The holiday season this year is going to be even more stressful than usual for marketers and retail stores. Traditionally, the holidays are the time when retail makes the majority of its annual profits. However, many of the old brick-and-mortar shopping locations have had their revenues bulldozed in previous seasons by titan shopping platform Amazon.com. The changes are expected to be even more pronounced this year, according to Marketing Land.
It’s a virtual “clash of the titans” between the global retail mainstay Wal-mart and its online rival Amazon. The online mega-retail platform has grown, especially in the past few years so that all but the largest outlets are able to compete.Wal-Mart is expected to ramp-up its delivery speed for online purchases, bolster the store pick-up for pre-orders, and basically focus on other service conveniences.
This year, marketers will be under pressure to soak up every retail dollar possible with discounts and heavy promotional content. Creative will have to market under that standard with less emphasison brand or the usual familial and lifestyle signifiers normally formulated in the holiday promotions.Also, the holiday shopping specials are expected to start even earlier this year.
The final battle lines will be drawn with marketers promoting the online “shopping experience” against the physical retail “customer service.” Both sides will put out their best advertisements, discounts, and other tactics to survive and thrive.
Retail is changing with the times. The physical brick-and-mortar stores must adapt to survive. Of course, online retail will compete wielding their greatest weapon, convenience. Retail will have to create a new kind of shopping experience to bring shoppers into their stores.
