Christine Hunt, the VP of Brand Marketing at Lulus.com, virtually chatted with NetElixir to share the positive influences that drive her team’s innovation strategy, as well as her favorite innovation from the past few months.

Connect the Dots of innovation with Christine Hunt by reading her full interview below.

NetElixir: What is a key driver of innovation that companies tend to overlook?

Christine: When it comes to innovation, we often think of competition and scarcity as the driving forces. However, what’s typically overlooked is the time and space necessary to be creative. Companies should be wary of meeting heavy calendars and should encourage their employees to carve out the time and space necessary to both recharge and tap into those creative juices. 

NetElixir: Companies are already beginning to prepare for future crises. What is one area they should focus on?

Christine: After 2020, companies are looking to future-proof their business. What they can learn is how to operate in a fully digital environment. They should think about what are the points of friction for their business in a digital environment. How do they alleviate that for the consumer? And then how do they augment and even enhance the consumer experience online?

NetElixir: What is one example of innovation you’ve seen from companies during the pandemic that has impressed you?

Christine: Now, one of my favorite examples of innovation that stemmed from the pandemic comes from Johnson & Johnson and I’m not just talking about the vaccine. So, Johnson & Johnson tapped into the power of virtual reality to help surgeons in training maintain and stay on track with their training in a virtual world. Think of it sort of like a virtual reality operation game; however, with much higher stakes. Now that’s what I call innovation!

Connect the Dots with Christine Hunt

Join NetElixir’s virtual conference, Connecting the Dots: Driving Change Through Innovation, to hear more about Christine’s experience inspiring her team and the forces that drive her success.

Innovation Roundtable, live on 6/10 at 2 PM EST

Christine will be one of our panelists at our Innovation Roundtable at Connecting the Dots: Driving Change Through Innovation. Christine will be joined by Michele Peters, the Senior Manager of Global E-Commerce Marketing at UPS, Aaron Zagha, the Chief Marketing Officer at Newton Baby, and Lewis Broadnax, the Vice President of Global E-Commerce at Sazerac. 

NetElixir’s Innovation Roundtable features senior executives who will share their experience from the past year and the ways they have had to innovate for their organizations and customers. Christine and the rest of our innovation panelists will answer questions like:

• What makes Lulus.com a pioneer of innovation?
• How has your brand’s view on innovation changed throughout the last eighteen months?
• What are a few characteristics of your most innovative customers?

Register now for Christine’s live roundtable discussion.

Read More

Meet Natalie Zmuda, the Head of Think With Google

Meet Jerry Wind, Lauder Professor Emeritus and Professor of Marketing at Wharton

Meet Michele Peters, the Senior Manager of Global E-Commerce Marketing at UPS

Meet Aaron Zagha, the Chief Marketing Officer at Newton Baby

The post Connect the Dots with Christine Hunt appeared first on NetElixir.

Through his years of research and consulting expertise, Professor Wind is helping organizations prepare for the post-pandemic reality by providing tools to change our mental models to rethink our organizational and growth strategies. With strong leadership, an environment of open innovation, and the ability to always keep learning, we can create opportunities for success in whatever we do.

Connect the Dots with Professor Jerry Wind.

NetElixir: Tell us a little bit about your experience and latest book.

Professor Wind: Hi, I am Jerry Wind. Following a 50 year career at Wharton, in the last four years, I have been the Lauder Professor Emeritus and Professor of Marketing at Wharton.

My latest book, Transformation in Times of Crisis, coauthored with Nitin Rakesh, the CEO of Mphasis, just won the International Business Book of Year Award. And my current research and consulting focuses on capturing opportunities in times of crisis and preparing us, and especially legacy companies and organizations, for the new post-pandemic reality. That includes addressing the other aspects of our crisis – the call for social justice, economic recovery, addressing the climate crisis, and the inevitable shift from shareholder to stakeholder focus. This includes, of course, the need to rethink and reimagine everything we do including innovation, marketing, the role of the CMO, the talent strategy, and even the vision of the firm and its growth strategy.

I am delighted to be with you and discuss Transformation in Times of Crisis and especially the implications of our eight transformation principles and implementation framework to your individual companies.

NetElixir: What is a key driver of innovation that companies tend to overlook?

