Enhancing the shopping experience, driving brand loyalty and increasing sales are key objectives of in-store engagement strategies.

Case Study: Apple Store

As minimalist as much of this may be, Apple has done a great job with their in-store retail marketing. They put customer interaction with their products above aesthetics. The more they try the products, the more willing they are to buy them. Apple stores also offer community spaces where customers can watch a demo, take a class and more.

3. Gamification as a Retail Marketing Strategy

Gamification offers a compelling solution for retail marketing by tapping into the innate human desire for challenge, achievement, and reward.

Gamification is a recognised and effective retail marketing strategy that takes the shopping experience to the next level. At its core, gamification is about incorporating game elements, mechanics, and principles into non-game contexts, such as retail. It is a creative approach that engages customers, creates excitement and encourages specific behaviours, whether shopping, interacting with products or sharing content.

How Gamification can change your Retail Marketing

The use of gamification can be a decisive factor for companies that want to stay one step ahead of the competition. Our gamification solution can take your retail marketing to the next level:

• Captivating experiences: By incorporating gamified elements, competitions and rewards into the shopping journey, retailers can make the shopping experience more engaging and enjoyable. Interactive games, quizzes or challenges can be integrated into mobile apps, websites or shop displays to engage and entertain customers while they shop.
• Encouraging interaction: Gamification encourages customers to interact with products and services in new ways. This not only increases engagement, but also helps in decision-making.
• Building brand loyalty: Loyalty programmes with gamification elements such as point systems, badges and exclusive rewards keep customers coming back.
• Generate social buzz: Gamification can drive customers to share their experiences on social media, generating user-generated content and word-of-mouth. Challenges, competitions and incentives to share on social media can turn customers into brand advocates and increase a retailer's reach and visibility.
• Data-driven insights: Gamification provides valuable data on customer behaviour and preferences. Retailers can gain insights into which games or challenges resonate best with their audience. This allows them to refine their marketing strategies and tailor their offers to customers' needs.
• Enhanced learning: Gamification is an effective tool to educate customers about products, features and benefits. Interactive tutorials or quizzes can make learning fun and memorable and help customers make informed purchasing decisions.

W4 Gamification Service: Online Advent Calendar

Integrating our W4 Digital Advent Calenda r into your strategy for the Christmas season offers a multitude of benefits, all of which contribute to a highly successful outcome.

Firstly, it significantly increases customer loyalty. The interactive nature of the calendar entices your customers to visit your online platform daily and look forward to surprises and special offers. This not only leads to more traffic to the website, but also to customers staying longer and thus becoming more loyal to the brand.

In addition, the gamification campaign leads to a significant boost in sales during the Christmas season. Daily offers and incentives within the advent calendar motivate customers to buy, which leads to a remarkable growth in sales during the Christmas season. At the same time, your company's reputation as a customer-oriented retailer experiences a significant upgrade.

4. Personalised Recommendation with Email Marketing

Using customer data to offer tailored product suggestions is an important retail marketing strategy that greatly enhances the shopping experience. This approach not only appeals to customers, but also encourages them to discover products and make purchases that match their preferences.

Newsletter marketing is the protagonist of this strategy. It remains one of the most effective methods to increase ROI. Retailers use customer data, including purchase history and browsing behaviour, to personalise their newsletters. By segmenting their email lists, they can send targeted newsletters with products and special offers specific to each recipient's preferences and deliver these tailored recommendations directly to the customer's inbox. This seamless integration of personalised recommendations in newsletters enriches the customer journey and leads to higher customer engagement and conversion rates, making it an important part of successful retail marketing campaigns. For instance, an online clothing shop can suggest outfits based on a customer's style and past choices, or target customers who have not bought from them in a while with special offers or giveaways.

