What is the Monday Morning Coffee? Every Monday morning, our editorial team brings you 5 need-to-know news from its weekly readings, to read in less than 5 minutes.
What's on today's menu?
1. "Shoppers Are Fretting. Stores Are Listening"
First, we loved this WSJ article just because of this illustration below. Also because it points in the direction -in the background- of a need, greater than ever, for brands, retailers and shopping places to know all about their shoppers' omnichannel profile. "They are bringing back more bargains, cheaper store brands and rewards programs for shoppers who want to save where they can". Any solution with refined data should be considered priceless for them to drive their business in this time of inflation and doubt before a potential recession.
2. Which retailers are winning the "new normal"?
We digged this piece for Insider Intelligence "Q1 has been wild. Here are retail’s winners and losers" as it offers a wide panorama of how shoppers' behaved those past few months. For instance, online luxury retailers and businesses that sell discretionary purchases like electronics didn't do well while home goods and value-oriented retailers matched shoppers current demands. Also interesting to point out that according to this article, brick-and-mortar retail’s growth outpaced ecommerce for the fourth straight quarter in Q1 2022.
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3. Shoppers Are Back in Stores, What That Means for E-Commerce
Speaking of brick-and-mortar, here's an interesting trend exhibited by Barron's. Shoppers walking back to physical stores more than ever can first be explained by the fact companies "have been trying torework their stores into experiences in recent years helps lure back shoppers even if they want to prioritize spending on having fun over buying things". But - and we insist - omnichannel remains key. "The upshot is that retailers have to keep investing in e-commerce, as consumers demand convenience, switching and merging online and in-person shopping."
4. Good news : Retail Discounts are back
The first read focused on retailers adapting to an inflation-impacted demand. Here's a focus from Forbes on the comeback of "Retail Discounts". First question could be : why and how could their be discount at a time prices are increasing? Well, retailers are "also beginning to offer bigger, better deals on products such as televisions and furniture in an effort to attract shoppers".
5. Post-Pandemic Retail Trends Are Here To Stay
Following this inflation topic, GlobeSt.com brings to light some interesting trend: "Retailers are evolving and shifting their real estate strategies to focus on suburban expansion, meeting rising consumer demand, as these areas continue to see strong population growth across the country. As inflation and supply chain issues continue to create obstacles, retailers are recognizing now more than ever the importance of locating closer to their end consumers". The more retailers adapt, the more they know theirs shoppers, the more successful they will be.