Email Marketing During COVID-19: How to Send Emails During a Crisis

Marketing in a crisis, any crisis, is not easy. Marketers need to balance their human side with business needs, and knowing where that line sits is not always clear. But know this — what you do now will determine how your brand is perceived in the future.

This post by Whitney Blankenship explores the right way to approach your customers during a crisis, whether it’s COVID-19, or another future catastrophe, and how you can add value to your customers while trying to maintain your needs as a business.

In this article, she discusses:

• How to adjust your marketing during a crisis

• Ways to adjust your message

• How to still promote without alienating customers

• Considerations to make around pricing

Click here to continue reading on Omnisend

BACK TO BLOG HOME

Why Amazon is trying to out‑Walmart Walmart

Cash is king. Well, actually, Amazon is king. And it certainly creates a lot of cash. Not only does Amazon continue to dominate e-commerce, but it also impacts almost every line of business—from supermarkets to web services. Now it’s even getting into pharmaceuticals.

The folks over at Amazon are not dumb. They test, and they try. Oftentimes, they even fail. But while they push the limits of getting to market, they’ve also proven to be patient. More importantly, they’re very calculated.

Walmart is trying to become Amazon. Ironically, though, I see Amazon as actually trying to become Walmart. Why? Because while e-commerce is growing, 92% of retail sales come from brick-and-mortar stores. Brick-and-mortar sales will continue to give up share to e-commerce, but e-commerce won’t replace it. People will continue to shop in-store, and Amazon knows that.

Here’s why I think it makes sense for Amazon to get into the supercenter game. I’m sure they’ll come up with a snazzier name, but let’s call it Amazon Life. Anyway, let’s explore this a bit, shall we?

Brick-and-Mortar: We all know Amazon is no longer an ecommerce pure-play. It has its own book stores, it now has Whole Foods (and is expanding pick-up lockers in some locations), it has stand-alone pickup lockers, and it’s also partnered with Kohl’s. This partnership makes Kohl’s a return hub for Amazon customers, as well as a place to purchase some Amazon products, such as the Echo. From what I can tell, the only reason Kohl’s agreed to this is that they believe in the “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” philosophy. I don’t see this ending well for them.

I envision Amazon using Kohl’s as a testing ground to track how many returns are actually made at these locations. Are people willing to drive to a physical store to make returns? If so, how frequently? Will this additional flexibility increase the rate of return, or will it remain steady? I’ll bet Amazon is analyzing this very closely.

Kohl’s, on the other hand, is likely banking on the idea that when someone returns an item, notably clothing, they might stick around to shop for better-fitting replacement items. While this makes sense, it’s not sustainable. Amazon offers too many products for Kohl’s to bank on generating enough clothing returns and related sales to expand its market share. Amazon has over a dozen private labels in the clothing category alone and is showing no sign of slowing its expansion in this category. Why would Amazon want to potentially lose sales to Kohl’s, whose shoppers are the perfect demographic for some of its own product lines?

Shipping costs continue to rise and eat away at margins. Having a more central location where consumers could pick up orders, even same day, could cut these costs significantly. According to fulfillment software vendor Temando, 82% of shoppers said they want the option to buy online and pick up in-store. The cost of paying for returns would be significantly reduced as well. Much like the Kohl’s model, consumers would bring their returns to the store. And, oh yeah, as with the Kohl’s theory, people may want to shop for a new size or product to replace the return while they’re there. The good news here is that all the money would stay with Amazon.

Amazon’s private labels. They continue to be big sellers, and they’re constantly expanding. This includes the most recent launch of Amazon’s first two furniture lines. With over 30 private labels, there will be no shortage of products to display in-store, especially with the fashion lines. I’m going to guess that clothing makes up a large percentage of Amazon’s returns. And with the investment made in the Amazon Look [the version of Echo with a built-in camera], having a local store to assemble a wardrobe for try-on makes sense. It should also help reduce back-and-forth shipping costs under the current Prime Wardrobe subscription model.

