Seasonality is a term we use to describe the routine peaks and valleys in annual retail sales and traffic. Seasonality originated in the grocery industry where variety was tied to seasons, and timely promotion was a competitive advantage. Then, as global markets delivered year-round abundance, growing cycles became irrelevant, and retailers had to find new ways to promote variety and…

The possibility of a recession has been haunting the market since earlier this year when gas and housing prices began to rise, along with inflation. Although these factors have decreased in recent weeks, consumers and retailers alike have every reason to be wary. So what could a possible recession mean for the home improvement market and its retailers? Is the…

In today’s digital marketplace, so much of our experience is artificial. This is particularly true with online shopping, where what you see isn’t always what you get. Consumers are far more cynical today than a decade ago, which is why more and more shoppers are turning to online ratings and reviews for advice. Like the rest of ecommerce, the volume…

If you’ve ever led the merchandising of a retail product, you know how hard it can be. There are a wide range of moving parts, uncontrollable environments and multiple stakeholders with sometimes conflicting agendas. It’s one thing to get through it without mistakes. It’s another to come out the other end feeling victorious. If this sounds familiar, we’ve got a…

The retail industry is a two-headed beast. One head speaks the language of business, the other speaks the language of consumers. Getting products through this complex creature requires speaking both languages without missing a beat. That’s what we call B2B/B2C fluency, and it’s an essential skill for getting in and succeeding in retail. Because every product in retail has to be…

It seems like we just can’t stop talking about the pandemic and its effect on commerce. In the retail universe, it’s a bit like the big bang, complete with cascading ripple effects, like the massive shift to eCommerce that gave certain retailers a massive advantage. Sure enough, retailers are leveraging their massive online traffic to attract advertising revenue. It’s called…

If you’ve walked through any big-box retailer in the last decade, you’ve probably noticed that more and more product is not on the shelf. Point-of-purchase (POP) displays are especially ubiquitous in home improvement stores where the aisles are wide and seem to invite retail merchandising. Shoppers may have mixed reviews about sharing aisle space with retail merchandising, but there are…

A lot of clients come to Porchlight looking for help with digital marketing for their home improvement brand or product. And a big chunk of those clients have tight budgets. So, there comes a point – early in the relationship – where we have to prioritize. We have to eliminate some digital marketing channels in favor of others that are…

Everyone is talking about omnichannel marketing, which may have you wondering, “Are we ready for omnichannel marketing?” Omnichannel is certainly the new buzzword in retail marketing, and there are plenty of brands for whom it makes a lot of sense. But there are equally, if not more, brands for whom multichannel strategies are a better fit. This is especially true…

We’re talking about money again. The more clients we speak to, the more we understand the increasing demands being placed on tight budgets. It’s a real challenge to develop a budget that is comprehensive and delivers ROI. And agencies can add to the complexity because we all take a slightly different approach to pricing. While we can’t fix agency pricing across…