5. Social Media Engagement

We live in a world driven by social media. This is a fact, and every business needs to harness the power of social media to improve their strategies and revenues. Social media engagement represents a transformative approach to retail marketing, using the platforms for:

• Direct connection with customers: Social media drives real-time engagement, trust, and brand loyalty by enabling direct communication with customers.
• Share engaging content: It is a treasure trove for showcasing products through captivating visuals and promotes organic growth through shareable content.
• Precision in advertising campaigns: Targeted advertising campaigns on social platforms reach the right audience based on demographics, interests and previous interactions.
• Building brand identity: Consistent branding and messaging across all social channels creates a recognisable and emotionally engaging brand image.
• Promotions and competitions: Social media is an ideal place for engaging promotions and competitions that increase reach through user participation.
• Real-time insights : Social media provides real-time customer insights that help in product development, marketing and service improvement.

Study Case: Dove

Social media engagement is essential for retailers who want to succeed in the modern marketplace. An excellent example of a brand that successfully used social media is Dove. Since 2004, even with some criticism, on social media they’ve been launching the campaign Real Beauty highlights the importance of women's acceptance of their own bodies, skin and appearance. Recent examples are the campaigns #DoveSelfEsteemProject and #FatLiberation campaign to let all girls and women brace their own beauty without shame.

Screenshot of Dove’s Instagram Profile

6. Collaboration with Influencer

Nowadays, reviews and content from influencers have more marketing power compared to traditional methods, because users trust more people they follow and see everyday on their screen, so they know them and like them and consequently trust their opinion. This is the reason why influencer collaboration is today one of the main retail marketing strategies. It entails partnering with influential figures to promote products on whatever platform and social and gain credibility with their dedicated followers. Having as your partner an influencer you can easily increase your brand awareness, web traffic and ultimately sales.

Case Study: Audible

Collaboration with influencers is not limited to the big brands. Adidas and Nike are just two of the big brands that use this type of retail marketing. Small platforms and businesses can also harness the influence of content creators to connect with a niche audience, drive engagement and increase sales.

Audible, for example, an Amazon-powered platform for audiobooks and podcasts, has recognised the potential of influencer marketing. By working with YouTube influencers, such as Dylan is In Trouble, a Youtuber making commentary videos on movies, they have reached a large and engaged audience with just one video, resulting in an increase in Audible brand visibility and user engagement. The influencers' genuine sponsorship and tailored content resonated well with their followers and led to an increase in subscriptions and audiobook downloads.

Screenshot of one of the Audible sponsored video

7. Mobiles Marketing

Mobile marketing cannot be missing from our list for your next strategy. It is the key strategy to retaining customers and increasing sales.The main focus of this strategy is the use of QR codes, which have become increasingly popular due to their versatility and convenience.

QR codes can store a variety of information, such as website links, contact information and product information. In the context of retail marketing, they fulfil several important functions:

• Contactless shopping experience: Customers can scan a QR code displayed on a product or in-store signage to access detailed product information, prices and reviews.
• Mobile payment: Customers can use mobile payment apps to scan QR codes at the checkout, simplifying the payment process and reducing the need for cash or cards.
• In-store promotions: Scanning a code can unlock special offers or access to loyalty programmes, providing a sense of exclusivity that encourages new purchases.
• Augmented Reality (AR) Experiences: QR Codes can be linked to AR experiences where scanning a code shows interactive and immersive content linked to products. This makes the shopping experience even more exciting and can increase customer loyalty.
• Digital catalogues: Customers can see a wider range of products and variants than in shops. This widens the product selection and increases the likelihood of upselling.

Study Case: L'Oréal Paris

An exemplary case is the use of QR codes in the mobile app and on the website of L'Oréal Paris. Customers can virtually try on the products before buying them. This improves the buying experience and encourages the customer to buy more products in the future.

Screenshot of L'Oréal Paris try-on

We've decided to offer you a compelling bonus strategy to consider for your next promotion: 3D visualisation marketing . This innovative approach allows customers to engage with products in a virtual environment, giving them the unique opportunity to explore every angle of the items they want. The advantage of 3D visualisation is that it enables customers to make an informed buying decision. The lifelike representation of products minimises uncertainty and enhances the overall shopping experience.

