Archive for 2021

When the nation was told to stay at home in March 2020, the OOH (out of home) sector was inevitably going to suffer. A series of lockdowns and restrictions has left the industry bruised and battered, but as those restrictions ease and life returns to some degree of ‘normality’, OOH is making a comeback – and with real gusto.

In the second quarter of 2021, OOH has enjoyed an impressive resurgence, with year-on-year growth of 277%, reports The Drum. This increase, announced by Outsmart and PwC, marks the highest quarterly performance ever recorded in the sector. After a tricky first quarter, retailers will take some comfort from the news that total revenues between April and June were just shy of £200 million.

The UK Out of Home Revenue report found a rise across all OOH revenues – both digital and traditional – which increased 247% and 339% respectively. These figures illustrate the surge in digital seen over the course of the pandemic; digital now holds a 63% share of overall revenue – an increase from the 53% share it held pre-pandemic.

The expectation is that this recovery will continue into the autumn and winter months. Speaking about the findings, Justin Cochrane, chair of Outsmart said: “Out-of-home’s strongest growth quarter ever […] is great to see. We’ve felt the momentum building and are looking forward to this continuing through the rest of the year.”

Meanwhile, Alistair MacCallum, UK CEO at Kinetic Worldwide (WPP’s specialist OOH agency) talked about the sector’s ongoing agility, explaining the data was “testament to the transformation seen across the industry to make OOH smarter, faster, and more adaptive throughout COVID.”

He continued by highlighting OOH’s “unique ability to publicly and inclusively, reach and engage audiences at scale.”

According to MacCallum: “With the UK returning to ‘real life’ in large numbers, there’s every reason to be hugely optimistic as both classical and digital OOH return to the sustained growth path we were seeing in the years before the pandemic.”

If your business is looking for ways to ride the wave of Q2 through smarter, faster, more adaptive multi-channel marketing, Delta can help. Get in touch, we’d love to hear from you: hello@thedletagroup.co.uk

We all know the impact Covid-19 has had on retail. Lockdowns and social distancing restrictions saw many previously in-store shoppers make the move towards digital shopping options. Demand for grocery delivery and click and collect options surged virtually overnight, as retailers worked hard to give consumers the digital services they required.

These virtual shopping habits are sticking around, but customers are now returning to physical stores, too.

According to data from Forbes, visits to retail, restaurants and entertainment venues have risen 44% since the start of the year.

As customers start venturing back onto high streets and into retail parks, retailers need to adjust their offerings once more to ensure customers keep coming back.

An article on Marketing Dive has three considerations for retailers developing their in-store marketing strategy.

1. When it comes to brands, customers can be fickle

Consumers don’t write shopping lists of brands. They’re looking for baked beans, sliced ham or frozen peas. They may have a brand they like, but research by McKinsey shows their chosen brand may have changed over the past 18 months. It’s that elusive ‘aha-moment’ which gets specific products into a buyer’s shopping basket. A majority (80%) of customers actively look for deals when shopping in-store. On-shelf offers, recipes, or problem-solving information can all work in a marketer’s favour when shoppers are deciding what brand to choose.

2. Pricing is a major priority for consumers

Rising prices on weekly food bills and household items rarely go unnoticed by shoppers. These price fluctuations affect their purchasing decisions. Many consumers feel it is up to retailers and brands to find a way to keep prices low. Many are happy to shop elsewhere or switch to different brands as a way to keep costs down.

The data tells us that 62% of shoppers are members of store loyalty schemes. These programs play a significant part in what they do and don’t buy. Discounts, points and other credit all help sway consumers’ purchasing decisions. Marketers need to use their in-store messaging to promote exclusive savings for loyalty card holders.

3. Recall has a starring role

The in-store experience of today’s shoppers directly influences their purchase decisions. According to one study, 82% of consumers’ purchasing decisions are made when they are inside a store, 62% of shoppers impulse buy while in-store, and 16% of unplanned purchases are driven by in-store promotions.

That’s a lot of customers making a lot of decisions about what to buy while inside physical stores. In-store signage can help influence these decisions, helping retailers drive revenue. A consumer survey found that 69% of shoppers recall seeing in-store product promotions, which in turn led to further browsing and purchasing. Of those customers, 69% went on to browse the particular product and 61% went on to buy it.

