To sort out what challenges and trends retail buyers are faced with today, we ran a survey that is now compiled into our report titled “The State of Retail Buying in 2020”. In this report, we take a look at the role of data in making buying decisions, how online buying affects inventory turnover, and where human connections fall between all this.
If you’ve read any newspaper over the last 10 years, you’ve probably stumbled upon a headline about the impending “retail apocalypse” for brick-and-mortar stores, and the stunning growth of D2C sales online as the future of consumer buying. However, more traditional retail sales brick and mortar stores have transformed from behind the scenes of the retail industry. Digital tools now exist to aid brands and retailers in making consumer-orientated decisions that are based not only on intuition but data.
Our full report is available here.
Read below for a brief highlight of a few of the topics covered in this piece:
A New Divide in Buyers
We were able to gather data on retail buyers of a wide age range. By taking a look at their experience and time spent at their respective companies, we were able to see the impact of emerging next-gen retailers and their relationship with these buyers.
Finding the Right Fit
Buyers today have a variety of preferences when it comes to who they partner with and how they go about finding products that meet the wishes of their consumers. Perhaps unsurprisingly to some, face-to-face interactions still hold a significant amount of weight against other digital outreach methods.
Why Buyers Break Up With A Brand
Brand and retail relationships are mutually beneficial and require care. We discovered in this report some of the common reasons why retailers break up with a brand, which include but are not limited to poor sales, bad customer experience, large order minimums and many more. By understanding what causes retailers to turn away from placing reorders, you can prevent your brand from making these same missteps yourself.
Trends in Buyer Purchasing Patterns
Data, data, and more data. Some fashion trends can be identified and encouraged through social media observations, word of mouth and experience, but data ultimately drives the majority of the buyer’s final purchasing decisions. In addition to having the right information your buyer wants on hand, the unique styles of each respective retailer should always be taken into consideration when pitching merchandise in a way that feels personalized. We also cover additional information that helps complete the picture of what a buyer is looking for exactly.
Where Can Brands Improve the Buying Process
Make things as easy as possible for your retailer. We cover a few areas that really made a difference in sales follow through with our survey respondents, including their custom catalog preferences, easily placing orders, how to follow up with sales representatives and many more.
By utilizing digital tools like NuORDER, brands create custom line sheets, make wholesale ordering easier through live inventory that is accessible to buyers 24/7/365, and access to advanced reporting. Ultimately, encouraging more customer buys, giving sales reps more time to focus on building relationships and leaving an impression that lasts.