Incorporating 3D visualisation into your retail marketing strategies has the potential to be a game changer. You bring your products to life in the digital world, creating an interactive and immersive shopping experience that appeals to your customers.

W4 Case Study: Nobel Biocare - Product Photography

This client case is an example of the transformative power of a 3D visualisation image. Thanks to the impeccable, high-resolution quality and a range of views from different angles, customers can make informed purchasing decisions, which significantly strengthens trust in the brand and increases its professionalism.

One picture of Nobel Biocare project

At W4, we understand the importance of staying ahead of the curve in this dynamic industry. Your success is our priority, and we are here to support you every step of the way on your retail marketing journey. Our team of experts will help you choose the right strategies based on your business goals. But we go beyond just consulting. We can help you set up and effectively manage the strategies you choose. Our goal is not only to help you get started, but also to optimise and continuously improve your campaigns for maximum impact.

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Retail | How To

18 Retail Marketing Strategy Ideas to Drive Sales in 2023

Published August 11, 2023

Published Aug 11, 2023

WRITTEN BY: Meaghan Brophy

Your Privacy is important to us.

This article is part of a larger series on Retail Management .

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1. Understand the Four Ps of Marketing

2. develop curb appeal, 3. effectively use retail space, 4. sell custom products.

• 5. Create a Competitive Pricing Strategy

6. Build Your Online Presence

7. invest in local seo, 8. run digital ads.

• 9. Launch a Loyalty Program
• 10. Send Email Campaigns
• 11. Implement a Mobile Strategy

12. Regularly Conduct Surveys

13. plan regular events, 14. expand through partnerships, 15. turn your associates into marketers, 16. start video marketing, 17. tap into influencer marketing.

• 18. Evaluate & Assess Your Strategy

Bottom Line

A retail marketing strategy is an actionable plan to develop and promote products, attract and keep customers, and drive sales. Marketing for retailers is essential whether you’re seasoned or just starting out, and it can happen both online and offline. It’s important to develop solid retail marketing strategies to introduce people to your products—and keep them interested.

Explore our recommended retail marketing ideas for implementing an effective strategy for your business.

The four “Ps” of retail marketing serve as pillars for your strategy. It’s helpful to first get a baseline understanding of these principles so you can build an effective plan for your business. The four Ps are:

• Product: It’s first important to have a product that people are going to want. You can manufacture a product from scratch, enhance an existing product, or simply tap into the potential of an existing product—no improvements or changes necessary. It’s important to conduct market research to ensure there’s demand for your product idea.
• Price: Your pricing strategy is an imperative component of marketing. You need to price products high enough to generate a profit but also low enough to remain competitive and affordable to your target customer.
• Place: Place refers to where your product is sold and where shoppers can experience and receive it. In a physical retail business, this also touches on the location of your store—bearing in mind factors like foot traffic, parking, visibility, etc. Retailers can also sell products via digital channels and offer fulfillment in-store or via shipping.
• Promotion: Promotion is where you get into marketing and advertising your offering. This involves communicating the product, price, and place—what you’re selling and why it’s valuable, how much it costs to acquire, and where people can explore and make their purchase.

Curb appeal is about the look and feel of your store from the street, including parking and landscaping.

First impressions last, and this holds for your retail store. For potential customers and passersby, your storefront is their first impression of your business. Your store’s curb appeal must get them into the store so you can have a better chance of getting a sale.

Some ways you can develop curb appeal are:

Install Storefront Signage

Your signage communicates not only your business name but also your message to shoppers so they connect with your brand and want to enter your store. A long-standing study has validated this—60% of businesses increased sales by an average of 10% by updating their signage.

Making your store’s exterior more attractive with storefront signage can make the difference between pedestrians and paying customers.