Professor Wind: While there is no single key driver that is ignored by all companies, I believe that significantly more attention must be given to the interplay of three drivers – advances in technology, their implications to the behavior and expectations of the increasingly empowered and skeptical consumers, and the impact of these two forces on the need to challenge our mental models and reinvent our vision, objectives, strategy and organizational architecture, and network orchestration.

NetElixir: Companies are already beginning to prepare for future crises. What is one area they should focus on?

Professor Wind: The initial temptation is to select one of the key challenges facing society – the economic divide, the climate crisis, the continued cry for social justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion, the shift to stakeholder orientation, and my deep concern about the ideological divide of our country and many other countries. Yet, companies should be ready to address any of these or new crises they may face, i.e., how do you prepare an early warning system to identify the coming crisis, and an agile system that allows both the design and implementation of effective prevention, or if that fails, a speedy recovery.

NetElixir: What is one example of innovation you’ve seen from companies during the pandemic that has impressed you?

Professor Wind: There are many examples, from the global collaboration among pharmaceutical firms that led to the development of the vaccine in record times by multiple firms to GM conversion of its manufacturing capabilities to the production of ventilators, the effective shift of most universities and schools to eLearning and almost universal adoption of Zoom and other platforms as the new mode of communication and even selling and negotiating, to the shift to digital medicine, and the shift by so many cultural institutions to digital programming and innovative ways of engaging their current and new customers. Common to all these examples is courageous leadership that recognized the need for a speedy shift in their mode of operations.

I hope you can reflect on these three topics and answer them from your perspective. But remember that while you may have specific industry views, consumers’ expectations do not know industry boundaries.

Connect the Dots with Jerry Wind

Join NetElixir’s virtual conference, Connecting the Dots: Driving Change Through Innovation, to learn more from Professor Wind about his eight transformation principles.

Transformation in Times of Crisis, live on 6/10 at 10:15 AM EST

Experiencing life after the ides of March 2020, we are on the eve of shifting to a new reality of post-pandemic life, combined with the slow reopening of the economy and an increased demand for social justice. Professor Wind, Founder of the Wharton Think Tank, presents how we can lean into opportunities by understanding the implications to cope, prepare, and seize them. He will also share his eight leading principles to creating opportunities during times of crisis and ways you can begin to focus on testing experiments that can lead to significant innovations.  

Register now to hear more from marketing legend Jerry Wind!

Read More

Meet Natalie Zmuda, the Head of Think With Google

Meet Michele Peters, the Senior Manager of Global E-Commerce Marketing at UPS

Meet Aaron Zagha, the Chief Marketing Officer at Newton Baby

Opportunities in Times of Crisis, a recap of Professor Wind’s previous discussion with NetElixir, from June 2020

The post Connect the Dots with Jerry Wind appeared first on NetElixir.

NetElixir asked Aaron to share some of his thoughts on how marketing initiatives have shifted throughout the last eighteen months. As we seek to connect the dots of what we have learned and create a brighter future, we sat down with Aaron for a glimpse of how his marketing innovations helped Newton Baby continue to succeed.

Connect the dots with Aaron Zagha.

NetElixir: What is a key driver of innovation that companies tend to overlook?

Aaron: I think customers are too often overlooked in the innovation process. Ensuring you have an open dialogue with your customers — not just through customer service, but also through polls, surveys, panels — can actually result in more focused innovation, and innovation which is driven by end-user demand.

NetElixir: Companies are already beginning to prepare for future crises. What is one area they should focus on?

Aaron: Supply chain is and continues to be the single most important area of focus, but ensuring you have diversified distribution channels is a close second. If a hack shuts down your site, can you still sell product in stores? And vice versa, in the case of the pandemic.

NetElixir: What is one example of innovation you’ve seen from companies during the pandemic that has impressed you?

Aaron: I think the most remarkable innovation, certainly from a marketing perspective, has been the ability to pivot 180° in a very short time. Some companies were able to completely change their messaging — whether by force or opportunity — in a very tight timeframe when the pandemic broke out. Making sure you (and your marketing calendar) are flexible enough to stop and pivot quickly is vital, as we saw with the Facebook boycotts of last summer.

Connect the Dots with Aaron Zagha

Join NetElixir’s virtual conference, Connecting the Dots: Driving Change Through Innovation, to learn more about Aaron’s experience as he pivoted Newton Baby’s marketing strategy to successfully navigate through the turbulence of last year. 

