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Between the tariff tug-of-war, flailing markets, insanely high egg prices and general \u201ctwitchiness\u201d (as one strategist put it), consumers have gotten a bit hard to nail down lately. So perhaps it\u2019s not surprising that the<\/strong> dominating \u201ctalk\u201d among retail executives at Shoptalk this week has revolved around what exactly consumers want and need right now<\/strong>.<\/p>\n One thing is clear \u2014 it\u2019s not AI. (Although AI may be the vehicle that helps retailers give it to them.) While the world\u2019s favorite two-letter acronym for the past 18<\/strong> months did crop up, of course, it wasn\u2019t the central focus of the event. Instead, executives from across the retail spectrum zeroed in on how they\u2019re connecting with and serving consumers in this complicated economic and geopolitical moment.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what some of the leading minds in retail say consumers need now.<\/p>\n Consumer appliance brand SharkNinja<\/strong> develops 25<\/strong> products from the ground up every year, which puts the company in a pretty good position to know what consumers are looking for. In some cases, it may be a product that taps into the latest TikTok<\/strong> trend or delivers new functionality to a mainstay category like vacuums. But at the end of the day, the common theme is developing \u201cproducts that consumers love; that is where our business starts and stops,\u201d said SharkNinja CEO Mark Barrocas in a keynote address.<\/p>\n \u201cThe consumer is incredibly discerning \u2014 we\u2019re not competing against other small appliance companies; we\u2019re competing against restaurants, we\u2019re competing against vacations<\/strong>,\u201d Barrocas said. \u201cThe consumer has a certain amount of money to spend, and they\u2019re going to decide the best way for them to spend those dollars, so we\u2019ve got to work hard developing the best product and getting the consumer excited. We can\u2019t be in a break-to-fix business because our products last for years. We\u2019ve got to put our products into retirement before [the end of] their usable life [with new innovations].\u201d<\/p>\n But creating innovative, high-quality products that differentiate has become even harder in a world of dupes<\/strong>, according to Barrocas: \u201cYou get a one<\/strong>-year head start,\u201d he said. \u201cWe come to market with a product, and we know that that product is going to get bought by 50<\/strong> competitors within the first month, and they\u2019re going to tear it down, they\u2019re going to reverse engineer, they\u2019re going to figure out how to make it cheaper, so we need to keep innovating.\u201d<\/p>\n There\u2019s no fighting the speed at which the world now moves. Instead, Barrocas believes the only option is to \u201cembrace the plan changing, embrace the pivoting and spot the smoke early<\/strong>,\u201d he said. \u201cDon\u2019t wait for there to be a raging fire before you realize there\u2019s a problem. If there\u2019s a small puff of smoke, start pivoting and start figuring out how you need to maneuver. What I\u2019m most proud of is the ability to be able to spot challenges in the business and react quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n One of the newer ways retailers are connecting with consumers (and helping brands do the same) is through media offerings. Lisa Valentino \u2014 who became President of Ads at Best Buy<\/strong> five<\/strong> months ago after years at more traditional media companies like Yahoo<\/strong>, ESPN<\/strong>, Cond\u00e9 Nast<\/strong> and Disney<\/strong> \u2014 talked about retail media\u2019s power to serve at \u201cthe intersection of influence and performance.\u201d<\/p>\n Regardless of its relative newness, Valentino said that retail media is still media, and traditional tenets still apply: \u201cMedia is about persuasive storytelling. It\u2019s all about creating a palette for brands to create those really important connections with consumers<\/strong>; that\u2019s what media should do,\u201d she advised. And this applies to both the newer retail media networks and companies that have ruled the media landscape for decades.<\/p>\n For retailers, that storytelling must also take place in stores, which have become a unique proposition in the evolving (and expanding) media landscape. \u201cEverything we\u2019re trying to do is to better the customer experience and better serve them,\u201d shared Aaron Dunford, VP of Media at Nordstrom<\/strong>. \u201cHow do we help people feel good and look their best? When we widen the aperture of what commerce media is and take that broader definition, it allows us to better help and serve our customers through those media channels.