Tons of marketing inspiration for retailers: this is the Retail Marketing Day 2023

Retail marketing professionals, mark 21 September in your diaries: RetailDetail’s Retail Marketing Day guarantees tons of inspiration, best practices and enlightening insights. In these turbulent times, the customer is more central than ever, but what does that actually mean?

Essential in times of crisis

Inflation, geopolitical uncertainty, declining consumer confidence… The temptation may be big to bet everything on the short term, and put marketing investments on hold. That would not be too smart, though: the speakers at the Retail Marketing Day will illustrate how essential marketing is in times of crisis. Our chairman of the day, retail professor Gino Van Ossel (Vlerick Business School), will show why.

Everyone in Belgium knows Impermo‘s ad jingle: the tile specialist is on its way to nationalwide coverage with twenty showrooms. Who ever said that floors are not sexy? Smart marketing with impact is what commercial director Diether Claeys is all about. With a relentless focus on ROI as well as simplicity. But: change is coming. “We need to reinvent ourselves. We are going to inspire instead of indoctrinate”. Intriguing enough for you?

Bookshops, corny and old-fashioned? Forget it! In a book market heavily dependent on bestsellers, Standaard Boekhandel and Club are quicker to respond to trends, such as Young Adult literature – courtesy of TikTok. The shop concept is shaking up and smart use of customer data should boost sales. Manu Rutsaert, General Manager of Club, will tells us why.

Making speed

If you want to capture a growing market, you have be quick. In three years, Thomas Nouws grew his brainchild Jacob’s Concept Store from one to 24 branches in Belgium. Soon, the first foreign shop will open in Paris, followed by the rest of the world. The recipe for success? A very special business model…

Lunch Garden had to recover for a long time from the pandemic, which after all hit the hospitality sector hard. But it is now on the way up again, CEO Ann Biebuyck confirms: the restaurant chain is winning back customers with an adapted menu that focuses on classics and children’s menus, and with savings campaigns, among other things.

Inclusive and diverse

In ten years’ time, Kruidvat grew from 184 to 294 shops in Belgium. Focus for the chain: inclusivity and diversity in its offer. The Kruidvat Inclusion Council, an independent group of experts set up in 2022, helps to ensure that its products are truly for everyone. A topic that will also inspire other retailers, promises marketing manager Lotje Wijnstra.

“Retailtainment” will be at the heart of Deloitte‘s Anne Gubbelmans’ presentation : the shopping experience is evolving towards “phygital shops” that integrate technology solutions and visual merchandising to create an experiential, personalised shopping experience.

The buzzword of the year is undoubtedly “generative artificial intelligence”. But what can AI mean for retailers? A lot, if retail industry adviser Manas Bharadwaj of Microsoft is to be believed. Think about analysing customer behaviour and preferences to optimise a personalised customer experience. A new world is opening up…

Also looking for marketing inspiration? Don’t hesitate then! RetailDetail’s Retail Marketing Day will take place on 21 September in Antwerp. Book your ticket quickly via the link below.