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07.26.2002

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The Retailer As Brand

In today's lifestyle-driven marketplace, a mere product is a narrow definition of a "brand." Though the marketing profession may have invented the word, as well as the vast literature surrounding it, it would be a serious mistake to think that consumers understand or use the word "branding" in anything close to the manner of the many marketing gurus, consultants and analysts. The point being, rather than bantering back and forth about how we think consumers may or may not understand our own peculiar jargon, perhaps our time could be better spent actually trying to understand the consumer.

From a consumer perspective, while a brand provides product utility, it also represents trust and value based on a history of positive experiences associated with its use. If we consider brand to be "a promise to the consumer," the promise in terms of retail is what the store represents. Retail can just as easily represent a promise as a manufacturer can. The manufacturer's promise may be a specific product attribute -- clean hair, better health, etc. The retail promise may be a specific shopping attribute. So, the Wal-Mart brand promise is lowest prices everyday. The Target brand promise is good design at a low price. The Nordstrom brand promise is exceptional customer service. Each of these organizations have all successfully converted a physical store into a branded retail environment that meets the lifestyle needs of their shoppers on trust and value. These store environments provide a forum for interaction and community that further define the essence of the store brand and give it a personality. It is these elements of trust, value, interaction and personality that appeal to consumers and form a strong retail brand.

Would consumers be confused at all if Wal-Mart started saying they were "a brand you can trust"? Unlikely, as consumers probably think this already, it just hasn't been put into words. This is similar to the Whole Foods Market model, which communicates its brand every day: You (the consumer) don't need to know about all the manufacturer brands and ingredients that go into the products because we (WFM) have done the work for you. Just come into our stores and know that you can "trust" all of the products here because you can trust us (WFM).

These days, it seems a branded product may acquire as much of its image from the kinds of stores selling it as it garners from its own marketing campaign. Indeed, most packaged goods, where "brand" traditionally rules, have been commoditized to the point that what one buys is often less important than where one buys it. More generally, when it comes to generating sales, any product category with low brand awareness and/or loyalty will elevate the importance of the store brand over that of the product. You will observe, for example, that consumers will purchase certain brands from some retailers that they wouldn't even consider when shopping at other retailers. It isn't necessarily that they trust the products more or like them better when sold by some retailers compared to others. Rather, consumers have a different self-image and, consequently, a different set of motivations when shopping in some stores than they have when visiting other stores. A shopper will tend to indulge more often when shopping at Central Market than when working the aisles of Safeway, and that's an instance of the power of the store's brand.

Outlets such as REI, which sells its own line of equipment alongside the biggest names in outdoor gear, and Starbucks, whose brand would never have conquered Seattle let alone the world without having first developed a unique retail experience, blurring the line between retail and manufacturing.

Conclusion
Not that branding is simple in this context, far from it, but our on-going writings outlining the "experience" in shopping, the emotional connection to the store and the product, and the breadth and depth of a retail offering can give a glimpse of what "different" consumers are seeking. It's the very heart of the issue, recognizing that there exists a multitude of consumers, varied by demographics, tradition and lifestyle, seeking more than just a product, but a connection to a store and a brand that represents the aspirational experience. They seek brands, at every level, but how a brand of the store and in the store work together is dependent upon what consumer you are targeting. No matter what the message or target is, there is no doubt that today's consumer is shopping the retailer as brand.

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