<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n As an example, Dunford pointed to one of the retailer\u2019s earliest offerings, which was to give brand partners access to the company\u2019s famed stylists<\/strong>. He also talked about unique in-store seasonal installations that drive brand discovery, including an alpine-themed yurt and a new immersive swim shop.<\/p>\n \u201cRetail should be inspirational,\u201d Dunford said. \u201cWhat we\u2019re looking to do is create an environment for our customer in stores where they can not only find the product they love, but be inspired by some of the best brands in the world. We\u2019ve really been focused on, not necessarily screens per se, but how do we build a curated, experiential, visually compelling content experience for our customers?<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n Another core tenet of media is ensuring that content, especially advertising, is relevant to viewers. Retailers are finding unique ways to take this to new levels via their media offerings.<\/p>\n Harvey Ma, VP and General Manager of the Sam\u2019s Club Member Access Platform<\/strong> media offering, talked about the kinds of ads now available on its in-store \u201cscan-and-go\u201d mobile self-checkout devices. Beyond being delivered at a highly relevant moment, the content itself also is carefully curated to that moment. \u201cThose ads don\u2019t always feel like ads<\/strong>,\u201d he said. \u201cSome of them are \u2018Did you forget?\u2019 or \u2018You might like this\u2019 types of additive experiences.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAt Sam\u2019s Club we\u2019ve got a very highly technical term for commerce media \u2014 shopping,\u201d added Ma. \u201cJoking aside, commerce media is just getting the right ads at the right time to the right people in the right space.<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n And as retailers enter the media space, legacy media companies are steadily moving into commerce, bringing in contextual shopping experiences.<\/p>\n Alison Levin, President of Advertising and Partnerships at NBCUniversal<\/strong>, isn\u2019t a huge fan of the term \u201clegacy,\u201d but recognizes the need to distinguish between new and more seasoned players in media: \u201cNBCU has this incredible reach, this IP, this emotional connection and executional excellence,\u201d she said. \u201cCall it what you want to call it; you can call it legacy, but it works, and it\u2019s continued to work for a really, really long time.\u201d<\/p>\n Case in point was the recent Saturday Night Live<\/em> 50th<\/sup><\/strong> anniversary event. \u201cWhen you think about engagement, moments that matter for a brand, there\u2019s no better example of that than SNL 50,\u201d said Levin. \u201cThis was a cultural phenomenon the entire country was talking about it, and we had brands that integrated into the content like they\u2019ve never done before.<\/strong>\u201d One prime example was Capital One\u2019s<\/strong> \u201cDelicious Dish\u201d spot.<\/p>\n \u201cThere have been incredible advancements in shoppability on the TV screen and removing the friction that existed before we had QR codes,\u201d Levin added. \u201cWe have AI now that scans content to find what\u2019s in the show and [is] available to buy it after. We have cart integration. As an industry, that is going to become table stakes.\u201d<\/p>\n Speaking of cultural moments, Gap<\/strong> is currently in the midst of one. Following years of flagging performance, Gap\u2019s profit and sales exceeded forecasts this past holiday shopping season, and the company is beginning to enjoy the results of a massive turnaround effort led by President and CEO Richard Dickson.<\/p>\n Central to this effort has been answering the question, \u201cWhy do we exist?\u201d said Dickson. \u201cDoes anybody really need another pair of jeans or another T-shirt or Oxford, or anything for that matter? We had to find our point of difference, and then the next stage of that is taking cues from insights, cultural trends, design trends, what\u2019s hot, what\u2019s not, cultural conversations and [determining] how we integrate our brand into the cultural conversation to be relevant<\/strong>. If you\u2019re relevant enough, it eventually drives [consumers] to you.