Contrary to what it feel like lately, the Canadian Retail Industry and specifically the Canadian Fashion Retail Industry is NOT dying. It IS, however, ever evolving, and if you can't find a way to stay relevant while building a real connection with the consumer, you WILL crumble and fall, no matter how much historical success you have had (I'm looking at you HBC)
The key to not only surviving, but THRIVING in this evolving Retail landscape is a formula mastered by few and attempted, but lacking by many; one that is, in itself, ever-evolving: Create a QUALITY product that fills a consumer need, which provides that consumer with VALUE and which they feel CONNECTED to in some way. A simple statement to make, but not an easy task to accomplish.
Creating a true QUALITY product that will last the test of time, is often NOT an inexpensive process. The challenge is that most assume that price and value are interchangeable for ALL consumers, but that couldn't be further from the truth. Value is about so much more than quality vs. cost. Value is in your brand, your story and what you/your people stand for - talking the talk and then walking the walk. This "intangible" value , that "good feeling" or "pride" you get associated with WHAT you purchase and WHO you purchase from is often more of a motivator to purchase in the first place than the final cost itself.
That being said, even if you've been able to create an incredible, high-quality product and built and equally amazing brand to market it under, if the EXPERIENCE purchasing your product doesn't reinforce or ADD to the original value proposition, you're going to be dead in the water. The Customer Experience (CX) is the be all end all of Retailers big and small because with the Customer there is no business. We need them to buy our products so we can continue to make new products and contribute to the economic growth of our country (not to mention feed our families and pay for all of life's rising costs)
The biggest challenge to overcome then is the sheer amount of products out there. How can you find a way to stand out from the crowd? How do you get them to choose YOU over your competition? This is where that "intangible" value comes in and one of the biggest contributors to that value comes directly from their EXPERIENCE when they purchase from you.
The most successful Retailers are those that have been able to create a unique experience for their customers, both in-person AND online, while finding a way to CONNECT the former to the later AND connect both to the consumer themselves. This is probably the most difficult piece of the puzzle to master. Crafting an overlapping CX is crucial to thriving in this changing Retail landscape, so let's talk about a few ways you can achieve that.
If you're a business with store fronts, creating a loyalty email mailing list that sends special online discounts to those who register in-store and the same online, sending in-store discounts/promotions to online customers. This is an easy way to connect both experiences while providing additional consumer value. BUT, making sure the process is seamless for the consumer and provides them with the value they are looking for is paramount. This means making sure your website, CRM and tech stack in general are all set up to work together to deliver this experience AND that you've done the appropriate market research into WHAT sort of value your clientele is actually seeking.
For online only business, seeking out local events/markets or retail stockists that align with your brand can go a long way to increasing your overall brand value AND market share by allowing an avenue for your customers to "touch it/feel it/love it." Although as a society we have certainly embraced the digital world, there is still an incredibly large segment of consumer that want to EXPERIENCE the product before they buy. That said, simply showing up to these events with your product in hand or sending your inventory to a stockist isn't enough. You need to make sure that the humans interacting with your "touch it/feel it/love it" customers have the necessary product knowledge to provide this type of consumer with the value they seek. This means hiring the right people to run your show booths and educating them not only on your product, but your brand as well. Even a stockist and the team they employ are an extension of your brand. You need to invest in educating them appropriately if you want to mitigate the risk of brand contamination.
This trifecta of QUALITY, VALUE and CONNECTION has been a struggle for so many historically successful Retailers to maintain in this evolving Retail landscape and , as a result, we have seen a record number of Retail brands close their doors over the last 5 years. But as we say goodbye to some of our most iconic brands (still looking at you HBC - you might not be closing ALL your stores, but with only 6 locations surviving, you might as well be in my opinion.) we are also saying HELLO to an incredible amount of NEW and innovative Retailers looking to make their unique mark on the wonderful world of Canadian Retail.
Here are just a handful of my personal favs I encourage YOU to say HELLO to today! Supporting Canadian business, Retail or otherwise, has never been more important that it is today. So if you aren't in the market for any of their incredible products, you can still support these and any other amazing Canadian businesses you know of for FREE by following their socials, interacting with their content and spreading the word about their products to your friends and family.
Until next time, stay classy and stay connected!
Amanda Cox