The Whole Foods play. The chain is already a brick-and-mortar presence with over 400 stores, but they’re often cramped. Being able to buy groceries (even for pickup) while grabbing a new USB charger, a pair of socks, and your prescription refill all in one stop certainly sounds like a win-win for consumers. It has been for Walmart. This combination into a supercenter format should allow for a more streamlined distribution process.

Amazon pharmacies. While it doesn’t yet have the permits to operate an actual pharmacy, Amazon is certainly going to get there. Now, unless it purchases a drugstore chain (which is quite possible), it will have to either build out stand-alone drug stores (too costly), integrate them into an already cramped Whole Foods space (not likely), or simply be mail-order-only (least likely).

Amazon warehousing and fulfillment. Consolidation into storefronts could provide Amazon with even more leverage when dealing with brands to use its warehouse and fulfillment services. Knowing consumers could buy and pick up same-day would create some urgency for brands to want to keep their product both in stock in stores and for quick shipping online. Brands would likely need to pay for larger Amazon warehousing, increasing Amazon billings.

Showrooming. Of course, consumers love showrooming. Just ask Best Buy! This is especially true for larger purchases, such as TVs. Too bad Amazon doesn’t sell electronics. Oh, wait. You won’t need to visit a showroom and then check Amazon for its price.

Data suggests that millennials and Gen Zers actually like going into stores, but they’re also quite comfortable shopping online.  More importantly, they value time, convenience, and the experience. Many retailers lack a focus on the in-store customer experience. Amazon doesn’t—and won’t. You can bet that people walking into an Amazon Life (name not official) location would be greeted with convenience and excellent customer service.

Could This Change Prime Memberships?

Consider this. If all of this happened, Amazon might have the ability to differentiate Prime offerings, such as Prime Standard and Prime+. How would they differ?

Just hypothesizing, Prime Standard could be similar to what you have today. Free two-day shipping and free returns, as well as other media-type services. There would remain a charge for Prime Pantry deliveries; however, instead of offering same-day delivery for free, you would instead have access to same-day pickup at one of their locations.

Prime+ could be offered at a slightly higher price point and include the same-day delivery as an added option. You may even have the delivery charge for grocery orders waived one time each month. You could look for other added benefits to either program, such as tying in meal or fashion subscription services in some way.

So, while Walmart is chasing Amazon, I think Amazon quietly has its sights set on being more like Walmart. Being able to physically provide a customer-centric experience that Prime and non-Prime members alike have come to expect from Amazon can go a long way toward further cementing customer loyalty to the brand.

Brick-and-mortar isn’t dead. It just needs to be done better! And I bet Amazon will be just the one to prove it to us.

This was originally published by Internet Retailer.

Retail Predictions: How Small Retailers Will Change In 20 Years

FUTURE OF ECOMMERCE: HOW SMALL RETAILERS WILL CHANGE IN 20 YEARS

Mom and Pop stores, once the bread and butter of the retail world, are all but becoming relics of a former time. As large retailers and big box stores sprawled across the country, undercutting prices while offering more inventory, smaller niche retailers simply couldn’t compete. Over the years, many of these shops that would try to plant their seed at a physical location have found that online or ecommerce offerings were more suitable to their needs and means.

From Amazon to Etsy, to Magento Community and Shopify, there are numerous outlets for smaller retailers to get their products in front of consumers. But what happens in 20 years time when these large retailers begin to consume one another, when name brands become less meaningful in place of price and quality, or as the desire for more meaningful experiences becomes vital to product sales? In the year 203,7 we may not quite be on planet Mars, but one thing is certain: the face of retail and ecommerce will have drastically changed, and this is particularly true for smaller retailers and mom and pop shops. I, along with other industry professionals, was asked about how small retailers will change over the next 20 years. Here is what I had to say.

WHAT ROLE WILL PHYSICAL RETAIL STORES PLAY IN CONSUMER BUYING, AND HOW WILL THEY HAVE CHANGED?

Greg: The concept of the store really hasn’t changed in 100 years. Stores have gotten bigger, but in most instances, the fundamentals are the same. You go there to purchase something and take it home the same day. I don’t think this model is doomed, even with advances in technology.

People are social by nature, and I think they will continue to want to touch, experience, and take home purchases on the spur of the moment. Assuming people will always be willing to wait for products is assuming people will no longer want immediate satisfaction. If anything, with the expectation of fast and free shipping, we are moving closer to consumers’ expecting immediate gratification.

