Roundtables to help give stores ‘tactical breadth’
The Canadian Marketing Association (CMA) has created a “retail industry task force” to help retailers navigate through a “dynamic” period that includes the impending arrival of U.S. retail giant Target, a stagnant economy and the rise of non-traditional promotional tactics such as pop-up stores.
The task force is designed to help retail marketers be more effective and develop “tactical breadth” in their multi-faceted marketing plans, said the CMA in announcing the task force.
Rob Tallis, the CMA’s vice-president of marketing and events, said the group is examining some of the “hard challenges” currently faced by retail marketers and developing strategies to help them cope.
While Tallis said that retail marketing in Canada remains “pretty strong,” he noted that retailers face significant challenges not only from established brick and mortar stores like Target, but group buying sites like Groupon.
Tallis said that the coming years will see increased focus on the consumer experience, particularly as more shoppers migrate towards online purchasing. “It’s going to move from trying to drive volume to competing in terms of what you can deliver and the consumer choosing to go [to their store] to make their purchase,” he said.
The first in a series of the task force’s roundtable discussions, “Retail faceoff: House of Brands vs. Branded House,” takes place March 22 at the BMO Institute for Learning. The discussion will focus on a growing conflict: retailers’ want to control every detail of the brand experience to differentiate themselves from competitors while CPG manufacturers’ want to market their products directly as retailers stand between them and their customers.
“I used to work in the CPG space, and you’re fighting for shelf space and promotional space, you’re fighting for consumers’ [share] of mind where more and more consumers are making those choices right at the shelf,” said Tallis.
Susan Lute, associate vice-president of brand portfolio management for Canadian Tire and one of the retailers involved with the initiative, said the biggest change facing today’s retailers is consumer adoption of technology that fundamentally changes how they shop. Coupled with competitive pressures and a flat-lining economy, retailers are being forced to scrutinize their marketing mix and strategies to adapt them for the future, she said.
“There’s no question that the pressure retail marketers are facing is like it’s never been before,” said Lute. “Competitive pressure is certainly increasing, but the nature of how consumers shop and their expectations are forcing all of us to raise our game.”
