To weather this economic environment, you need to build and own a direct line to your shoppers

Tariffs have introduced volatility into the market. While consumers are understandably weary, they’re making thoughtful changes to their spending and shopping habits. Now, marketers aren’t just paying close attention to these shifts, they’re making budget and strategy shifts of their own. 

Read on to get our latest economic pulse analysis, and how marketers can adapt in both the short and long-term to increase their revenue moat and agility. 

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Key takeaways and market analysis

As we close out April, we’re seeing: 

• Uncertainty for consumers is high, with consumer confidence and sentiment understandably declining as shoppers weigh the impact of tariffs.
• Spending at US retailers in February was weaker than expected as retail sales rose 0.2% from the prior month and consumers became more considerate about discretionary spending. 
• We did see stronger-than-expected retail sales in March driven by mounting uncertainty (1.4% month-over-month vs. 0.2% in February). Concerned about the extent of tariffs, many shoppers decided to make purchases in March before potential price hikes kicked in. This just highlights how much uncertainty is impacting consumer behavior, and the challenge in predicting it. 
• Inflation eased again in March to 2.4% (but this was before the impact of tariffs).

Jen Brett, who leads Attentive’s Voice of the Market program, is keeping a close eye on these trends. Her expert analysis is: 

• Much of the impact to consumer spending and sentiment is driven by uncertainty versus poor economic indicators (e.g. job growth is strong, inflation dropping). Providing consumers a sense of calm and stability in your messaging is a strong choice. 
• Marketers should be ready for a quick upward swing in consumer sentiment in response to a more stable policy environment. Agile and flexible strategies are the name of the game right now.
• Amidst ongoing uncertainty, focus on messaging value, transparency around pricing, maximizing loyalty, and segmenting to target by price-consciousness.

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Where to focus to build a solid foundation 

Brands need to shift their dollars to acquisition and DTC sales to build their moats to weather long-term uncertainty. These two focus areas give brands a solid foundation to operate off of and don’t require extra budget. They also enable brands to be more nimble and quickly adapt to changes in consumer spending.

First, focus on quickly acquiring new SMS and email subscribers to combat a pullback in consumer spending. 

Your DTC efforts are limited by the number of shoppers you can reach out to (and the channels you can engage them on).

While you probably already have a large and engaged email audience, it’s important to rapidly grow your SMS list to ensure you can reach shoppers on their preferred channels. In our recent State of Personalized Messaging report, 58% of consumers told us they’re more likely to make a purchase when they receive the same promotion across channels.  

‍In the near-term, you’ll be able to automatically reach out to shoppers when they’re on your site with high-ROI nudges. These nudges give you more revenue to invest back into your marketing program, or add a buffer to your tightening margins. 

‍In the long-term, you’ll have a moat of subscribers you can reach out to when they’re ready to start spending again with targeted campaigns.

Pro tip: Invite your email subscribers to sign up for SMS. You can build urgency by inviting shoppers to sign up to lock in pricing before tariffs go into effect.

Next, deepen your "moat" by collecting data from your owned channels. 

Your SMS and email programs are your direct line to your customers. Unlike the data on your third-party advertising platforms, you own the data you collect from your email and SMS subscribers. This information can give you critical insight in real-time into customer sentiment and preferences, which you can use to inform your overall marketing strategy. 

‍In the immediate term, you can use this data to make your SMS and email marketing even more efficient.  Behavior-based segmentation will help you increase your ROI by personalizing campaign messages to subscribers' shopping behaviors and preferences. And stronger subscriber identification—helping you recognize more subscribers who come to your site—will help you boost revenue by sending more high-converting journeys. 

Finally, speak directly to shoppers. 

If you’re a wholesaler or have a strong retail presence, your direct marketing channels are your biggest weapons. Your wholesale and retail sales have much tighter profit margins than your direct sales. As much as possible, you need to bring shoppers back to your site to protect your margins. Again—the more revenue you can generate, the more you can reinvest into your business or use to wait out economic uncertainty. 

‍If you’re a DTC brand, direct channels help you stay top of mind with price-motivated shoppers who are weighing their options. Transparent, value-driven communications with shoppers will help you deepen relationships with shoppers and maintain trust throughout price fluctuations. 

Plus, these owned channels give you direct control over your budget during uncertain times. Usage-based marketing like SMS and email gives you more flexibility, allowing you to increase or decrease your sends as you gain performance insights in real time. 

‍Pro tip: Lean on triggered journeys to bring shoppers back to your site and drive conversions. You’ll drive revenue without eating a significant portion of your budget, and you’re guaranteed to achieve a high ROI. 

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Your five-point action plan 

1. Add SMS and email sign-up units to your site. Waitlist sign-up units are your secret weapon during supply chain challenges. If your products sell out and you can’t replenish right away, launch waitlist sign-up units to turn a disappointing moment for shoppers into a loyalty-building moment. You’ll also gain valuable subscriber data to personalize future messages. 
2. Update your sign-up units with value-driven messaging. Highlight loyalty perks, bundles, and free shipping to entice price-conscious shoppers. You can also highlight quality with social proof sign-up units. 
3. Make sure you have your “super group” of journeys live and optimized. Brands who use at least 3 triggered journeys see a 47%+ increase in ROI compared to those who only send campaigns. The highest-impact journeys right now are cart abandonment reminders, which drive 125X ROI, and checkout Abandonment nudges, which drive 89X ROI. But you need to cover the top of the funnel, too. Session and browse abandonment reminders drive 35X and 33X ROI respectively. 
4. Stay top of mind with new subscribers by beefing up your welcome journey. Add extra messages to your welcome journey to make sure your brand stays front and center with high-intent shoppers. You can remind them of their welcome offer and highlight your product quality and best sellers to make sure they convert. 
5. Refine your segments with price-consciousness in mind. You’ll want to nurture VIP and high-value subscribers who have frequently purchased with you—they’re less likely to pull back spending. You’ll also want to engage price-conscious subscribers (shoppers who only purchase during sales periods or when they get a discount) when you’ve got upcoming sales (or highlight your evergreen sales page for a quick win). Finally, you can use tariffs as a reason to re-engage lapsed subscribers. Highlight the urgency of making a purchase before prices go up, and emphasize the value they’re gaining if they do.