Christmas, Easter, Mother’s and Father’s Day, Spring Racing, Back to School; these are all occasions that we have in the annual marketing plan, and for most, these activations are all planned 6-12 months out.
But this Autumn and Winter, we have a new occasion to add to our marketing calendars; the occasion of staying at home!
For retail marketers, this is a curious time as we start to unpack various new products and services that shoppers want, whilst understanding that retailers and brand manufacturers will have different Point of Sale requirements to support these new occasions that are becoming the norm for many families around Australia.
One habit that has changed is the simple act of families sharing breakfast times together more.
This means we will see a higher demand for breakfast solutions to be moved into off location areas of grocery stores. Shoppers will be more likely to try different products with the aim to excite and surprise the family. There are opportunities to deliver happiness and excitement to shoppers through engaging POS displays whilst increasing brand and product visibility in-store.
We will also see people expecting alternative and increased service and product offerings from retailers that remain open. For instance, people are not going to hair and beauty salons anymore, so why not create off location pop-ups in grocery stores that bring all those products together in a fun and exciting way!
Treats for the youngsters are also important during the ‘stay at home’ occasion.
Whereas before you might not be buying the Killer Python or Hot Wheels car at the check-out because kids get treats “all the time” right?; they go to birthday parties, grandma’s house, play centres. But now they can’t. So as retail marketers we can create exciting displays to present the little things that bring a smile to our children’s faces.
This is a time to think out of the box, think experience, think new locations and think about delivering joy back into the grocery store.