The retail landscape is in continuous flux. Slowly but surely consumer behavioural changes stemming from new expectations is pushing the generally transactional brand-retailer relationship towards a more effective symbiosis. As technologies get more cutting edge and consumerism becomes more demanding, it is only natural that businesses, brands and retailers alike, should join forces to up their game and maintain their profit margins. And it is this very evolution of commercial activities that make the future that much exciting. Let us discuss where brands and retailers fit in.
The Role of Brands
Brands or manufacturers are responsible for acquiring raw materials/ingredients, production, packaging, and marketing. If you are a brand, your endgame is of course sales. You build something from scratch or have someone else build it for you, you package it, and send it to a distributor who supplies it to a retailer for offtake. But a brand’s role goes even beyond all that; a brand represents a promise or a guarantee of consistency, experience, quality, and values. There are major investments made in R&D and marketing strategies to craft a unique brand presence. While providing a plethora of product choices for consumers on store shelves and online, brands also aim at loyalty and emotional connections. As consumer choices get more unpredictable, brands will not only look to occupy store shelves but also partake in a partnership that elevates them as well as retailers. To this relationship, brands introduce product expertise, knowledge, and narrative to educate retailers on their products, leading to a shared vision of delivering value to consumers.
The Role of Retailers
Retailers own the stores, shelves, and the space for brands to execute their merchandising tactics. They have the power to help with the curation and presentation of products that meet consumer expectations. They have an understanding of consumer demographics and local demands from daily interactions that brands can never acquire on their own. When you, a brand, plan your assortment, visual merchandising, lighting, and consumer experience WITH retailers as opposed to without them, you get insights that generate far better results than before. Your impact quadruples and your reach improves, one store at a time. When retailers are strategically aligned to brands and are in general agreement with the brand’s goals, it is supposed to be easier for brands to drive sales and ultimately, rake in more revenue.
What A Brand-Retailer Partnership Would Look Like
Conventionally, brands and retailers have always had a purely transactional relationship with focus on product placement or sales. With a symbiosis at play, collaboration is expected to evolve beyond a mere supplier-buyer relationship to a more intertwined ecosystem where shared goals, insights, and resources are exchanged. We expand on this in the following points.
- Increase Consumer Centricity
The future belongs to the consumers with brand-retailer interactions focused on them more directly than ever before. For instance, retailers today can assist in the creation of experiences capable of immersing consumers in a particular brand story. Here, brands will be collaborating with retailers strongly to ensure that both parties are on the same page about what an in-store experience should be for consumers. Curating these experiences would include leveraging data analytics, artificial intelligence, and even augmented reality to resonate with consumers on a deeper level. It’s going to be more about value addition than mere product transactions as we look to the future.
- Embracing Technological Advancements
Technology has been the one true constant for most of human history of which trade is also a component. The omnichannel experience is highly dependent on technological development as new platforms and cross-platform functionalities become more streamlined and commonplace. It takes a brand-retailer combined effort to succeed in not only implementing new technologies in the supply chain but also to consistently benefit from them. From IoT enablement for inventory management and AI customer service to for supply chain refinement via blockchain use, there’s a lot that brands and retailers need to be collectively onboard with for future trade.
- The Rise of Sustainability and Ethical Practices
Sustainability may seem like a buzzword akin to many others floating around today but it is actually going to be more than an afterthought in future brand-retailer relationships. From sourcing raw materials to packaging to supply chain logistics, eco-friendly practices will rule the game. Brands and retailers will have to share and align on sustainability goals, thereby fulfilling their individual roles towards a more collective effort. From driving product innovation with eco-friendly materials and educating consumers on sustainability to optimising resources and engaging consumers for their preferences – there is a lot that will depend on communication, education, understanding, and partnership.
- Evolution of Channel Strategies
Although traditional brick-and-mortar stores will continue are not going anywhere, the rise of e-commerce, social commerce, and voice commerce will redefine the future retail landscape. Seamless integration across these channels will be crucial, allowing consumers to transition effortlessly between online and offline experiences, presenting opportunities for brands and retailers for omnichannel innovation. Today, channel strategies in brand-retailer partnerships have shifted towards a more integrated, omni-channel approach, moving beyond traditionalism. Brands and retailers will continue to collaborate to create unified, consistent customer journeys across multiple touchpoints, aiming for convenience, personalization, and accessibility. To achieve this, enhanced data-driven insights and predictive analytics for inventory management will become indispensable. Brand-retailer partnerships will continue to be in favour of immersive experiences, efficient and transparent deliveries, joint process improvements, and more!
- Data Collaboration and Insights
Data gathering and analysis will no longer primarily be a brand responsibility; instead, retailers will lend a hand by collaborating with brands to gather, analyse, and leverage insights. These insights will drive personalised marketing strategies, product innovations, and inventory optimization. When retailers gain access to such real-time data, it will enable them to assist with brand strategies for successful uptakes. They will be able to extend the brand’s vision to sales and consumerism far beyond the regular brand-retailer conversations and efforts that have traditionally happened. The whole process will become more Agile and that means that all parties involved will be better equipped to handle sudden market fluctuations and emergencies.
Our Thoughts
The evolving retail landscape is witnessing a transformative shift in brand-retailer relationships, transitioning from traditional transactional associations to a more powerful symbiosis. Brands go beyond mere sales and promise consistency, quality, and values, seeking emotional connections with consumers as well as retailers. Aligned goals between brands and retailers amplify impact, enhancing product assortment and the overall consumer experience. Such a collaboration stresses consumer-centric interactions by leveraging omnichannel strategies, technology, and sustainability. The future of commerce sees both of them operating in the same space within a strategic alliance that pays dividends for both.
