As e-commerce and specialty stores grow in appeal, big-box retail stores are gradually losing relevance. The numerous store and company closures across several categories over the last decade is a key indicator of the shrinking demand for big-box retail. One of the prime reasons for this is that customers are no longer keen on being anonymous shoppers in large retail stores. Consequently, big-box retail companies must shift their strategy from competing on access and selection to providing better discounts and staging greater consumer experiences. Moreover, the proliferation of ecommerce stores in the US that are able to offer a wider option when compared to brick and mortar stores, consumers are becoming more inclined to use these platforms for making a purchase. All these factors are making it highly challenging for big-box retailers to grow and retain their customers. This is where the benefits of leveraging a market research analysis comes into play.
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Business challenge
The client: A big-box retailer with stores across North America
Industry: Retail & CPG
A major big-box retail chain observed a steady decline in their store traffic over two consequent quarters. They were facing predicaments in identifying the exact reasons for the sudden reduction in the footfall. In an effort to increase their store traffic, the client even invested aggressively into promotional campaigns. However, they failed to achieve the desired viewership and conversions. This also had a great impact on their overall sales and profitability, with the net profits plunging by at least 15% each quarter. The client approached Infiniti Research to identify the critical reasons for their reduced footfall and traffic and also identify strategies to get back on track with the help of our market research analysis.
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Furthermore, by leveraging our market research analysis solution, the client also wanted to tackle other key challenges including:
Build brand loyalty
As consumers today have a wide range of options to choose from, they tend to switch between different online and offline platforms to make a purchase. With Infiniti’s market research analysis, the client wanted to identify the factors affecting consumer purchase and brand loyalty and build appropriate strategies to retain their customers and turn them into repeat shoppers.
Identify the right marketing channels
The client’s previous promotional strategies failed as they failed to identify where their target customers are before investing in marketing campaigns. Using Infiniti’s market research analysis solutions, the client was keen on grouping different customers based on their purchasing behavior and create targeted marketing campaigns to attract these segments.
Create promotional strategies
With the help of our market research analysis, the big-box retailer also wanted to understand their competitors’ promotional activities and strategize their own promotions and discounts accordingly. They also wanted to learn how their big-box retail counterparts are withstanding competition from new players such as ecommerce and specialty retailers.
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Solutions offered
To help the client tackle the above-mentioned challenges, the experts at Infiniti Research conducted a comprehensive retail market research analysis. The market research analysis involved qualitative and quantitative market research for augmenting sales and targeting the right audience for the big-box retailer. The experts at Infiniti also carried out a market trend analysis in order to understand the change in market trends that are affecting the sales and profitability of the business. The industry best practice assessment undertaken as a part of the market research analysis also provided the client details about the strategies adopted by their peers in the market to withstand competition from ecommerce and specialty retailers and retain their customers. The market research analysis also included a customer satisfaction and loyalty assessment through which the client was able to gain a better understanding of what their customer expectations were and their gaps in fulfilling them.
Results obtained
By leveraging Infiniti’s market research analysis, the client identified that one of the key reasons for the declining footfall was the lack of personalized in-store experience and offers. The market research analysis study helped the big-box retailer understand the promotional tactics adopted by their counterparts and formulate similar offers that were most viable for their business and at the same time attract more customers. They were also able to identify the right promotional channels where their target customers were most active and undertake targeted marketing campaigns to drive more sales. As a result of these targeted campaigns, the big-box retailer also observed a rise in the number of repeat shoppers.
By leveraging our market research analysis, the client consequently saw an increase in their profit margin by 25% within 6 months.
