BY Herb Weitzman I Executive Chairman, Weitzman
Sometimes, you don’t realize you absolutely have to have something until you see it.
That’s basically the concept behind “treasure hunt” retailing, whereby a constantly changing assortment of items can be on sale today, gone tomorrow, and the shopper has the experience of being in the right place at the right time for just the perfect purchase.
The explosion of treasure-hunt shoppers in recent years has led to amazing growth for some of today’s best-performing retailers, like HomeGoods, T.J.Maxx, HomeSense, Burlington, and Ross.
But for an independent retailer with a single location, how do you compete? How do you let that treasure-hunt shopper know that you offer that “absolutely-must-have” something if they never come into your store?
The answer lies in what we call “Tech + Mortar,” combined with the personal touch. Tech + Mortar describes the use of digital marketing tools to supercharge physical retail, and the personal touch means outstanding customer service and customer insight once the digital outreach has delivered shoppers to the door. Done right, the tech-and-mortar approach can be both successful and cost-effective, even for a smaller retailer.
To best illustrate how a one-location retailer can compete, and compete successfully, let’s take a look at Cottonwood Market, an experiential retailer that offers an eclectic mix of vendors retailing unique vintage, antique and artisan items, ranging from modern furniture, designer handbags, jewelry, antiques, and home décor.
Cottonwood Market, which opened at Dal-Rich Towne Square in Richardson in 2020, is now celebrating five years of operation with its strongest sales performance ever.
The market persevered through the pandemic and is succeeding now through a mix of strong identity programs utilizing a customized and highly effective digital marketing suite as well as deep knowledge of its customer base gained through the analysis of sales data combined with one-on-one interactions.
This digital suite includes an interactive website, social media pages on every platform utilized by the market’s targeted shoppers, and a focused digital and paid-digital marketing campaign. All of these digital elements are enhanced for search engine optimization (SEO) since almost every shopping decision today begins with a Google search.
The market also collaborates with local and neighborhood community platforms and local publications and news websites and has done small-detail work to update all channel listings such as Yelp, Tripadvisor, and Nextdoor to ensure consistent and accurate information. All of these elements work together as part of a well-rounded approach to visibility and customer engagement.
The digital program also highlights what differentiates Cottonwood Market from other “antique mall” competitors, like an onsite antique expert offering information on heirloom-quality antiques, as well as everything from contemporary furnishings to the hot retail category of certified designer handbags.
The results for the digital marketing program can be seen in Cottonwood Market’s sales. Compared year-over-year, sales are up by a healthy 23 percent. Since the store’s launch in 2020, sales have grown 80 percent, and they continue to grow.
A lot of this growth stems from understanding the targeted shopper. Cottonwood Market now has a very healthy return-customer metric, based on sales tracking.
The market’s 50,000 square feet is currently fully leased to 160 dealers operating 270 booths. The selling space is also on track to be expanded, as current storage space is now slated to be reformatted for booth space. Other plans include the expansion of the market’s Antique Table Café, with the addition of a gourmet food boutique offering high-quality foods from local producers as well as specialty gourmet imports.
In the five years since it opened, Cottonwood Market has evolved to go more upscale with a contemporary design and offerings that are positioned perfectly to match the new love of antiques for those in the 25-to-45 age range. And it has gotten the word out about this evolution with a sophisticated digital marketing platform that, despite its reach, is within the budget of a one-store retailer looking to compete with much larger concepts.
This Insight originally ran in D CEO magazine.