Retail store ALE HOP captures a passerby’s attention with a unique storefront design. (Source: Alexandra Sheehan )

• Install a storefront sign with your name that cars and pedestrians across the street can easily read.
• Add smaller signage by your front door and windows for people walking by who may be too close to see your more prominent overhead sign.

In addition to your permanent storefront sign, use a combination of window and temporary A-frame signs to catch shoppers’ attention from every angle. (Source: Pinterest)

Design Enticing Window Displays

Window displays are one of the most critical parts of an effective retail strategy. Like signs, they can cause a passerby to turn and enter your shop when they ordinarily would have walked past without a second thought.

• When creating a window display, choose a theme that resonates with buyers, such as a holiday or seasonal theme.
• Choose complementary colors and arrange your display with various heights and depths to make it visually attractive.

Window displays not only bring customers in but also display and promote new products, strengthen your brand image, and distinguish your store from the competition.

This chocolatier’s appealing holiday window display turns heads and attracts passersby.

Make Use of Your Curbside & Outdoor Lighting

Outdoor lighting should be part of your retail business marketing strategy. A well-lit entry and sidewalk is essential for customer safety. Lighted signage also helps customers notice or find your store at night.

Don’t forget to use your outdoor space. Create a comfortable environment with a few chairs and some greenery.

Don’t forget about your curbside. With 50% of consumers using curbside pickup and delivery when shopping, why not set up curbside extras to lure them in further to your store? For example, set up a board outside your store with some eye-catching art or witty phrase.

Related: Set Up Click & Collect for Your Store

A witty catchphrase on a board outside a jewelry store will surely draw some curiosity from passersby.

Did you know?

Your signage and parking areas have zoning laws you must abide by. Read our guide to zoning laws for small businesses .

You don’t need to invest a ton of money or undergo a complete store overhaul to ensure you’re effectively using your space. It’s a matter of planning and adjusting your store layout , and then strategizing your point-of-sale (POS) display.

Use our free step-by-step guide to planning a store layout to make the most out of your space.

Organize Your Displays

When organizing your retail displays and visual merchandising strategy , follow these general guidelines:

• Showcase new and seasonal products at the entrance: Entice customers with seasonal or holiday displays and trending products; keeping the front of your store fresh also gives regular shoppers something new to browse.
• Place traffic-driving products toward the back: Place your bestselling items or sales racks at the back of the store so customers need to walk past and see all of your other merchandise.
• Highlight impulse buys at checkout: Stock small, low-cost items like candy, toys, makeup, or electronic accessories by the checkout counter so customers pick them up while waiting to check out.
• Cross-merchandise : Use visual merchandising to cross-promote other products. Put items that are commonly purchased together in a similar location or a shared display.

The gift shop of La Bohemia Baja uses cross-merchandising to create an on-brand scene that integrates a variety of products. (Source: Alexandra Sheehan)

In retail merchandising , it’s important to ensure your displays stay tidy and relevant—change them often. Products should always be organized for customers, and new displays keep them coming back to see what’s new.

Monetize Your Checkout

Your checkout area is where your POS is located and where customers complete a purchase. Monetize this area by doing the following:

• Display smaller, relatively less expensive products customers might have forgotten they needed or items that will entice shoppers to pick up while waiting in line. For example, grocery stores usually have candy bars, mints, gum, magazines, and batteries lining their checkout counters. Apparel stores may have items like wallets, hair accessories, or jewelry.
• Utilize point-of-purchase (POP) sales. Test different products at the counter until you see what works, then design a more elegant display that matches the rest of your store.

Related: Effective POS Marketing Ideas

Create a Comfortable Environment

Customers who spend more time in a store spend more money. Encourage shoppers to relax and take their time by creating a comfortable retail environment.

