Black Friday and Cyber Monday are two of the most significant retail events of the year, providing retailers with a golden opportunity to boost sales and attract new customers. However, creating immersive experiences for customers during these peak shopping days can be challenging, especially when faced with limited resources. 

The Challenge: Making the Most of Your Merchandisers

How do you captivate customers and provide them with a branded, editorial-like experience on your website when your digital merchandisers are overworked and the budget is stretched. For many retailers, delivering on promise to their customers is only as feasible as their resources allow.

Leverage Marketing with Inspirational Commerce 

Branding is one of the most important marketing tools for a retailer, creating a familiarity that drives customer loyalty and a dependable shopping experience that keeps them coming back. Utilizing visual merchandising tools, such as Shop the Model and Outfitting allows retailers to showcase their unique editorial style and offers consumers an engaging and fun way to style their own wardrobe. This strategy highlights the versatility of their products while inspiring customers by seeing the outfits worn by a model. By seamlessly integrating visual merchandising efforts into every customer touch point from email marketing, to social media, to the website — retailers can effectively communicate their brand’s story and aesthetic, leaving a lasting impression at every stage in the customer journey. 

Cultivating Customer Loyalty

Creating inspirational experiences during Black Friday and Cyber Monday is a key to fostering  customer loyalty. When customers are genuinely happy with a brand, they are more likely to become repeat shoppers and evangelists, ensuring future sales year round.

Here are some tips to help you foster customer loyalty through inspirational commerce:

• Craft captivating visual narratives: Harness the power of visual storytelling to captivate and connect with your customers. Incorporating User Generated Content (UGC) in combination with your branded editorial imagery, will showcase the individuals who drive your brand, their unique journeys, and the positive influence they create. By combining the stories your shoppers are telling with your own branded stories, you will be able to forge an emotional bond with your audience.
• Optimize Product Detail Pages (PDPs): Enhance the visual appeal of your PDPs by optimizing them with high-quality product images, compelling videos, and immersive outfitting and bundling content. Present your products in a way that tells a story, highlighting their unique features, benefits, and why it’s the perfect choice.

• Leverage visual merchandising with Outfitting and Bundling: Creating outfits and self-styling online is difficult. Use visually appealing imagery to demonstrate how different items can be combined to create a stylish and cohesive look. Inspire customers with curated ensembles that spark their creativity.

• Implement “Shop the Model” functionality: By making editorial images shoppable and available for direct purchase, customers will be inspired to purchase, while bringing the visual story to life.

• Create a cohesive end to end story: Create a cohesive brand story and shopping experience by utilizing visual storytelling in all of your marketing channels – from email marketing to social media, all the way through to the PDP and post-check out experience. 

Visual storytelling in retail is about creating an immersive and enticing customer experience. By incorporating these techniques into your strategy, you will inspire and engage shoppers on a deeper level, fostering loyalty and connection with your brand.

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