Customer engagement starts with digital signage. If you’re looking for ways to influence purchasing decisions, Delta can help. We can help ensure your in-store signage displays the right message at the right time in the right location within the store. Get in touch to find out more about Delta Signage today: hello@thedeltagroup.com

The UK’s high streets may have lost 388 stores over the past five years, but fashion retailers are starting to see more than a glimmer of hope for the future.

For instance, there were stronger-than-expected sales this summer: analysis by BDO shows that sales of fashion and footwear rose by 28.19% year on year in the week to 15 August. Meanwhile, Marks & Spencer reported that its clothing and homeware sales had shot up by an impressive 92.2% year-on-year in the four months to 14 August this year, down by just 2.6% on 2019/2020 figures.

If that wasn’t enough for retailers to breathe a collective sigh of relief, there was also the news that La Samaritaine – a 151-year-old Parisian department store that has been closed for the past 16 years – reopened its doors in June this year.

Iconic store, iconic retail experiences

The interior of the LVMH Group-owned store has been meticulously restored to its former glory. And whether seen in person or virtually, the ornate decor evokes a longing for a time when in-store shopping (and international travel) were much simpler.

Aside from being extraordinarily Instagrammable, La Samaritaine’s reopening also says a lot about the future of luxury bricks and mortar retail.

As Eléonore de Boysson, DFS group president for Europe and the Middle East (LVMH’s retail arm) said: “Bricks and mortar is not dead in our mind.”

She continued: “We need to give the client a real experience, which goes far beyond shopping.” As a result, you will find an array of nail bars, hair salons, restaurants and bars within the iconic store, all geared towards creating a memorable in-store experience rather than boosting product sales.

The move towards experiential retail

As with so many areas of retail, the Covid-19 pandemic has altered the industry’s view of experiential retail. The evidence suggests that consumers are now happy to buy luxury goods online, which means retailers need to give shoppers a really good reason to step inside bricks and mortar stores. In other words, offering them an experience to remember.

Online shopping offers customers convenience, but many crave the human, emotional connection that can only be provided through in-store interaction. That makes physical stores a vital touchpoint for brands.

Selfridges is another luxury department store that is placing its future in the hands of experiential. In recent years, the store has invested heavily in pop-ups, art installations and even an indoor skate bowl. The goal is to entice customers back – whether that’s a return in-store, online or a combination of the two is beside the point.

As Selfridges managing director Andrew Keith explains: “It’s about making sure that they value the relationship and enjoy the discovery.”

Acceleration of localisation

Pre-pandemic, Selfridges relied heavily on tourists to keep its sales buoyant. With many people still avoiding international travel, the store is now looking to strengthen its local customer base by creating hubs that “reflect the lifestyles and trends that are happening at a very local level”.

The volume of local sales (where customers buy products in their own countries rather than overseas) has a huge influence on the luxury retail market. And as post-pandemic flexible work patterns allow more people to move out of cities, we have seen the creation of luxury hubs in places you might not expect.

Global China: Its retail influence

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the biggest area for store growth is China. Here, it didn’t take long for the luxury goods market to recover, with shoppers keen for opportunities to ‘experience the brand’.

As soon as restrictions in China were lifted, consumers flooded back to physical stores, making a flurry of luxury purchases. Brands and retailers soon realised their customers were keen to try products and interact with other humans. But more importantly, they realised customers wanted to be bowled over.

Wendy Yu is a Chinese investor, philanthropist and luxury customer who enjoys shopping online, but can also see the role played by physical stores. She says: “Going in-store should be almost like jumping into a live magazine. I am in discovery mode – I’m interested in the edit, the curation and I want to see new things, touch, feel, smell.”

Blurring physical and digital

As our online and offline lives become more closely aligned, the question is what form the in-store environment should take. A nod to old-world glamour as seen in La Samaritaine? Or a move towards more modern, tech-driven spaces that create a digitalised physical experience?

This blurring of physical and digital retail is becoming an increasingly common feature of today’s retail. In-store retail tech such as interactive mirrors, on-the-spot payments, smart vending machines and AR are helping retailers build a stronger rapport with customers.

But the future of retail needs to have the right balance of traditional luxury and modern technology. Your customers want a shopping experience that is seamless, frictionless and convenient. They also want you to address classic customer pain points.