• If you sell apparel, create accessible and well-lit fitting rooms and comfortable seats for friends and family to wait.
• Feature sample stations to encourage customers to test products, similar to how Costco or Lush does theirs.
• Play thoughtfully chosen music.
• Make sure your store is well-lit .
• Ensure accessibility. Create wide aisles and a section at the checkout counter no higher than 36 inches off the ground so a person in a wheelchair can access it.
• Offer a place to relax. Seating areas placed near fitting rooms are especially helpful.

Sustainable apparel brand +351 has a couch, as well as a TV cycling through engaging brand images, directly next to the fitting rooms. (Source: Alexandra Sheehan)

Read more: A Retailer’s Guide to Virtual Fitting Rooms

Whether you’re manufacturing a patented invention or creating a simple private label line, having products shoppers can’t find anywhere else is advantageous. This exclusivity boosts brand loyalty and sales.

Sell Private or White Label Products

Selling private label products is easier than developing a custom product while offering many of the same benefits. Private label products are manufactured by a supplier but sold under your brand name. These kinds of products are especially popular for skincare, beauty , food and grocery, kitchen, decor, accessories, tools, and electronic products.

Trader Joe’s is well known for its private label products. Most items sold in Trader Joe’s stores are under the retailer’s private label brands.

Create Brand Equity Through Private Label Brands

When people use products with your brand name or product line name on them, it reminds them of your store every time they use it. These reminders build trust, encouraging customers to buy more quality products with your name on it.

Plus, retailers can typically make more money from private label products, as they’re usually inexpensive to manufacture. Still, you can mark them up to a much higher price since shoppers won’t be able to find that item anywhere else.

5. Create a Profitable & Competitive Pricing Strategy

How you price a product is another important consideration for your retail strategy. If your prices are too high, you could deter customers and lose sales. On the other hand, if prices are too low, you might make a lot of sales, but won’t have any profit margin.

Many retailers and ecommerce sellers use keystone pricing to price their products. Keystone pricing is a standard 100% markup, or double the wholesale cost. Selling a product for double the amount you paid is considered standard retail practice. But it’s not always the best approach.

Consider Your Market Position

There are situations where you’ll want to deviate from keystone pricing. For example, if a product is selling exceptionally well, you might be able to increase the price. If you have a lot of private label or custom products, you may also be able to charge higher prices for those. However, if competitors or online businesses sell similar products at lower prices, you may need to consider lowering your prices to stay competitive.

• Conduct a competitor analysis to see how others price their products. If you find out all the other stores around you are offering the same products for the same price, you might look to create something unique—free alterations, no-questions-asked returns, or complimentary gift wrapping, for instance—and then charge more.
• Get feedback from your customers. Talking to your customers also gives you valuable qualitative insights into how to structure your pricing.

Use Promotional Pricing

Many businesses use promotional or sale prices to drive traffic and sales. Discount prices can leave small businesses with small profit margins but can effectively attract customers or clear out merchandise. Seasonal sales and coupons are popular promotional pricing strategies for retailers.

Learn more about pricing strategies and find pricing examples in our guide.

An online presence provides more opportunities for sales, especially for shoppers who don’t live near your store or can’t make it in during store hours. Engaging with customers online also helps keep your business at the front of their minds so they think of you when they’re ready to make a purchase.

Use Social Media

There are many social platforms retailers should consider:

• Google: Being active on Google allows you to see and respond to customer feedback. It’s especially important for helping prospective customers find your business. Make sure to have an active Google business profile as well, because it helps customers find accurate contact information via search.
• Yelp : Like Google, you can see and respond to what reviewers are saying. Yelp is another search tool, particularly useful for food-based businesses and restaurants.
• Instagram : Instagram is very effective and has features for online selling. You can also talk directly to customers through Instagram Stories and posts. Many retailers also use it to showcase new products and offer customers behind-the-scenes footage.
• Facebook : Facebook is an excellent medium for highlighting events and new products at your store. Facebook Advertising can be an effective part of your retail strategy for bringing in new local customers.
• TikTok : TikTok has emerged as a valuable retail marketing tool, especially for appealing to younger shoppers.
• Pinterest : Pinterest has long been a popular social network. It’s visually based and ideal for retailers trying to attract female customers.
• YouTube : YouTube is valuable for all kinds of reasons, be it influencer collaborations, product demos, or unboxing experiences. It’s also a search network.