Innovation Roundtable, live on 6/10 at 2 PM EST

Aaron will be one of our panelists on our Innovation Roundtable at Connecting the Dots: Driving Change Through Innovation. Aaron will be joined by Michele Peters, the Senior Manager of Global E-Commerce Marketing at UPS, Lewis Broadnax, the Vice President of Global E-Commerce at Sazerac, and Christine Hunt, the Vice President of Brand Marketing at Lulus.com. 

NetElixir’s Innovation Roundtable features senior executives who will share their experience from the past year and the ways they have had to innovate for their organizations and customers. Aaron and the rest of our innovation panelists will answer questions like:

• How is Newton Baby promoting innovation to their customers?
• What will make your organization iconic?
• How do you select ideas that will become successful innovations?

Register now for Aaron’s live roundtable discussion.

Read More

Meet Natalie Zmuda, the Head of Think With Google

Meet Michele Peters, the Senior Manager of Global E-Commerce Marketing at UPS

The post Connect the Dots with Aaron Zagha appeared first on NetElixir.

NetElixir asked Michele to speak on how she has been inspired and motivated to continually meet and exceed customer expectations with UPS. She notes that innovation is at the heart of creative ideas that bring goods and services people enjoy every single day to light.

Connect the dots with Michele Peters by reading more of her insights below.

NetElixir: What is a key driver of innovation that companies tend to overlook?

Michele: When inspiring innovation, companies tend to overlook the simple joys of having fun! More creative ideas are birthed from informal, relaxed, playful environments that allow individuals to stretch their imagination to uncover something new.

NetElixir: Companies are already beginning to prepare for future crises. What is one area they should focus on?

Michele: Trying to stay ahead of the game and prepare for the next big crisis is challenging. The best advice that I would offer is to know the voice of the customer, what are their needs and what are their wishes. And then, try to think about what have you learned from this pandemic, anticipate what we think the next pandemic will be, and connect that to the wishes of your customer. The first company that meets that need, that’s the company that wins the business.

NetElixir: What is one example of innovation you’ve seen from companies during the pandemic that has impressed you?

Michele: The biggest area of innovation that I’ve seen from companies as a result of the pandemic is listening to their customers and sharing their stories. Companies that were able to quickly identify their customer needs and adjust operating models accordingly and share their personal stories yielded loyalty in organizational sustainability. Think about the restaurant industry when they needed customers and customers needed toilet paper — well, that was a match made in heaven, but one, we would never have predicted.

Connect the Dots with Michele Peters

Join NetElixir’s virtual conference, Connecting the Dots: Driving Change Through Innovation, to learn more about Michele’s role in delivering engaging and effective marketing campaign to a global audience.

Innovation Roundtable, live on 6/10 at 2 PM EST

Michele will be one of our panels at our Innovation Roundtable at Connecting the Dots: Driving Change Through Innovation. Michele will be joined by Aaron Zagha, the Chief Marketing Officer at Newton Baby, Lewis Broadnax, the Vice President of Global E-Commerce at Sazerac, and Christine Hunt, the Vice President of Brand Marketing at Lulus.com. 

This year’s Innovation Roundtable features senior executives who will share their experience from the past year and the ways they have had to innovate for their organizations and customers. As the pandemic progressed, these executives were challenged to take the information and data they had at hand to connect the dots during uncertain times. Learn how they created innovation, how they promoted it to their customers, what they found to be their key differentiator, and most importantly — how they successfully competed in this growing market. Register now for Michele’s live roundtable discussion.

Read More

Meet Natalie Zmuda, the Head of Think With Google

The post Connect the Dots with Michele Peters appeared first on NetElixir.

NetElixir has teamed up with Natalie Zmuda to discuss how she is inspired to innovate for a better tomorrow. As we continue to connect the dots and create the future, we sat down with Natalie to get a better understanding of her experience this past year and how it has helped her and Google move forward.

Connect the dots of innovation with the Head of Think With Google, Natalie Zmuda.

Continue reading below for a full transcript of NetElixir’s chat with Natalie.

NetElixir: What’s a key driver of innovation that companies tend to overlook?

Natalie: I think we overlook our youngest employees sometimes. They think differently, they’ve had different life experiences, and they have a lot to bring to the table. We need to create more opportunities for our youngest employees to connect and share their ideas with our most senior leaders.

NetElixir: Companies are already beginning to prepare for future crises. What’s one area they should focus on?

