These results indicate that if Last Call expands on their outlet strategy, it’s crucial to engage the younger audience. One way to do this is to carry brands that are popular with them. Ubimo’s audience affinities insights reveal that Last Call shoppers particularly enjoy brands like Nike, Adidas, and Levi’s. Knowing this, Last Call can secure a core demographic, ensuring the success of their stores.

Beyond Brick and Mortar Stores

Another way to engage in-store shoppers is through their mobile phones. Smartphones go with people everywhere. The younger generations are especially glued to their phones, constantly checking social media, messaging, and surfing the web. Using Ubimo’s Polaris Realtime DSP, brands can engage with their customers by serving relevant mobile advertisements based on digital and offline attributes. For example, if Saks wants to focus on their outlet strategy, they can provide special offers or coupons to loyal customers, those who visit Saks stores frequently, by sharing the offers through mobile ads. Reengaging real-world shoppers digitally can increase the reach and engagement of qualified customers. If Nordstrom wanted to tap into and win over outlet shoppers who frequent their competitor’s Off Saks stores, they could do so by serving their own advertisements to this same audience of Off Saks customers. In this way, brands can digitally engage their customers who visit their physical stores and sell products even after audiences leave the retail locations, creating a seamless customer journey and unified brand experience.

A Brave New Retail World

As retail brands brace for an uncertain future coming off of the closure of Barneys, they can ensure their current and future success by understanding visit trends and acting on audience demographics using location intelligence. Brands can no longer operate in the status quo and, instead, should reconsider their premium vs. outlet strategies. These brands, Nordstrom, Saks, and Neiman Marcus, who began as brick-and-mortar retailers, face competitive pressures not only from other physical retailers, but also from digital ones. They’ll need to use all data available to them to make sure their stores are operating as efficiently as possible and they are reaching the right audiences with their messaging and promotions. In the face of intense brand competition, retail brands have a choice: eat or be eaten.