Consumer behaviour is changing faster than ever before – ignore it at your peril

It was a pleasure to join Oliver Banks on The Retail Transformation Show and discuss the extraordinary change in the retail market. 

I believe that the rise of social media is one of the drivers for this. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and others have significantly changed the retail industry, forever. Whilst I don't dispute there are many other changes happening in retail - this is one area that retailers can deliver impact and change it fast. 

"Consumer behaviour is changing faster than ever before - ignore it at your peril."

Using social media to drive physical footfall

Companies like Primark and B&M Bargains who are trading well, are also performing well on social media. This is made remarkable by the fact that they don’t do e-commerce at all. But they focus their digital activity on driving their social traffic to their stores.

Here are good examples from B&M Home Bargains and Primark who are using social to drive customers into the store. The call to action is very clear and they’re appealing to that urgency to act quickly before they’re gone.  They’re both looking to connect with people in their everyday lives.

What is the biggest mistake to make on social media?

One of the biggest mistakes on social media is to use it as a broadcast channel only. It’s not like TV,  radio or billboards. Social media is a channel for conversation and engagement

This is especially true with paid posts too. In the podcast, I explore how these can get lost and ignored. along with examples of things to avoid if you’re doing social media in retail. But you’ll have to listen to the episode in full to find out more...