Use these social media channels to refine your messaging, test your pricing, and promote your best products. Analyze your social ad results to see which messaging and pricing combinations produce the best results.

Create Digital Sales Channels

As studies show retailers lose almost 30% in sales if they don’t sell on multiple sales channels, and approximately 80% of the population shop online in the US, an omnichannel approach to selling has never been more important. Starting an ecommerce store is crucial.

Looking for platforms for your online store? Check out our buyer’s guide on the best ecommerce platforms and recommended Shopify alternatives .

Leifshop.com is one example of a Shopify store.

Related: Ecommerce Website Design Checklist

Search engine optimization (SEO) isn’t just for online retailers—physical retailers can and should optimize for search too.

Prioritize local SEO —you don’t have to target the general keywords thousands of other businesses are targeting. Instead, go for relevant keywords the audience in your area would search for. For example, create landing pages with your website homepage that target individual locations in your city or town.

Optimize for ‘Near Me’ Searches

If people are searching for something near them, there’s a pretty strong signal of intent to buy.

Get started by creating or updating your company’s Google Business profile. Include your business name, address, opening and closing hours, contact information, photos, and a description that includes keywords. Consider incorporating local citations as additional cues to Google.

Keep your details consistent across your website and all third-party platforms. To make your listing more relevant, encourage customers who visit your store to leave reviews on your business profile. There are also local SEO tools that can automatically optimize for you and offer recommendations on improving your rankings.

Digital advertising is a great way to put your store in front of new, targeted audiences. You can put ads on Google and other search platforms, social media sites, and all kinds of websites and apps, depending on the advertiser network.

Geo-Target Your Ads

Unlike general ads, geo-targeted ads, or location-based ads, target only people in a specific geographical area—preferably those who live in the same town or city as your physical store.

Considering businesses are expected to spend more than $32 billion on location-targeted ads by the end of 2023 in the US alone, it goes without saying that this ecommerce marketing strategy works.

To get started with geo-targeted ads, you’ll need to create a business account with a platform from which you plan to run the ads— Google Ads, Facebook Business Manager , etc.

Once your account is set up, you can create ads to show to people within a set radius around your store. For instance, you can show ads to people within 10, 5, or 2 miles of your store. The bid amount changes depending on the radius you set. This is a perfect tactic to promote click-and-collect services or online ordering for restaurants.

Run Ads During Significant Local Events

Another way to increase foot traffic to your retail store is by running targeted ads during a large or significant local event.

For example, if you run a music store and notice a famous artist or band performing in a nearby location, you can quickly run ads to target the audience attending the concert.

This strategy works particularly well if you’re located close to an airport, stadium, university, or some other area where a specific demographic may gather. Retailers can also run these location-based ads during holidays.

Remarket Your Products

Remarketing is a tactic where you remind people who have already interacted with your brand to some extent. Remarketing ad strategies typically involve targeting users who have visited your website or engaged with you on social media but haven’t actually made a purchase.

You could also remarket to people who have made a purchase. Maybe they haven’t bought anything in over a year, or maybe you have a complementary product related to their recent purchase.

9. Launch a Customer Loyalty Program

A customer loyalty program incentivizes repeat purchases and informs businesses about the most/least frequent and biggest/lowest spenders.

What’s more, with a customer loyalty program , you can create shopper profiles to serve as the basis for product marketing and personalization. Associates can make tailored recommendations based on these profiles, and you can automate marketing campaigns and product recommendations based on their behavior.