The team at Delta can help you create a retail experience to remember. Get in touch to find out how we can help you connect with your customers and boost sales: hello@thedeltagroup.com.

Adaptation is the key to department store success in the future. This is the stark message being sent out to the UK’s large high street stores following new research by commercial property information firm CoStar Group.

According to the findings, 83% of the UK’s department stores have closed over the past five years. The decline, which kicked off with the closure of BHS in 2016, has continued during that time, not helped by the impact of Covid-19.

Research shows that only a small proportion of department store closures over the past five years have been re-let, with definite plans or approval for a change of use.

Speaking about these findings to the BBC, Mark Stansfield, CoStar Group’s head of analytics said: “The data undoubtedly highlights the acceleration of change in the retail sector in recent years, which the pandemic has only exacerbated.”

However, Stansfield doesn’t believe these spaces will remain empty for long.

He continued: “We are increasingly seeing forward-thinking real estate owners getting ahead of the problem and reshaping what are key assets in our town centres to provide a focal point for regeneration.”

“I think we’ll see many more plans come to light in the coming months. With these store closures come new opportunities.”

As retail has increasingly moved online, physical department stores have suffered. This hardship was accelerated during the coronavirus pandemic, with 118 Debenhams stores closing and John Lewis cutting its stores from 50 to 34.

Department store retailers still operating now need to adapt in order to survive. According to Paul Kirkland, Fujitsu’s retail and hospitality development director, Department stores need to “move into new channels”.

As Kirkland explains: “With the right omnichannel mix they can still thrive across stores, online and invest in the right blend of people, fulfilment, logistics and supply chain infrastructure. If customers are confident that in-store offerings will mirror the online, it will satisfy them at every touchpoint.

“After all, choice has never been so important.”

If you’re looking for ways to give your customers more choice and move towards omnichannel marketing, the team at Delta can help. Get in touch today to find out more: hello@thedeltagroup.com.

New research has shown UK customers are happy to pay 9% more for a product if it comes to them alongside exemplary customer service.

The findings reveal not only that shoppers are willing to spend more, but also emphasises the value they place on the in-store experience. The research, conducted by Puzzel and cited by the Retail Tech Innovation Hub, confirms the crucial role played by bricks and mortar stores in retailers’ omni-channel offerings.

When it comes to customer service, evidence shows that nothing beats human interaction. Over two in ten (21%) respondents said that in-store was their preferred channel for customer service, followed by email (18%), live web chat (16%) and voice calls (14%).

But customers also place a lot of value on trust: 35% of those questioned felt in-store customer service representatives were more trustworthy than the virtual alternatives.

Following the rise in Zoom video chats between friends and family during the pandemic, consumers are recognising the benefits video can offer within retail, too. A total 54% of respondents who said they had used video calls for customer service said they had a positive experience. Interestingly, 57% said they were relatively new recruits to using video chat for customer service.

Retailers need to step up and deliver a more personalised customer experience – after all, 76% of shoppers expect just that.

In addition, 35% expect customer service agents to have background knowledge about their enquiry, and 23% want to move easily between customer support channels.

In fact, the only sticking point is data: 55% said they did not feel completely comfortable giving retailers and brands permission to collect their personal information.

Speaking about the research findings, Jonathan Allan, CMO at Puzzel explained the extent to which customer expectations and behaviours had changed over the course of the pandemic.

Allan stated: “Despite largely positive experiences during the pandemic, our research reveals a clear requirement for retailers to deliver more personalised customer service, across a broad range of channels, in-store and online.”

He also highlighted the ongoing desire for more human experiences and the importance of “re-creating that in-store experience across digital platforms.”

As we move towards a more hybrid future of retail, the better equipped retailers are to deliver smarter, connected customer experiences, the more likely they will thrive post-pandemic and beyond.

Are you looking for smarter, more personalised ways to connect with your customers? Get in touch with the team at Delta to find out how we can help. 

Drop us a line today: hello@thedeltagroup.com.

Economies are reopening and tourism is resuming. That gives consumers the green light to head back to the high street. But we’re getting mixed messages.

On one hand, there’s a survey by Qubit that reveals 85.9% of consumers in the UK and US plan to continue shopping the same way or more online.