Natalie: We have learned a tremendous amount during this pandemic. Over the last 18 months, we’ve had to react on the fly; we have had to be really, really scrappy; we’ve had to become a lot more agile than we’ve ever been before; we’ve had to streamline the way we do things, change our processes. We have just learned so much. So I think there’s a lot of documentation to do. My team is really focused on making sure that we don’t forget all of the things that we learned. We’re creating that crisis playbook so that the next time, we’re ready, we’re agile, and we’re spending our time moving forward, and not reacting and trying to figure things out.

NetElixir: What is an example of innovation you’ve seen from companies during the pandemic that has impressed you?

Natalie: It’s been really amazing to see companies shift to virtual experiences and in a way that doesn’t sacrifice customer service. There’s been plenty of experiences where going virtual for companies has actually meant that they’ve been able to deliver more convenient experiences and better customer service. So when I think about the last year, you know, I’ve done personal training, I’ve done virtual wine tastings, I’ve bought an invisible fence for our puppy on a virtual console that leveraged Google’s street view! We’ve done so much and it’s been more convenient and it’s been really, really easy. Not easy to make those transitions, not easy to make those pivots, but now that companies have, I don’t think they’ll ever look back.

Connect the Dots with Natalie Zmuda

Join NetElixir’s virtual conference, Connecting the Dots: Driving Change Through Innovation, to learn more about Natalie’s latest research and her strategies for success. During her presentation, Looking Back to Move Forward, Natalie will share insights into current consumer trends and innovative initiatives.

Looking Back to Move Forward Overview

Presented by Natalie Zmuda at Connecting the Dots: Driving Change Through Innovation on 6/10 at 11:30 AM EST

When COVID-19 became a globally shared problem in 2020, it also exposed a simple truth: there is no universal human experience. Search trends reveal people are placing more value on understanding individual needs, and they expect brands to be able to meet those needs. As innovations in one industry (on-demand taxis) can drive expectations in another (on-demand groceries), the burden is on brands, not consumers, to keep up. In this session, we’ll examine the latest shifts in consumer behavior, all backed by Google data, to better understand which will be fleeting and which are here to stay. Register now for Natalie’s live presentation.

The post Connect the Dots with Natalie Zmuda appeared first on NetElixir.

Guffey explored how 2020 has delivered significant insights that we can use to better inform our holiday strategies and restructure our future business models. To prepare for the unpredictable holiday season, retailers and marketers should have a Plan A and Plan B in place, to be able to adapt to changes and opportunities that arise.

The COVID customer is constantly changing. The needs of your existing customers have changed and the coronavirus pandemic has caused new needs to emerge, such as a heightened sense of security and transparency. By constantly learning and understanding how new and existing customers evolve, retailers are building out their future success stories. 

Excelling in the new normal relies not only on effectively engaging with customers, but having strong and reliable partnerships to better navigate new demand generation. Guffey explains that the right partners with the right logistic aspects cultivate a last mile opportunity to “create loyalty with customers to drive an experience and to really improve your impact or your current channels.”

We need to adopt a new, critical thinking mindset to continue to overcome the coronavirus pandemic to seize unique opportunities that may arise. 

The Delivery Experience Represents a Market Opportunity for Peak 2020

With less in-person meetings, it may be hard to gauge customers responsiveness; however, Guffey notes that there is still critical importance to the last one miles. Delivery becomes a pivotal component of the customer experience: the customer journey expands from first website visit to receiving their package. Increased touchpoints and understanding digital body language – such as frequency of website visits, social interactions, and time of purchase – become crucial aspects of effectively engaging with and reaching customers. 

Guffey stresses the importance of being as close to the customer as possible. The realignment of fulfillment centers put products closer to the customer. 

UPS leverages their own warehouse space to help businesses be closer to their customers. Guffey explains, “Speed is important; also, reliability is a big component of that, but how do you get closer to the customers to be able to fulfill orders?”

The answer to that question includes ground next day service instead of strict reliance on air travel. By being closer to the customer, retailers can consolidate their supply chains to prioritize value and aim for targeted next-day delivery. Close proximity to your customer base can improve costs as well as customer satisfaction because of quicker deliveries. 

The coronavirus pandemic prompted the rapid growth and maturation of ecommerce.  There are opportunities to tap into the digital acceleration and new customer channels. Leveraging mobile and digital platforms can drive different and unique customer experiences to reach new demographics and cultivate loyalty.