Related: Best Customer Loyalty Program Software

Introduce Referral Campaigns

You can also incorporate referral rewards into your loyalty program to encourage word-of-mouth marketing—fueling both customer retention and acquisition simultaneously.

Referrals are particularly effective because many shoppers trust the opinions of their friends and family more than the marketing messages from brands themselves. In fact, Nielsen found that 88% of shoppers trust recommendations from people they know more than any other source.

10. Send Regular Email Campaigns

One of the most direct ways of staying connected is through email marketing . You can collect customer contact information at the point of transaction using a modern POS system and keep up with them post-sale.

Don’t be shy when sending emails to your customers. Your loyal and top-spending customers likely want to hear from you more often. Of customers surveyed, around 70% prefer brands to contact them via email .

Emails don’t always have to contain a sale or coupon. Celebrate milestones and keep customers in the loop on store or general news.

11. Implement a Retail Mobile Strategy

Along with emails, collect your customers’ phone numbers so you can send them marketing text messages . Use mobile marketing to send notifications or promote time-sensitive offers to your customers.

Red Rooster Coffee , located in Floyd, Virginia, sends text messages to its list to remind customers of online promos and deals. (Source: Alexandra Sheehan)

Location-based messages can also remind shoppers to purchase in-store, provide additional product information, and promote exclusive in-store promotions.

Customer surveys are an important part of your retail strategy because customers can provide unfiltered feedback on ways you can improve. Customer satisfaction surveys can be simple, with one or two questions and an open-ended space to leave longer comments.

Some retailers also use customer surveys to measure interest in new product lines, events, or additional shopping hours . Using customer feedback takes some guesswork out of trying to improve your business, making customers feel their opinion is valued.

Retail events are effective because they give your customers an excuse to shop, while also making them feel appreciated with some extra like a goody bag, early access to new products, or a special discount. Events drive traffic to your store and provide a reason to send out lots of marketing and promotional material.

Download our free 2023 retail marketing calendar , which includes all the major holidays for 2023 and seasonal markers, below:

FILE TO DOWNLOAD OR INTEGRATE

Free Retail Marketing Calendar

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Annual retail events, such as back to school and the holidays, are prime selling times. Take advantage of the influx of shoppers by employing these marketing strategies for retail stores:

• Back to School Marketing Tips for Retailers
• Black Friday & Cyber Monday strategies, trends, and sales tips
• How to Create a Retail Gift Guide
• Creative Christmas Display Ideas and Examples

Local businesses thrive when they work together. When developing your retail marketing strategy, consider neighboring businesses and how you could work together. Partnerships can increase retail sales and promote your business to a new, trusting audience.

There are a few ways to team up and collaborate:

Store Partnerships

In Stratford, Connecticut, the founder of Mellow Monkey Decor brought together other local businesses to form the Stratford Lower Loop , a marketing tool that creates a destination out of the local shops in the area.

Mellow Monkey Decor created Stratford Lower Loop to bring tourists and shoppers to local businesses.

Community Involvement

Get involved with your local Chamber of Commerce and other town organizations to learn about vendor and sales opportunities at community events. Being present in your community—outside your store—will organically spread awareness about your business and boost name recognition.

Retailers can also use local businesses to build out additional sales channels. Work with other businesses in the community so you can sell your products in their stores when they host events.

• Open a Pop-up Shop
• Smart Pop-up Shop Ideas for Retailers

Product Wholesaling

If you create custom or private label products, consider selling those products wholesale to other local businesses. This is particularly effective if you’re in a tourist destination or college town and your products reflect your area.

For example, The Two Oh Three is a Connecticut lifestyle brand that sells apparel and accessories with various local logos. It sells at its own retail shop, and it also sells its products to other local boutiques to resell.

The Two Oh Three is a retailer that sells its products online and in its own store, as well as at other local stores.

