• by Sudha Reddy , Columnist, February 14, 2018

Yes, Amazon is huge, but that doesn’t mean that retailers should be spending every waking moment thinking about how to beat them at their own game. After all, the reason that Amazon became successful in the first place was by finding new strategies to disrupt established players. If retailers want to ensure their long-term success, they can’t rely on repurposing Amazon’s methods; instead, they have to take a step back and think about how they can truly differentiate themselves. In other words, they need to find their niche, and figure out how best to position themselves. 

There’s a piece in the pie for everyone. Take Best Buy: In theory, nearly everything Best Buy sells can be found on Amazon — televisions, laptops, cameras, computer games — but that hasn’t stopped people from shopping at Best Buy, no matter how many ads for electronics come up on Amazon. What Best Buy has done is to establish itself not only as the go-to retailer for electronics, but also as place with the experts who will give you guidance and service in ways that online reviews and Amazon cannot.

But what happens when Amazon begins encroaching on your niche? In Best Buy’s case, the retailer opted to match Amazon’s prices while doubling down on customer service, but not many retailers have the resources available to make such a move. Some retailers might go the route of slashing prices, but that runs the risk of starting a war of attrition — a war that Amazon, with its deep pockets and huge marketplace of sellers, is best positioned to win.

Instead, retailers should look to more creative outlets for proving their worth to consumers. A series of well-executed advertisements is a great place to start; just look at how Dove managed to transform itself from a generic soap company to a brand whose name is synonymous with body acceptance (recent troublesome ads notwithstanding). While Dove is not a retailer, its real beauty ads show what a powerful tool advertising can be, and the strong effect it can have on creating brand loyalty among consumers. After all, there are hundreds of soaps on a drugstore shelf, but most people don’t buy a different one every time they run out; instead, they find a brand that speaks to them, and stick to it. 

To give another, more personal example, I myself am a devoted buyer of Method soap products — even when presented with cheaper alternatives on Amazon — because of their non-toxic ingredients and sleek packaging, elements which help differentiate the brand from behemoths like Clorox, Unilever and P&G.

There are a lot of ways for retailers to leverage creative to find their niche. One way is through the creation of unique smartphone experiences (using games, VR, etc.) that attract people’s attention and keep them interested. Such experiences can be created in-store as well to keep consumer interest rather targeting them to shop. Another way is to use storytelling to get people invested in the brand itself, beyond the products themselves.

If there’s one thing that retailers should be thinking about, it’s about how they can provide value to their customers. The rise of Amazon has meant that consumers are no longer required to rely on the same handful of brands; instead, they are free to spread their preferences, which makes it even more important for brands to find their niche in order to retain customer loyalty. Instead of spending so much time focused on their competition, brands need to be focusing on their customers and finding ways to resonate with them. And what better way to do that than through advertising?