It’s possible we will see an increase in store locations, but with less inventory. For this to be successful on a large scale, shipping costs will need to come down. Housing all inventory in several key locations around the country means retailers will have to ship one product at a time, rather than bulk ship to key stores. This might lead to one mega-store in each metropolitan city, with smaller showroom stores around the city. This will allow products to bulk ship locally without forcing retailers to build out distribution hubs around the country. As of today, Amazon and Walmart are probably in the best situation to execute this strategy.

The concept of checkout-less stores is sure to expand over the next 20 years. As technology improves in this space, I think more and more retailers will take to it. I am skeptical that it will be adopted widely by retailers. I think it is better suited to products like clothing than it is for groceries, for example.

WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE TECHNOLOGICALLY OR CULTURALLY WILL BE THE BIGGEST FACTOR IN HOW CONSUMERS BUY IN 20 YEARS?

Greg: Virtual reality and augmented reality will play the biggest role here. I think consumers will be shopping in their living rooms using headsets or other applicable technology, where they can try on products, see holograms, or 3-D views of themselves with products. Similarly, virtual in-store shopping certainly will be more advanced than it is today. People will be able to visually shop their local brick-and-mortar store using VR or AR and have orders shipped to them.

Finally, on this same note, we can expect online-only retailers to create virtual storefronts to better connect consumers with their brands. Where an online retailer used navigation bars to direct people, they can create their own virtual stores that bring together a consistent look and feel for their brand and ease the shopping experience by allowing the user to “walk” through their stores.

WHAT KIND OF JOBS WILL BE NEEDED TO SUPPORT FUTURISTIC RETAIL AND ECOMMERCE BRANDS?

Greg: For virtual stores, we’ll need virtual retail designers or virtual architects. These people will be in charge of designing a virtual floor map, as is done with brick-and-mortar locations. However, knowing what works in the physical retail storefront will be quite different in a virtual storefront. Counter-clockwise shopping, brand merchandising/placement based on eye level, and size of shopping carts are not likely to be as meaningful in an online world. It will be interesting to watch how the online version evolves.

Software engineers are already becoming a permanent fixture for nearly every company, but positions in designing virtual environments, as with video game creators, will become a more common role for retailers or agencies.

I don’t believe the role of a human marketer will go away. Commerce marketing automation will make their jobs easier, surfacing data and related analytics faster, making it easier for marketers to predict ways they can boost revenue. The marketer’s role will continue to shift as consumer adoption of new marketing tactics is accepted and rejected. Humans marketing to humans will always be important.

LASTING THOUGHTS

Greg: I think there will be a time within the next 20 years when there will be a bit of a technology backlash. I think people will crave the “quiet” that comes from being disconnected from the online world. Technology won’t go anywhere, but you may find people sharing less online and doing more in person. This may lead to the re-emergence of brick-and-mortar stores as a destination, much like the shopping malls of years ago.

Click Here to View Other Experts' 20-year Predictions

VIEW MY 5-YEAR PREDICTIONS FOR MID-SIZED RETAILERS HERE

VIEW MY 10-YEAR PREDICTIONS FOR LARGE RETAILERS HERE

Bridging the Online-Offline Personalization Gap

Consumers are so keyed in about personalization that a recent study found 40% of online shoppers expect that multichannel merchants know about their offline purchases and factor those into their marketing emails. Let me repeat, we’re talking about offline purchases!

Retailers recognize this as a challenge and are eager to solve it. But realistically, too many retailers struggle to connect their consumer profile data, purchase data, and email data — much less bridge the gap between the online and offline world. Consumers are coming to expect something most retailers are not yet poised to provide.

Retailers today need to use the options available to bridge the online-offline personalization gap.

Location-Based Targeting on the Web

Geotargeting is sometimes thought of as exclusively a brick-and-mortar tool – but it shouldn’t be thought of that way. Location-based options exist that can provide a customized and relevant user experience for the online shopper. For example, if a user visits an online clothing retailer’s website in December, the content should be tailored based on their location. Buffalo-dwelling Kyle should have a different online experience than Miami-based Kevin.

