As a retail leader, you know that having a solid business strategy is essential for driving growth and success.
In 2023 however, retailers must create a retail business strategy in a new economic environment where three key economic trends will influence sales:
Let’s explore five key elements you can apply to build a successful retail business strategy for the modern retail world.
1. Master the market by understanding your consumers
To build a retail business strategy that resonates with your customers and stays ahead of the competition, it’s essential to understand your consumer base.
Catering to your customers is the only way your business will grow.
Global retail experts at NRF Big Show 2023 say personalization and customer loyalty reign supreme and will be key for retailers.
“It’s really about having a constant connection with the consumer and the elements that the consumer expects, even as their needs and wants change,” said Christina Hennington, EVP, and chief growth officer, at Target.
Therefore loyalty programs and the opportunity to personalize the shopping experience are areas progressive retailers will direct their efforts into in 2023–especially as retailers look to make their business recession-proof.
2. Power up your retail business strategy with AI
Did you know AI-driven analytics can play a vital role in supporting your retail business strategy–especially, in a fast-paced, digitally transformed retail world?
If you haven’t already noticed, top retailers are not just in the business of selling, but leveraging and utilizing their high-volume data is very much part of today’s retailer business strategy in order to increase profits and reduce costs.
Top retailers use advanced analytics to analyze volumes of data with the highest accuracy to:
Forecast demand
Manage inventory
Improve supply chains
Hit promotional goals
As a result, AI-driven analytics provides retailers with a powerful tool to support their retail business goals through the insights it provides about operations and customers, so they can make highly accurate data-driven decisions.
3. Make SMART goals to unlock full potential
As the marketplace and consumer shopping habits evolve, new objectives and goals for your business strategy need to change too.
Use the SMART framework to create your goals because it helps you drill down to exactly what you want to achieve.
Each goal should be:
Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Relevant
Time-bound
“Because of their effectiveness, SMART goals are commonly used in business, this tested strategy saves you the wasted time of not knowing precisely what you want or how to get it. SMART goals can help you ‘ladder up’ to the bigger goals…” ~ Robbins Research International
From here, you can develop a strategic plan that outlines the key strategies and tactics you’ll use to achieve your goals.
4. Be flexible and fast with Agile planning
Traditional business strategy planning is not as effective in today’s fast-paced market. That’s why more and more retailers are turning to Agile strategic planning.
Agile strategic planning is all about being flexible and adapting to change. You won’t get stuck in a singular annual plan, established only by leaders at the top.
Rather, the Agile planning process fosters
Continuous improvement
Smaller, more manageable steps
Feedback from customers and other stakeholders
Agile planning process:
This process makes your planning more responsive, and adaptable to the ever-changing needs of your customers and marketplace.
Example: Amazon
Amazon exercises Agile planning masterfully.
The omnichannel retailer is customer-obsessed. However, customer obsession is not just for top management, sales, and marketing. Everyone in the company is expected to be obsessed with knowing about and enhancing the impact of what they do for the customer.
In fact, customer obsession and quick decision-making are key to avoiding organizational stagnation and are essential for maintaining Amazon’s unique Day 1 culture.
By being agile, adaptable, and open to change, you’ll be better positioned to capitalize on new opportunities and stay ahead of the curve.
5. Measure and analyze performance
It’s important to regularly measure and analyze your performance against your objectives and goals to identify areas where you’re excelling and areas where you may need to make adjustments.
Establishing key performance indicators (KPIs) is a great way to track progress and measure success.
As an example, KPIs for omnichannel retailers can include:
These KPIs will keep you aligned with objectives and goals in your retail business strategy when used to evaluate your performance on a regular basis.
Craft your winning retail business strategy
As you can see, developing a successful retail business strategy for today’s fast-paced and often unpredictable marketplace is paramount for success in the retail world.
It requires:
Deep understanding of your market and consumers
SMART objectives and goals
Agile strategic planning
Monitoring Key Performance Indicators
Leveraging the power of AI-driven analytics
If you build a winning business strategy, you’ll be ahead of the game.
If you want to learn more about how AI-driven analytics can supercharge your retail business strategy request a Demo by contacting Our Team