On the other, there’s evidence that the high street still has a special place in many consumers’ hearts. According to the Retail Unlocked report by Barclays, 40% of UK customers are planning to step up their in-store shopping over the next 12 months, while 41% confirm it remains their favourite way to shop.

Shopper behaviour has clearly changed as a result of the Covid pandemic – but the focus should perhaps move away from whether consumers favour physical or digital retail. Instead, retailers need to recognise that what customers really want is a seamless omnichannel experience.

The modern shopper wants it all. They want the convenience of ecommerce (accessible stock information and home delivery). But they also don’t want to miss out on the social aspect of high streets – not to mention the ability to try before you buy.

And while online shopping is here to stay (the Qubit study showed that 27.7% of UK shoppers plan to shop more online this Christmas than last), ecommerce cannot tick all the boxes. Almost nine in ten (87.6%) customers say that they feel overwhelmed by the amount of choice they have when shopping online.

Speaking about the findings, Tracey Ryan O’Connor, chief revenue officer at Qubit said: “To fully leverage the growth in ecommerce, retailers must factor in how consumers shop to meet customer expectations on the experiences they deliver, ensuring they’re aligned with current shopping trends.”

If you are looking for ways to create a more seamless omnichannel customer experience, Delta can help. Get in touch with the team today: hello@thedeltagroup.com.

Today’s customers expect a lot. As well as convenience and personalisation, they want a seamless omnichannel retail experience.

One way retailers can meet those demands is through digital signage. Sleek screens displaying tailored content that is informative and flexible can provide high-impact results.

Brands and retailers are taking notice. According to recent research, the digital signage market is estimated to grow by £4.9 billion by 2025.

Looking at the stats, it’s easy to see why digital signage solutions are proving so popular. Not only can digital signage software help capture the attention of 63% of customers, it also creates a 46% increase in customer satisfaction.

For retailers looking for ways to reconnect with their customers post-pandemic, digital signage is the one to watch. But there are a few things to keep in mind if you’re considering investing in this tech.

Content is everything

There’s so much more to digital signage than simply the screen and hardware. If you don’t have the right content displayed, you’ll struggle to make a connection with your audience. If you want to interact with your customers, content needs to be simple but compelling, informative but accessible. It also needs to be 100% relevant. Make sure your content tells a story and enhances the customer experience.

Know your customers

There’s no such thing as one type of customer. Each person is unique, and has different requirements. As a result, you need to ensure your messaging reflects this diversity. The customers you have coming into the store in the morning may have different needs to those visiting in the afternoon or evening. By changing your content at different times of the day, you can target specific audience groups. Specialised sales promotions will also help create a sense of exclusivity and make customers feel valued (and more likely to come back).

Audience targeting

Advancements in customer targeting mean retailers can manage how people interact with different brands and products. If someone searches for a product online, for example, this projection tech means it will be followed by a mobile phone notification and a more satisfying in-store experience. With targeted, timely messaging along the way, the final sale can be made in-store. Eye-catching, relevant digital signage can help to seal the deal.

Looking to increase engagement, boost communication, improve sales and create the best customer experience? Delta Signage could be the answer.

Get in touch to find out more: hello@thedeltagroup.com.

It seems that multi-sensory marketing is taking retail by storm, with marketers particularly keen to leverage a customer’s sense of smell to tap into memories and ambitions.

More brands are using signature scents to create emotional connections and evoke particular connotations within the minds of consumers. They want to create scents that scream luxury, indulgence or relaxation, and pair them with other sensory experiences – for example, the feel of crisp bed linen in a hotel or the sound of dreamy music in a restaurant.

One big-name brand that has done just that is Marriott’s St Regis hotels, creating a signature scent inspired by American socialite Caroline Astor and her legendary New York parties. Niche? Yes. Luxurious, extravagant and opulent? You bet…

Speaking about the brand’s multi-sensory strategy, Jennie Toh, vice president of brand in APAC for Marriott International explained: “With the sense of smell being so intimately linked to memory and emotion, by developing and deploying a signature scent unique to each brand, we are helping create not only a better first impression, but a positive reinforcement of their experience.”

She went on to describe how certain aromas can be used to create a stronger brand presence and an air of familiarity for guests who travel around the world.

In Toh’s opinion, adding signature smells to the customer experience is “one of the most untapped, powerful ways” to welcome customers. After all, if you’ve got the chance to create a positive first impression, any business is going to want to take it.