What if you only sell warm-weather clothing? User location can help you guide a user not only to a purchase, but also to a higher order total. For example, if Kyle in Buffalo is visiting the site, it may be an indication that he is planning a trip to escape the cold. Your product recommendations may be tailored to upsell complete outfits, or frequently forgotten vacation items, such as sunglasses, waterproof camera cases, or beach bags.

These same principles can apply to marketing emails. Detecting not only an email reader’s location, but also the device they are on, allows you to serve up user-specific content. For example, if they are an avid runner and rain is forecast three days out, you can display content and/or product recommendations showcasing top-rated gear for running in the rain. You might even combine this with an upgraded shipping offer to speed the product to their door – and secure the deal. If they are on a mobile device, you can change the content to be more streamlined, and maybe more interactive, such as offering a video or user-generated content.

The consequences of not doing this can put off customers. Outdoor furniture company RST Brands learned that when it sent out a “Dreaming of Summer” email during the winter and heard back from a Miami customer who pointed out that this is the time of year when people in his area enjoy the outdoors. RST responded with a geotargeting strategy that avoids those kinds of miscues.

Offline Location-Based Targeting

If done right, geotargeting can be a great way to provide a better in-person experience. Let’s say I abandon my shopping cart. Instead of just sending me the general abandoned cart message, I receive a note about the abandoned products and information about a nearby store where I can try on the items I abandoned. That is a great way to create a terrific in-person experience. But retailers need to understand how to provide actual value to nearby consumers to make this work.

Unfortunately, that isn’t always the case. Recently, Yelp announced the acquisition of Wi-Fi marketing company TurnStyle Analytics. At a high level, TurnStyle allows retailers to require a login to access a company’s free Wi-Fi. This allows consumers to opt-in to receiving emails, SMS or social messages from that retailer in exchange for Wi-Fi access. The consumer gets free Wi-Fi and, perhaps, some location-based promotions. The retailer gets to grow their subscriber list. This method offers a lot of benefits for both retailers and consumers, but it also has challenges.

The biggest challenge is that consumers have come to expect free Wi-Fi in public establishments. I know I certainly do! It can be a point of friction for consumers to turn over info just to use Wi-Fi for a brief period. I know if offered the choice, I often opt to use cellular data rather than go through the hassle of inputting my data and deleting messages I don’t want. Consumers have shown they will provide access to their data, but the immediate and long-term value needs to be there.

While this type of geo-targeting can be beneficial, it may lose its long-term effectiveness. Retailers may choose to take the Starbucks method and ensure their Wi-Fi is accessible to everyone, and instead focus on providing excellent customer value through every other stage of customer interaction.

Ultimate adoption and tolerance will be determined by value. If a retailer is not rewarding consumers for providing info, then the ongoing marketing messages, and potentially their entire view of the retailer, may lose their luster.

Connecting the Data

So, while there is value in each example mentioned above, these connection points need to work together to provide a more cohesive consumer experience. Connecting the data is the critical part. Otherwise, your marketing efforts will continue to be fragmented, less valuable, and will leave consumers where they are today…wanting and, more importantly, expecting more.

This was originally published on Multichannel Merchant.

Retail Predictions: How Mid-Size Retailers May Change By 2022

FUTURE OF ECOMMERCE: HOW MID-SIZE RETAILERS MAY CHANGE BY 2022

Now that emerging technology like virtual reality, beacons, and voice assistants is finding its way into more consumer homes, what role will these play in the future of ecommerce? Not only is hardware improving and creating new ways for consumers to buy goods, but the software, such as artificial intelligence, is improving how products directly correlate with needs and wants.

Over the next five years, mid-size retailers such as L.L. Bean, Hasbro, and Wayfair will see large impacts and face the most challenges. While we may not have a crystal ball, industry experts, like Greg Zakowicz, have a direct tap into the changing landscape of retail, so we asked them how they see mid-size retail and ecommerce shifting over the next five years. From emerging technology to shifts in how consumers receive their goods, there are a lot of iterative changes that our industry is likely to see.