Guffey says, “Producing new market-responsive products has really fast-forwarded to enable new businesses to move to the forefront.”

Opportunities Created by the Coronavirus Pandemic

It is no secret that new customers are buying online for the first time. Guffey discusses new individuals and demographics who are online because they have been forced to shop online. Now, these customers are discovering new brands, new digital experiences and realizing that the online shopping experience is secure and convenient.

But existing customers are also undergoing their own digital transformation. Existing customers are increasing their frequency of online purchases. Guffey says that we are “quickly transitioning to a primary online experience.”

Across the board, online shoppers are discovering the benefits of quality, convenience, and security of the ecommerce world. Retailers and marketers should ensure that their products, business, and ads reflect these tenets to continue to encourage shoppers to their websites. 

Businesses are reinventing themselves to adjust to the new online shopper experience and digital demands. Creative avenues keep the brick-and-mortar store as a critical hallmark of the retail experience, as BOPIS and curbside pickup gain popularity. Logistics becomes not just about moving a product from point a to point b, but also moving information around. By keeping the customer in the loop of shipping expectations, retailers can create a satisfying last mile experience that elevates the entire shopping experience.

The Peak 2020 Holiday Season

Consumers are planning to spend more on essential items, while cutting back on non-essentials buys, detailed below:

However, product demands and inventories are shifting month to month, so this list may look very different come the end of the holiday season. Guffey emphasizes that just because people are planning to spend less on non-essential goods does not mean that demand has dropped for those products. There is still significant growth for non-essential items, but there is a more dramatic rise in essential goods because of the necessities to safely navigate the coronavirus crisis.

By being nimble and continually monitoring changes in consumer behavior and demands, marketers and retailers can quickly respond to the ever-evolving digital landscape. Creating a successful holiday season strategy comes from making a Plan A for what is known and a Plan B for known unknowns.

For the knowns, consider the importance of ecommerce and digitization, last mile capacity challenges, pre-holiday inventory, and agility of manufacturing and supply chains. The holiday season calendar also looks different this year; last year, the peak period was compressed into about 17 days. Peak 2020 will most likely be longer, especially as businesses may run sales earlier to kick off the holiday season sooner to recapture lost sales in Q2. 

Unknown knowns to consider for your Plan B include questions of consumer behavior and if the socially distanced holidays will drive more gift exchanges seen at the onset of the pandemic, what will the consumer outlook be post-election, and what will officially kick off the holiday shopping season? 

 For UPS, peak planning typically starts in January to ensure network reliability and support throughout the year; 2020, however, has upended all known plans. It is important to cultivate a different shopping experience, especially within that last mile.

Key Takeaways

• Businesses that rely on products must be diligent about their supply chains, both inbound and outbound.
• ECommerce demands are creating significant pressures on last mile logistics, which will only worsen during critical peak seasons. Having a main Plan A and backup Plan B will help keep your business nimble.
• The coronavirus pandemic is a digital catalyst, increasing the rate of change and creating new customer demographics that are likely to continue to play a prominent role in the future of retail.
• Joint planning with quality logistics partners will pay significant dividends in the level of preparedness for peak 2020 and beyond. 
• UPS has immense logistics capacity and capability throughout the year and especially during peak seasons to help out small and medium businesses. 

Further Reading on Holiday Insights

• Google’s Digital Insights to Uncover Clues for Q4 Readiness
• Executive Panel Discussion: Holiday Season Insights Learned Over the Course of the Pandemic
• Getting Ready for the New Future of Advertising with Microsoft
• A Different Holiday: Opportunities & Challenges in a Covid World

The post Strategic Views for Peak 2020 with UPS appeared first on NetElixir.

At the core of their messages, however, was a unifying thread of accommodating the new to online shoppers through easy website navigation, expanded customer service support, and new product lines to engage and retain these new customers.

Insights Learned Throughout the Coronavirus Pandemic 

Lenovo may have had an edge at the outbreak of the pandemic – they were already an entirely online business and had been preparing for an anticipated massive shift in e-commerce for the past few years. “But I don’t think any of us were quite expecting the explosive growth in work-from-home demands, in learning from home demands,” Savino said.

