We gained some fascinating insights from FUTR London this week, it was great to hear from brands and retailers in the ever-evolving landscape of retail, uncovering both emerging trends and changes in shopper behaviour.
From a day packed with speakers, here are our key takeaways.
MOTH canned cocktails are now the No1 premium RTD brand in the UK, part of their strategy has always been to be positioned as ‘reassuringly expensive’. ‘People are drinking less, but drinking better’ said Samuel Hunt defending why they are twice the price of the rest of the product category. MOTH drinks are now sold in 3500 supermarkets across the UK, by paying attention to the details and using tactics such as playful SRP design, MOTH are caching the eye of store staff, helping to ensure they achieve placement in store.
Iain Finlayson gave us some fascinating insight into the shifts Liverpool One are seeing in consumer habits and how brands are occupying the space. ‘We are seeing more brands using stores as a showroom, rather than a place to purchase product’. Citing the recent example of On Running who recently occupied a space where none of the product was for purchase. It also gives the brand direct access to data, often a challenge to gain from retailers. Socially native brands are trialling physical pop ups to extend brand awareness and amplify reach. ‘Instagram brand Sisters and Seekers had a queue of over 4,000 at their recent Liverpool One pop up, the challege they have is lack of experience in managing bricks and morter stores, but social brands shouldnt be afraid of coming into the physical space’
Alice O’Haganat Boden ‘The post purchase experience is vital for brands and retailers to ensure continued affinity. A bad experience with returns or product quality can leave a bad taste in your mouth as a shopper. This is where moving from the old omnichannel model to a hybrid model is vital, to ensure shopper touchpoints are consistent across both physical and digital platforms.’
TikTok shop is now the number 1 online store in the UK, yet hugly underpotentialised by brands and retailers. Only 5 beauty brands account for a third of all Tik Tok shop sales within the beauty industry. Ryan Sasaki at Dash Hudson
AI can be used strategically to effectivly amplify the impact of content, but there is doubt it will ever replicate the funny, tongue in cheek content that engages audiences and drives conversations within communities. When used in the right way it can enhance a brand experience, our favourite example was from Dom Dwight at Yorkshire Tea, who shared the success of their ‘brewtone.ai’ feature, which allows tea drinkers to snap a photo of their brew, the ‘brewbot’ will then define the colour name using their chart . Perfect tea every time- even when your not making. Ours is definitely ‘Grans House’.