\u201d<\/p>\n Part of this effort has involved drawing on Gap\u2019s legacy in American retail, which, among other initiatives, included the resurfacing of a series of portrait collaborations with cultural icons from the \u201990s, including Lenny Kravitz, Madonna, Missy Elliott and others. The next step is identifying \u201cwho are the \u2018originals\u2019 of today and tomorrow\u201d and working with them, said Dickson. The goal is to \u201cperpetuate that legacy by creating narratives around today\u2019s influencers, today\u2019s cultural periods, today\u2019s artists and original thinkers that ultimately will be celebrated <\/strong>and given a Gap portrait, which keeps the brand\u2019s legacy alive but then translates it into cultural relevance for today.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s not only the product innovation cycle that has sped up \u2014 consumers also expect to find and get those products fast. DoorDash<\/strong> and CVS<\/strong> can attest to this reality.<\/p>\n Since its inception as a restaurant delivery service in 2013, DoorDash has rapidly expanded well beyond the food category; in fact, the company just added footwear retailer DSW<\/strong> to its roster of non-restaurant brands, which now also includes Home Depot<\/strong>, Five Below<\/strong>, David\u2019s Bridal<\/strong>, Starbucks<\/strong>, Hustler Hollywood<\/strong> and many others.<\/p>\n Mike Goldblatt, VP of Grocery and Retail Partnerships at DoorDash, said that last-minute, urgent purchases are the most common entry point into DoorDash\u2019s non-restaurant offerings<\/strong> for consumers who used to be, or still are, a restaurant customer of DoorDash.<\/p>\n \u201cWe launched seven<\/strong> new categories last year, and as we\u2019re introducing these categories to customers, the typical first purchase is going to be [along the lines of], \u2018I\u2019m missing this thing; I need it right now,\u2019\u201d Goldblatt said. \u201cBut then a switch goes off with the consumer where we build frequency and lifetime value as they start thinking of Best Buy<\/strong> or Dick\u2019s Sporting<\/strong> Goods<\/strong> on DoorDash. I know I can get a quick need, but I also know the full selection is available.\u201d<\/p>\n (For a fun example, check out this TikTok of a New Yorker who DoorDashed shorts from Dick\u2019s while on a date.)<\/p>\n The immediate availability of a wide array of products is the key to drawing in consumers at CVS as well, where the retail business (as opposed to its pharmacy offerings) accounted for three-quarters<\/strong> of foot traffic last year.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you want tennis balls, you can wait for them to be delivered or you can go to a big-box sporting goods store, but if you\u2019re on the way to the courts shouldn\u2019t you be able to go somewhere really convenient along the way?\u201d said Musab Balbale, SVP and Chief Merchandising Officer of CVS Health during a session. \u201cIt\u2019s almost like the old general store \u2014 that is the core of what we offer.<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n Learn more about how CVS is achieving that goal with an intricate localization strategy here.<\/p>\n The last but certainly not least pillar in this current economic moment is value<\/strong>. But as a number of executives pointed out, consumers today expect value without having to compromise convenience or ethics.<\/p>\n \u201cCustomers are just not willing to sacrifice,\u201d said Kevin Tulip, U.S. President of Primark<\/strong>. \u201cThey want and expect value, but they\u2019re not looking to sacrifice on experience or the environment or which trend or season they\u2019re looking at.<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n This can be a tough nut to crack, especially for companies operating at the lower end of the price spectrum. But Primark has found a way to do it. \u201cOverall, price is what we\u2019ve built the business around, and over the last 15, 16<\/strong> years, we have continued to build on top of that quality, style and trends.<\/p>\n \u201cOur belief has always been that sustainable fashion shouldn\u2019t only be accessible to people of a certain wealth bracket<\/strong>,\u201d Tulip added. \u201cIf you\u2019re looking for a pair of $10<\/strong> jeans or $4<\/strong> T-shirt, you should also be able to choose more sustainable and recycled fabric; that should be available to you. We are part of fast fashion because of the price that we offer, but certainly a low price doesn\u2019t equal poor ethics or poor sustainability.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nProducts that Perform<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Persuasive Storytelling<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Contextual Relevance<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Cultural Relevance<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Immediate Access<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Value Without Compromise<\/strong><\/h2>\n