Pre-pandemic, small businesses made up a huge component of Lenovo’s customer base; during the pandemic, their customers shifted to individuals building out their remote working and learning set-ups. Savino with Lenovo faced the challenge of supplying these new customers and building an inventory that met and will continue to meet the spike in demand brought on by these brand new shoppers.

Savino noted a “recognition that we needed to pay attention every single day to what was happening with the people that were coming in, who was buying, and who, more importantly, weren’t buying.” Lenovo always had the habit of researching the buying behaviors of their shoppers, but with a brand new customer base came brand new browsing and purchasing patterns. Lenovo needed to shift their marketing and supply strategies to accommodate their shift from SMBs to individuals purchasing products for their homes, their families, and themselves.

“It’ll be quite a wild ride and I see no signs of it changing,” Savino says.

Al Bessin, of Circa Lighting, noted a similar change in customers, namely a growth in the B2C segment. People were readily buying online and adapting to Circa Lighting’s adept move to virtual meetings and showrooms. One of the few downsides, however, is on the trade side: as some purchasing decisions require more conference time and sales impressions for both business and individuals, the buyer cycle has been extended. 

In a different caliber, Shah, overseeing the essential industry of the Food and Grocery division, saw no signs of slowing down as the coronavirus pandemic hit full force in March. Throughout March and April, the operational side of Wakefern pulled in additional people to their warehouses, stores, and fulfillment centers to match the increase in demand. On average, food consumption among individuals was rising as restaurants closed, but consumers wanted to make fewer trips out. Shah noted that foot traffic declined by about half almost overnight, but the average order size per person rose from $70-80 pre-pandemic to $200 during its height. 

“What we were projecting to happen by 2025, was achieved in less than two months. Today, we are talking double digit engagements and we have 50% of the national customer base engaged online in some form during the crisis and 79% of them are saying that they will continue to engage in omnichannel even after the crisis is over,” Shah said. 

The initial panic buying and hoarding of the early pandemic has slowed to a the new normal recovery phase we currently see ourselves in. Prior to the pandemic, nearly 50% of food was consumed outside of the home. There was no shortage of food in the country at those early days; rather, the supply change had to dramatically redirect their food channels when the location of food consumption altered overnight. 

“What we were projecting to happen by 2025, was achieved in less than two months,” Shah said, in terms of Wakefern’s digital estimations.

Core Attributes of the New Pandemic Shopper

The coronavirus pandemic changed everything about where and how we lived, worked, learned, and ate. It changed, too, how we shopped and searched. The pandemic forced many consumers to go online for the first time, creating a brand new demographic: the pandemic shopper.

For Bessin and Circa Lighting, the pandemic shopper was one who sought comfort. As people were now spending more time at home, more time working in a different environment and creating a new work space, they sought design changes after looking at the same lamp and furniture day in and day out. Bessin said that the pandemic was “impacting [the consumer] desire and their want to have a more comfortable place to work.” 

Shoppers crossed the initial threshold of online shopping to look for a change. “We’re getting non-savvy online buyers buying online, which means we have to accommodate somebody who isn’t as comfortable in that kind of environment,” Bessin said. He suspects that many of these shoppers will stay online, at least in part, and is devoting time and resources into making the website easier to navigate for these new shoppers.

Lenovo saw an explosive growth in the gaming segment of their products. Citing the stimulus checks from April, Savino said that people were using that extra money to buy things that made them happy and that could fill their free time. Gaming fit the bill. 

“The internet […] is a pretty seismic democratization of data,” Savino, Executive Director of eCommerce at Lenovo, said.

With a greater ability to compare products and prices between tabs on their screen, customers have more information and services than ever available at their fingertips. 

The pandemic shopper learns quickly. Savino saw a “pretty rapid shift in people who were traditionally uncomfortable shopping and purchasing online doing so at a much more accelerated pace.” As Lenovo traditionally divided their business around gamers, students, and SMBs, they are now expanding their reach to those who don’t fit those audience segments. These new shoppers have different expectations and needs when it comes to products, content, and mindset and Lenovo is pivoting to expand their reach.

Within the food industry, Shah noted a whole-view shift from experiential economy realized after the great recession a decade ago to a more homebound economy due to the coronavirus pandemic. The pandemic shopper couldn’t afford to be strictly brand loyal when initially grocery shopping, as they were at the mercy of what was on the shelves. Brand loyalty has shifted and even broken during the pandemic. Shah stated that 48% of new buyers are going to stay with the new brand that they bought during the pandemic, staying loyal to reliability. This opens opportunities for retailers to protect the new customers they have gained, while encouraging retailers who lost customers to try new approaches to win back their customers.