HOW WILL MID-SIZE RETAILERS CHANGE OVER THE NEXT 5 YEARS?

Greg: I don’t expect we’ll see drastic changes from many of them. I think retailers will do more behind the scenes to integrate data sources and share. We might see retailers put more emphasis on improving the overall value they provide to customers by providing more personalization and value-driven loyalty programs, for example. Of course, much of this requires accurate, integrated data. Without that, marketing programs likely will fall short of expectations.

WHICH IF ANY EMERGING TECH WILL BECOME WIDELY ADOPTED WITHIN THE NEXT 5 YEARS?

Greg: In some cases, yes. In most cases, no. I believe virtual reality will be more prominent, but I don’t think people will be wearing headsets to do the majority of their shopping. For brick-and-mortar stores, beacons will probably become more mainstream than they are today, but it will take some time for retailers to figure out how to use them to provide value to their shoppers. They need to make sure they get it right – almost from the start. Otherwise, consumers won’t adopt them readily over time. Again, it’s all about value for the consumer.

Some online retailers will likely rely on some technologies more than others. Looking at ways furniture retailers can help people picture items in their house is a great example. How much more can this be improved than what we see today? Who knows. Does it need to be improved drastically? I am not sure it does.

Voice assistants are an intriguing topic because that technology puts us at the front end of “browserless commerce.” No one really knows what the user’s experience will be. Will we be able to shop using voice commands? Already, we can purchase items on Amazon using our voices. But will our daughters use it to purchase a prom dress? I don’t think so. I don’t think anyone can predict this, but the run-of-the-mill ecommerce retailer will not be using it on a day-to-day basis the way Amazon users do now.

As with any technology, simply implementing it does not improve the shopping experience. If the technology makes the experience better, then it will be adopted. If the experience is about the technology, ultimately, it will fail.

HOW WILL SHIPPING CHANGE IN THE NEXT 5 YEARS?

Greg: Wow, great question. U.S. consumers already expect free shipping, and their tolerance for longer shipping windows, even with free shipping, is lessening. We will likely end up in a place where free shipping in 3 or fewer days is expected. There will always be exceptions for custom products. However, I would not be surprised to see a slow revolt against the “big guys” where consumers purposely choose to wait the extra day, or pay a little more so they can buy from a smaller retailer. People love the underdog, and when mass consolidation happens, many times consumers have pivoted in the opposite direction.

This is all predicated on domestic purchasing. As more consumers participate in the global marketplace, they might be willing to wait a little longer for their product to be delivered. This could help train people that immediate shipping is not needed, and their tolerance for slightly longer shipping windows or cost could be expanded.

For brick-and-mortar retailers, I think we will see a bigger push to drive people in-store. These retailers may stick to a shipping charge or longer shipping windows for at-home delivery, while quicker and free delivery will happen for in-store pickup. This would provide consumers the option to receive fast and free shipping, while providing retailers with what they want – in-store traffic.

Click here to view other experts' 5-year predictions

VIEW MY 10-YEAR PREDICTIONS FOR GIANT RETAILERS HERE

VIEW MY 20-YEAR PREDICTIONS FOR SMALL RETAILERS HERE

How Retailers Are Redefining the Shopping Experience

I recently found myself popping in and out of stores in the SoHo section of New York City, and one thing stood out to me – the in-store experience left a lot to be desired. Too many times, I walked into a store only to be greeted with a very passive “Hello,” at which point the store associates turned back to whatever they were doing before. To maximize space, stocked items were often jammed together from floor to ceiling, making me feel like I was in some claustrophobic cave of color palettes. The experience wasn’t enjoyable; in fact, it felt more like an exercise in futility.

Years ago, shoppers might have expected a grumpy sales associate and a cluttered sales floor. But as ecommerce and technology have evolved, the consumer has come to expect convenience, both online and in-store. We are increasingly less tolerant of experiences like the one I had in SoHo.

Technology has changed the face of retail. It has affected how consumers shop and interact with brands. Yet, even though ecommerce is growing, a TimeTrade survey revealed that 85% of U.S. consumers say they still prefer to buy from physical stores even if the same products are available online.

