Maybe* looks at how retailers used their social media channels during the lockdown, and who came out on top.
It’s been a long and hard year for independent retailers, with many retailers feeling stuck in the uncertanity that Covid has brought upon us.
Maybe* has researched how retailers have used their social media channels to engage with their customers ahead of re-opening announcements, and as you’ll see below the insights showing how they created a buzz and eager customers.
What did customers miss on the UK High Street?
Primark has been social media champions throughout 2020 and into 2021. With no e-commerce presence and only a physical store footprint, the chain has continued to engage customers through multiple lockdowns and were poised as UK High Streets began to re-open.
Primark teased and excited customers with new product, as well as its re-opening plans. Customers couldn’t wait to get back in store, bag a bargain and stock up on everything from socks to sundresses, with the unified goal of refreshing their wardrobes as they came out of hibernation. Queues were reported up and down the country with some shopping centres opening car parks as early as 6am.
Who and what drove the biggest re-opening bang?
We profiled leading businesses across the UK High Streets to see which content drove the most social media engagement on April 12th as England opened its doors. We then re-ran the data at the end of April as the rest of the UK’s retailers followed suit in welcoming back customers.
While Primark benefitted from real world engagement, the biggest social media buzzes mentioning re-opening were delivered by ASOS and Tesco. Interesting, neither of these businesses had been closed during lockdown. Instead they turned their re-opening messages to support for other local business. In ASOS’ case, the brand shone its social media light to drive engagement around the re-opening of nail salons, while Tesco flew its flag on behalf of local watering holes.
No other businesses in the top 10 of the retailers we profiled, mentioned re-opening. This demonstrates that while re-opening may have been at the forefront of retailers’ minds, customers just needed something exciting, inspiring, fresh or empathetic to engage them.
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Top tip: When creating content, remember that community and collaboration matters to people more than ever before. This is a trend we have seen growing through 2020, and it has continued into 2021. Now more than ever, it’s true that Every Little Helps - customers expect you to go the extra mile and support them and the other businesses around you.