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INTERNATIONAL. We bring you some recent highlights from our ‘Best in Class’ column, in association with Luxottica, which features regularly in The Moodie Davitt e-Zine.
New strategies for social media
Many retailers struggle to measure the impact of social media engagement on their business, but know it provides an opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of their audience. A recent Brandwatch report offers some insight into the most successful social media strategies.
Amazon, Etsy and eBay are among the retail powerhouses that have excellent social media engagement strategies, but most retailers are not so good at connecting with their consumers.
That’s the conclusion of Brandwatch’s Retail Industry report, which is based on analysis of 43 high-profile retail brands.
“Today’s consumers are readily equipped to find, compare and easily purchase goods from a wide variety of competing retailers. That presents an opportunity for those that provide an excellent experience to become the preferred retailer, but poses a threat to those that cannot,” the report states.
It found that just 27% of shoppers would give a physical store a second chance after having a poor experience, and only 15% would give a brand or product a second opportunity. But 55% of consumers said they are unlikely to continue being a customer of a company that ignores their feedback.
“Much like a physical store, a retailer’s social media accounts will influence their consumers’ experiences,” the report states. “For brands that are both engaging and responsive, it’s an opportunity both to nurture positive experiences and to mitigate negatives ones.”
Brandwatch’s analysis found that consumers dominate the discussion when it comes to engaging with retail brands on social platforms, initiating 93% of social conversations. Compared to other industries, though, retailers are fairly responsive to their audiences, replying to @mentions 40 times a day (on average) via Twitter.
“Businesses should aim to use the 7% of conversation they do own to direct the course of the larger discussion,” says the Brandwatch report.
“However, it seems as if audiences are relatively unresponsive to retailers’ content. Across the industry, audience retweets and replies are exceptionally low.”
Retailers should therefore consider new methods for reaching audiences on social media, encompassing strategies and content that will help stoke conversation and spread their voice through followers, it notes.
“Although retailers struggle to accurately measure the effect digital has on their business, most recognise its critical place in the mix – most notably giants like Amazon, Walmart and Target,” says Brandwatch Content and Research Manager James Lovejoy.
“Brands that are lagging in the area of social engagement stand to lose more than just ‘followers’ and ‘likes’; they’re forfeiting deep insights and good knowledge of their audiences – both necessities to raising the bar and supporting the business holistically.”
Footnote: The report was created by examining 10,822,531 online conversations across Twitter, Facebook, news sites, blogs and forums between 13 January and 13 May 2016. It can be downloaded here.
Confectionery comes to life
The latest 3D food printers allow users to create customised candies – from design to reality – in just five minutes. It could be an ideal fit for the confectionery segment in travel retail, as Aer Rianta International is discovering in Dublin.
The ability to offer fully customised candies in five minutes or less has the potential to change the face of confectionery retailing.
That dream is now reality thanks to 3D printing, and specifically a food-safe printer from Katjes Magic Candy Factory. The company has partnered with Dylan’s Candy Bar for a high profile launch in the USA covering domestic retail and online sales.
The Magic Candy Factory printer was recently rolled out at a number of Dylan’s Candy Bar stores, culminating in a US nationwide “consumer weekend celebration” on 9/10 June. The system features plug-and-play design software, and customers can choose from over 100 different designs. The printer is also able to write names or special words, draw candy creations and print greetings on gummy cards.
Customers can also choose colours, flavours and finishing touches, and the candies are vegan as well as gluten and dairy free. They are also made with all-natural fruit and vegetable extracts. Each personalised design costs the same price – US$20.
In travel retail, Aer Rianta International (ARI) is already ahead of the game. The company recently launched Katjes Magic Candy Factory’s 3D Gummy Candy Machine at the Candy Cloud store in Dublin Airport’s The Loop.
The Loop Head of Buying Max Smyth summed up 3D food printing’s potential neatly. “This is a real gamechanger for confectionery; it’s the next step from having your name on your favourite product. From creating your own gummy masterpiece to designing gifts for friends, it’s a really novel and very welcome addition,” he said. “Who doesn’t want to see their design come to life right in front of their eyes?”
With many travellers looking for gifts or something different or unusual in the travel retail channel, ARI is tapping into an emerging trend – one that is adding a new dimension to confectionery worldwide.