In an age where retailers can easily compete with other brands from every corner of the world, customer experience is more important than ever. Technology helped create this expectation for convenience, but it has also provided a means to deliver it. And forward-thinking retailers are really using it to their advantage.

Brick-and-Mortar

According to BloomReach, 88% of shoppers will use a smartphone to assist them when they shop in a physical store. The first instinct for many retailers is to remove the technology for fear of losing sales to competitors. But smartphone-browsing shoppers will spend 20% more than those not browsing online, according to InMoment. So instead of fretting about what customers are doing on their smartphones, give them something positive to do that enhances the shopping experience.

For example, Rebecca Minkoff’s New York location has smart dressing rooms that allow shoppers to interact with a display screen. They can customize their experience by viewing other sizes or colors of available products, adjusting the lighting, requesting assistance, and even saving the session information to their personal profile, which they can conveniently store on their smartphone. In this example, the associate is not driving the interaction but rather ensuring the shopper’s requests are met.

Lowes Home Improvement launched the HaloRoom Experience in some of its US stores, where customers can use a mixed reality environment to plan their kitchen remodel, select cabinetry, hardware, countertops, and appliances, and view what it will all look like in the end. This technology can eliminate some of the uncertainty many shoppers face when planning their new dream kitchen and help overcome obstacles to purchasing such a high-ticket project.

These are only two examples of how retailers are redefining the shopping experience. Retailers such as Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdale’s, Ralph Lauren, Kate Spade and Topshop are also offering, or at least testing, in-store technology.

But we’ve only scratched the surface of how in-store technology will revolutionize the in-store experience. As this technology develops and becomes easier to implement and maintain, it will become more commonplace, and retailers who hold back now will be playing catch-up for a long time to come.

Online Shopping Experience

Enhancing the in-person experience is one thing. Enhancing the online experience is another, especially given that users are ultimately in control and can leave or get distracted at a moment’s notice. While online shopping is as convenient for consumers as a few clicks on a smartphone, it has caused headaches for retailers, from increased global competition to processing returns. According to Shotfarm, 42% of customers returned something they bought online. These returns are costing retailers millions each year and can present logistical inventory and accounting nightmares.

But online shopping lends itself to uncertainty in knowing if an article of clothing will fit just right, or a piece of furniture will look good in the living room, which is precisely why consumers expect hassle-free returns. Retailers must look for ways to redefine the online shopping experience to reduce return costs and also provide customers with an experience that encourages customer loyalty.

Some retailers have begun experimenting with a variety of technologies to provide an easier and more reliable online shopping experience.

FitAnalytics provides a size recommendation engine that uses only a few pieces of information to recommend the perfect size for clothing. It also lets shoppers know how many people eventually returned the product in that size due to improper fit. This reassurance, much like a collection of customer reviews, can help offset any hesitation the buyer may feel when deciding which size to order.

Fashion Metric also offers a virtual sizer, both online and in-store via an app. Online, it allows users to input a few basic measurements, such as waist size for men, and delivers custom suit sizing in just moments. This eliminates the need for tape measures or for customers to keep up with fairly uncommon measurements, like chest size. I own suits but haven’t the slightest idea of my chest size. The entire process took me less than one minute to complete. For a complete suit, that’s pretty remarkable.

Zugara offers a technology that allows a user to virtually try on clothes using their webcam. Customers can select a garment and resize, reposition or change the color of the item they’re “wearing,” giving them a much better idea of how it will look on them.

One complication with these technologies is the disparity of the experience across devices. The shopping experience on a desktop or laptop easily accommodates these webcam features, but those may not be accessible on a smartphone or tablet. While shopping on mobile, from browsing to checkout, has become relatively easy, improving the experience to allow for such technology seems a bit far off yet.

The Good News and The Bad News

At the end of the day, ease of use will be the critical factor in determining whether users will accept or reject shopping technology. If it is easy to use and provides real value to the customer, they will flock to it. If it’s cumbersome or doesn’t significantly improve the shopping experience, they will quickly move on.

The good and bad news is the same, and that is we have only just begun with this retail technology arms race. Personally, I look forward to one day walking into a store and having everything I know about shopping completely turned upside down.

This was originally published on Multichannel Merchant.