Associates can and should double as marketers and brand ambassadors for your retail business. They interact with your customers the most. With the right sales staff, you can create an unforgettable and personal customer experience—and drive more sales.

Use Associates as the Face of Your Business

Humanize your business by showcasing your employees. If you have a brick-and-mortar store, your regular shoppers already know your store associates and will appreciate seeing a familiar face online and in marketing materials. If you have an online store, create an “About Us” page introducing your staff and put some faces behind your brand name. Or you can feature them in social media posts like Somatic Massage Therapy & Spa does:

Somatic Massage Therapy and Spa highlights employees in its Instagram posts.

Offer the Right Training

Hiring great associates isn’t always easy. Training your team and supporting hard and soft skill development is important. Make sure everyone knows about your latest promos and store updates so they can share them with your customers.

Outdoor retailer REI is an excellent example of a business with associates who proactively contribute to the retail marketing strategy. REI hires associates who share a lot of characteristics with its target customers. Plus, they’re knowledgeable about the products and activities for which REI products are used. They have smart product recommendations and can promote items from their own experiences.

Arm Staff With the Right Tools

Equip your staff with the appropriate business tools, like a mobile POS , to help them feel more confident and drive sales instead of simply answering questions and maintaining the space. This way, they can walk around the sales floor and meet customers where they are. When customers have questions, they can look up the answers on the spot.

• Retail Customer Service Tips and Examples
• Customer Service Training Ideas, Activities & Games
• Tips for Welcoming Shoppers into Your Store

Video is a highly effective format for marketing, and it has an important place in retail. According to one survey, an astounding 92% of marketers said they can report a positive return on investment (ROI) on video content, up from 87% in 2022.

You can use video in your digital marketing in particular. For example:

• Create and publish product videos on product pages, your website’s homepage, social media channels, and digital in-store displays.
• Start a YouTube channel where you post product demos, tours of your store, testimonial videos, and tutorials on how to make the most of your items.
• Get started with livestream shopping . You can team up with an influencer or product expert to answer any questions and promote your products in real time.

Influencer marketing is another tactic that can bring big results. Because consumers trust messages from other people more than messages from brands, influencers are a great way to tap into that.

When it comes to your retail marketing strategy, prioritize influencers who connect with your target market. You might team up with a local blogger or TikToker to promote your store location and products.

You don’t need to work with the biggest and most popular influencer with millions of followers. In fact, micro-influencers—figures with just a few thousand or even fewer followers—can also make an impact. Typically, their audiences are more engaged and loyal, especially as influencer marketing has become so saturated.

18. Evaluate & Assess Your Retail Marketing Strategy

Your retail marketing strategy is never complete—you need tracking to know if it’s working. Retail data analysis can help you unearth trends before your competitors do, allowing you to be an early adopter. Retail calendars, such as the 4-5-4 and 4-5-5 , can also be helpful tools to monitor sales figures.

With retail data analysis, you can accurately measure, track, and interpret sales, employee, and customer data to better understand your business and continue to hone your retail marketing strategy.

Retail Marketing Strategy FAQs

What are the four retail strategies, what is an example of a retail market strategy.

An example of a retail market strategy is when a retailer sells both online and in-store. They may take an omnichannel approach with consistent messaging and unique fulfillment options like click and collect.

Developing a retail marketing strategy requires thinking about what kind of products you’ll sell, where you’ll sell them, and how you’ll keep customers engaged post-sale. It’s holistic and encompasses everything from your store’s appearance to product selection and pricing. Remember: there’s no one-size-fits-all strategy, and your particular retail marketing strategy will evolve as your business grows.

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Meaghan Brophy

Meaghan Brophy is a Retail Expert at Fit Small Business focusing on small business retail and ecommerce content. Meaghan’s 10+ years of retail experience includes working at local book and dance supply stores, handcrafting gifts at an eco-friendly manufacturer, developing private label brands, and managing a team of more than 40 sales and service professionals at a local spa.

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