Scent marketing: Why is smell so powerful?

Smell is by far the most emotional of all our senses. It is also the most powerful. Scent allows brands to connect with consumers on a deeper, emotional level to create a more memorable experience.

Research suggests that being surrounded by a positive scent can elevate our mood by 40%. With 75% of our emotions being guided by scent, it’s not surprising that it can be used to amplify a brand’s identity and values.

Thanks to a direct link between our olfactory and limbic systems, humans strongly associate smells with emotion and memory. Such is the strength of this link, it means we can reach 65% accuracy when it comes to information recall.

Looking at the stats, you’d think the use of scent in multi-sensory marketing was a given. However, awareness about the power of scent marketing is still relatively low.

Developing a signature scent

So, how would a brand go about creating its own signature scent? The first step is identifying what makes up a brand in terms of aesthetics, audience and brand purpose. Once that has been established, it’s possible to tailor a scent based on these components and add extra key notes such as relaxation, luxury or sophistication.

Brands also need to consider culture and universality when developing a scent. Certain smells are considered universally pleasing – freshly-cut grass, fresh coffee, or freshly-baked bread. Others are more localised – for example, kimchi which can evoke all sorts of positive emotions, but perhaps not for those unfamiliar with its pungent aroma.

By considering cultural preferences, brands are able to ‘localise’ their scents and keep the customer experience wholly positive.

Wafts of holistic marketing

Scent marketing isn’t something that operates in isolation of other marketing strategies. It works best when it is at the heart of a holistic marketing strategy.

As Olivia Jezler, founder of scent branding company Future of Smell explained: “When all the sensory elements of texture, weight, colour, sound and scent work together, each balanced in unison with one another, our experience is heightened as is our consumer experience of a product, environment or service.”

She continued: “In a retail setting, the added element or products being sold and the target market also comes into play as additional factors to design for.”

Abercrombie & Fitch is just one of many brands using scent marketing effectively – anyone who’s visited a store will instantly recognise the company’s unique aroma. Employees used to walk around the store with spray bottles containing the woody scent, now nebulisers are deployed throughout.

John Lewis took it one step further by designing specific scents for certain areas within the home. A fragrance with base notes of coconut and vanilla was used for fitted kitchens and cooking appliances to evoke the warmth of the communal space, which is often the heart of the home. 

Jezler explained that scent marketing needs to tell a single story. She said that if a product “sounds like the ocean and smells like pine trees, our brain cannot compute this as a unified experience.”

This creates confusion and a disjointed experience, meaning we are unable to assess whether a product is good or not. When everything comes together to tell one story, we are inclined to assess a product as high quality – and are willing to pay more for it.

Golden rules of scent marketing

Scent marketing is just one way you can adopt a more experiential approach to your marketing efforts. Interested? We’ll leave you with the two rules of scent marketing:

1.      A little bit of scent can go a long way (i.e. less is more)

2.      A complete absence of smell can be unsettling (amplified by the loss of taste and smell people experienced after testing positive for Covid)

Ready to take your marketing efforts to new experiential highs? The Delta Group is here to help. Get in touch with our friendly team today: hello@thedeltagroup.com.

No one in the fashion industry (or any industry) could have predicted the Covid-19 crisis. However, some fashion companies found they were better equipped than others to deal with the fallout. Primarily because of their digital proficiency.

Going digital has been the key – not just to success – but to survival in 2021. This year’s Fashion Week was digitised once again and industry experts are now desperately trying to envisage how the future of fashion shows might look.

Fashion brands need to work out how to balance their physical and digital brand presence. Some have managed to get this balance right. But for many, digital content distribution is proving easier said than done. Even with the right digital skills and fresh, engaging content, brands are still faced with the challenge of bringing collections to life without access to a physical store or showroom.

The business of fashion – then and now

Taking place twice a year, Fashion Week would gather together the most influential movers and shakers of the fashion world (namely, buyers and journalists). Their purpose? To spread the word about the latest fashion collections and trends. This information was then readily available for the general public (aka end consumers).

However, since the pandemic, things have been a little different. Brands have been forced to digitise and rethink how they can continue nurturing these relationships. For example, in a digital world, how can you maintain exclusivity with global industry insiders while making yourself accessible to a wider audience of experts? And how do you shout about a new collection via social media and the press without diluting the impact and message?

