Biggest factors behind retail success in COVID-19
Fight, Flight or Thrive: common traits contributing to retail success during COVID-19
2 December 2020: Almost half (46%) of Australian retail brands have fared very or somewhat well from the impact of COVID-19 this year, according to new research commissioned by Australia’s largest indie digital agency, Sparro.
The independent study surveyed more than 100 retail marketing decision-makers and revealed the biggest factors behind the positive impact COVID-19 had on their business. These key factors were:
- Being a digital-first brand already - 7 in 10 (69%) marketers attributed the company’s success to already having the necessary digital infrastructure to transition with consumers’ changing behaviour
- Agility in keeping up with the fluctuating market - 6 in 10 (60%) respondents highlighted their ability to respond quickly and adapt where necessary to provide a new product or service
- Strong culture and leadership - 60% of marketers noted their company’s strength of management, direction and culture as a primary reason their company experienced growth this year
Sparro co-founder Cameron Bryant said the findings are a clear indication of the direction of marketing and the proactive steps that brands should take to care for their customers and team.
“In some ways, the digital pivot was simply the natural progression of the retail industry in hyper-speed. While everything happened very quickly, we do believe these are lasting changes for companies. The fires, floods and COVID have all shaped the market, and most companies have found that if digital wasn’t a priority before, it certainly is now.
“How a business reacts to change comes from the top down. While you can only ever be so prepared, it’s important for retailers to be agile, keeping a finger on the pulse and establishing systems to meet present and future demand. Many retailers pivoted quickly once stores shut down to pursue other channels and as a result experienced tremendous growth.
“Similarly, a company needs to be unified and communicate clearly to internal and external stakeholders. There was a lot of uncertainty once COVID-19 really hit the scene in March and addressing unexpected problems such as shipping delays or a store’s temporary closure to their customers was essential for strong communication between all parties and undoubtedly alleviating some of the complaints the client-facing team would’ve received.
“We deployed our staff to work from home straight away, moving back into the office in waves as government restrictions loosened. Even now we have an open office policy to ensure our staff who may be high-risk carers or public transporters feel comfortable and safe. We cared for our team first, checking in on them and making sure they were doing okay. The flow-on effect of this moved outwards to our clients, where when our team was settled we could meet our client’s needs, even if what they required had changed,” he says.
One Australian homeware brand that kept up with consumer’s shifting behaviours was Temple & Webster. As COVID-19 sent the market into a spin and brick and mortar stores were shut down, Temple & Webster maximised its digital-led model to increase its market shares from the growing online market.
Sparro worked closely with Temple & Webster to implement a highly dynamic strategy that responded to customers’ changing needs, while also factoring in real-time changes to inventory levels. “The aim of this approach was to mitigate risk and ensure the brand’s reputation for its superior customer experience wasn’t tarnished by lengthy delays or a failure to fulfil orders,” Cameron explains.
Sparro executed a shopping campaign designed around automated updates on relevant trending search terms and fortnightly feedback detailing which product categories were booming. This allowed Sparro to integrate their reporting into the client’s forecasting and inventory management – thereby preparing for upcoming category demand and avoiding marketing products that were low or out of stock.
The campaign was a success, with the year-on-year performance of the Q2 March to June showing a significant increase in sales, revenue and a decrease in cost per sale.
About Sparro: Sparro is Australia's largest independent digital marketing agency by ad spend. Established by brothers Morris and Cameron Bryant in 2013, the agency has grown to 55 staff and more than 90 clients. It’s maxim “expect more” drives them to exceed expectations with greater transparency, agility and value.