A Forecast into the 2020 Holiday Season

Between the different experiences of each executive, we see some common themes. Because of sheltering in place and a change in working and living conditions, people are seeking ways to make their homes and workspace more comfortable. New online buyers display different shopping patterns than pre-pandemic shoppers. Distribution of products is impacting brand loyalty. These tenets will most likely play a factor in shaping the trends of the upcoming holiday season.

For Lenovo, planning for the holiday season begins in late February, early March. Adjusting for new consumer behavior, changes in product affinity, and inventory modifications, Lenovo anticipates an early start to the holiday season and high, sustained online momentum until last-minute shoppers have to go to stores to secure their gifts. Throughout the pandemic, Lenovo upped their marketing efforts to increase brand awareness and website visits and plan to continue those efforts. Savino summarized, “If you have the supply to meet the demand, putting money into market has been a huge catalyst for our success over the last few months.”

Additionally, in order to successfully manage the largely virtual experience of this holiday season, Savino talked about rigorous testing of every aspect of their online channels. Through a rapid acceleration of platform testing, Savino and Lenovo will ensure that their website can handle the influx of visitors second by second.

Bessin noted that people are more starved for communication and connection. Moving into the holiday season, Circa Lighting will be increasing their social media and online events. With a greater online presence and more flexibility in expanding their customer service hours because the company is working from home, Bessin is focused on “creating an active dialogue online.” Bessin saw that remote working offers more creativity in shift hours to be able to better accommodate being there for customers whenever they need assistance, especially for those who are new to or unfamiliar with the online experience. 

Shah prioritized not waiting for changes, but aggressively approaching them. “We are planning and preparing, but also being flexible enough so we can react if some variables change that we did not consider,” Shah said. While the holidays will probably not reach the demand seen in March, there will be a surge for the fall and holiday celebrations, so Shah is investing in inventory, warehouse, supply chain, and technology capabilities.

“Delivering same value, but differently,” Shah, the Vice President of the Grocery Division at Wakefern Food Corporation, said in regards to exceeding customer expectations this coming holiday season. 

What Can Retailers Expect of the Holiday Season?

Three words sum up the expectations of the upcoming holiday season: people, competition, and acceleration (beyond unpredictable and uncertain).

People, as both employees and consumers, have always defined the holiday season, but cultivating strong relationships will be more important than ever. Now is the time to begin conversations with consumers about new products, inspirations, tips and tricks to connect with them on a deeper level. 

Competition will certainly heat up this holiday season, as companies strive to make up revenue lost during Q2. We are moving into a world of unified commerce and omnichannel experiences, so businesses need to ensure that their e-commerce platforms can reliably accommodate an influx of customers, while providing a safe in-store experience.

And, finally, retailers need to accelerate the embracing of the new and discontinue old habits. Retailers should be moving into the new normal because, as Shah mentioned, that is where the customer is. 

Additional Resources

While the advice and learnings shared by our executives offer more insightful dots into creating a robust holiday season strategy, each retailer should consider the needs, behaviors, and demands of their own unique customers. Research consumer trends, paths to purchases, and questions – listen to your customers and they will tell you how to help them this holiday season.

Back in March, when the pandemic was first hitting the United States, NetElixir spoke with Parag Shah because we nominated Wakefern Food Corporation for ShopRite as March’s Retail Superhero in our Impact of COVID-19 webinar series. Read more on how Shah’s team handled the massive surge in demand as food consumption dramatically changed during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic.

Lenovo’s story is just beginning. Next week, on Thursday, September 10th, NetElixir and Lenovo are celebrating our 10 year growth partnership. Ajit Sivadasan, the founding executive of Lenovo’s global online strategy, will present A Different Holiday: Opportunities & Challenges in a COVID World. Join our celebration and learn more about:

• New customer realities
• Digital as the new imperative 
• Actions to adapt to the new reality

Register now at https://stage.netelixir.com//webinar/.

Further Reading on Holiday Insights

• 2020 Holiday Data: Consumer Trends & Digital Marketing Strategies
• Google’s Digital Insights to Uncover Clues for Q4 Readiness
• The Holiday Season Starts Now

The post Holiday Season Insights from Executive Panel appeared first on NetElixir.