Redefining the user journey

The race is on for brands to find more streamlined ways to bring collections to life in a digital format. But as a Forbes article asks: where should they start? 

In terms of the user journey, it all begins with brand assets. These assets are made up of catwalk looks, campaign shots and product images, all taking the form of physical samples or digital content.

To get brand assets out into the digital sphere and improve the overall digital experience, a good place to start is with a centralised, cloud-based system. This allows you to store all your digital assets in one place, giving simple and fast access to both staff and people outside of your company.

Organisation is key. Organising your assets in an efficient way – categorising, tagging and moving – and granting access to all key stakeholders helps you stay in control of what the end user can and cannot see.

You also want the end user to have a full 360° experience, making use of digital to showcase collections and attract audiences in increasingly creative ways. Go wherever your imagination takes you – VR, mini-documentaries, interactivity or gaming.

Communication, connection, content

Of course, there are limits to how much you can do without a physical showroom or store. An immersive online experience is your best bet for attracting buyers and building relationships with the media. A digital showroom opens opportunities for communication between brand and stakeholder and keeps everything in one place.

But a digital showroom or event won’t give you the results if it’s working isolation. By connecting it to other tools, you’re able to gather insights into who is viewing, downloading and requesting what information and keep the links between digital and physical wide open. 

Your digital showroom works as an extension of the brand experience, picking up where a video leaves off and helping to build and nurture relationships. So personalise it, customise it, and tailor the experience to the user.

Whatever shape your digital event takes, you need to ensure that content is the star. Here are some ways to guide guests on their digital journey:

• Before the event, share a teaser and a countdown that will grab your guests’ attention.

• Make sure the invite is innovative, eye-catching, and worthy of sharing.

• Once the event is complete, link the collections to the digital showroom to encourage maximum post-event engagement.

• Ensure all your digital tools are linked so that guests can request samples directly.

The more you’re able to create an immersive experience for your audience, the more you can inspire industry experts, engage customers and grow your brand.

If you’re looking for ways to create a more immersive omnichannel experience for your audience, the team at Delta is on hand to help. Get in touch today to find out more: hello@thedeltagroup.com.  

The technology that allowed ecommerce to thrive during various Covid-19 lockdowns will also play a role in the recovery of bricks and mortar retail.

Shoppers want a more connected shopping experience when they return to the high street.. According to Snap Inc’s Future of Shopping: Global Report 2021, 40% of in-store shoppers use their mobile phone to find more information about a product, while more Gen Xers (80%) are keen to incorporate AR into their high street visits.

The pandemic has highlighted that while technology has disrupted bricks and mortar retail over the past 20 years, that same tech has also helped retailers navigate the connection between the online and physical spaces.

The report reveals that customers are keen to get back into physical shops, but they don’t want to lose the benefits and convenience of ecommerce – e.g., instant access to stock information or home delivery services.

The report’s findings suggest Brits are particularly attached to online shopping. Over four in ten (44%) plan to buy the majority of their clothes online (compared to 38% globally), while 34% said they favoured buying items in-store (42% globally). However, 49% of Brits miss the social aspect of shopping and 51% are frustrated when they can’t try clothes on first.

Key takeaways from the report include:

• Return to in-store retail: Shoppers returning to the high street are seeking the social and tactile experiences ecommerce cannot offer. But, they also want the convenience and safety they’ve grown used to.
• Tech will boost in-store sales: 35% of global customers would visit a specific shop if it offered interactive tech such as smart mirrors.

• Mobiles are part of the physical shopping journey: 50% of Gen Zers and millennials say they never go shopping without using a mobile. And within five years there will be a 57% increase in Gen Z shoppers who use AR (via a mobile) before buying.

These findings reveal a blurring of customer needs and expectations across both physical and digital shopping channels. They show that after price, shoppers prioritise convenience, social interaction and product testing.

Speaking about the report, Ed Couchman, regional general manager at Snap Inc. said: “Shoppers want to read reviews, compare prices and try on items using AR – but they also enjoy the experience of going into a shop, speaking to staff, and looking at items. They want the best of both worlds.”

Delta Group helps brands and retailers achieve this. Find out more today: hello@thedeltagroup.com.