The Key to Retail Success: Aligning with Consumer Values

S1E3 Beyond Price: How Consumer Values Drive Retail Loyalty

Mar 04, 2025

Delivering a great customer experience is a challenge every retailer faces. We’re surfacing valuable insights from real world industry data, slicing through measurable consumer insights based on 1st party research and research at the point of sale. Join us as we learn the impact of one data insight each issue! Stay sharp!

Aligning with Consumer Values: Key Strategies for Retail Success

In today’s fast-paced retail market, even in the face of rising inflation, aligning with consumer values still plays a critical role in driving loyalty and long-term success. This was the central takeaway from our recent episode of the Retail Razor: Data Blades show, where hosts Ricardo Belmar and Casey Golden spoke with Georgina Nelson, CEO of TruRating.

Understanding Consumer Loyalty

TruRating has a knack for tapping into consumer sentiments, and their recent milestone of nearly a billion responses from validated shoppers is a testament to their expertise. With an impressive average response rate of 80 percent, TruRating achieves this by integrating a single, rotating question directly on the POS pinpad, seamlessly incorporating it into the shopper’s checkout experience.

The results of TruRating's recent survey yielded some enlightening insights into what truly motivates consumer loyalty.

While 51 percent of consumers are influenced by loyalty cards and money-off vouchers, a staggering 77 percent reported that their loyalty is deeply tied to whether they resonate with the retailer’s values.

Communicating Brand Values

Casey emphasized the importance of communicating your brand and values rather than just focusing on price. Retailers need to be strategic and nuanced in their approach. According to Georgina, there isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution. Each store is unique, and so is its customer base. Retailers need to comprehend and communicate their values and initiatives—whether ecological or organic—across various platforms, from websites to in-store.

Importance of Tailored Strategies

Georgina Nelson further explained that strategies should not be treated as blanket solutions. Tailoring strategies to understand and cater to the diverse customer bases at the store level is crucial. Testing and gaining insights on customer awareness about your green initiatives and organic drives can profoundly influence how you tailor marketing communications. A granular understanding and approach will allow retailers to connect more meaningfully with their consumers.

store associate talking to a customer, describing products on a nearby display

A Message to Retailers

While economic challenges may tempt retailers to cut back on value-driven initiatives, Georgina encourages retailers not to skimp on these efforts. Despite tough times, consumers seek brands that stand for something more substantial than just competitive pricing.

Final Thoughts

Thank you for joining us in exploring how aligning with consumer values remains pivotal to retail success!

This episode wraps up another insightful episode of The Retail Razor: Data Blades! We encourage our audience to tune in, subscribe, and engage with our content across Apple Podcasts, Goodpods, YouTube, and more. Please provide feedback or connect with us on LinkedIn, Bluesky, Threads, and Instagram.

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Follow along with a full episode transcript available below:

Full Episode Transcript

S1E3 Aligning with Values: Key Strategies for Retail Success

Show Intro

[00:00:00]

Ricardo Belmar: Welcome to our new Retail Razor Show, Data Blades, our new standalone Retail Razor Show, where we talk real world numbers and slice through measurable consumer insights based on research at the point of sale.

And bringing us that slicing and dicing of data is Georgina Nelson, CEO of TruRating.

Casey Golden: TruRating helps retailers hear directly from validated shoppers daily, and recently had a major milestone of half a billion responses. Retailers using TruRating average an 80 percent response rate on questions asked, made possible by asking a single rotating question directly on the POS pinpad, making it a seamless part of the shopper's checkout experience.

Ricardo Belmar: TruRating also works with their retail partners to develop consumer insights reports by running questions on an industry topic or theme. These anonymous responses are linked to metrics such as [00:01:00] basket size and repeat visits to produce industry changing insights like the ones Georgina will share with us today and raise our data blades.

I'm your host, Ricardo Belmar.

Casey Golden: And I'm your cohost, Casey Golden.

Georgina Nelson - How Aligning with Consumer Values Still Plays a Critical Role

Casey Golden: Welcome Georgina.

Georgina Nelson: Thank you so much for having me.

Casey Golden: So today's Retail Razor Data Blade segment is how aligning with customer values still plays a critical role.

Georgina Nelson: So yeah, to that point, we wanted to really find out what was driving consumers loyalty behavior. As, as a time when... Retailers are feeling the, the pinch of inflation as are their shoppers, we can often get to this race to the bottom where prices are slashed in desperation to, to try and win that customer loyalty. And so we, we asked some simple questions as to what was driving that loyal behavior. Interestingly, we found just over a smidgen over 50%, so 51 percent of consumers said they were [00:02:00] influenced by their loyalty card and by money off vouchers. But a staggering 77 percent said what actually drives their behavior and their loyalty is whether their retailers values resonate with them and they affiliated with it.

And so I think in this modern time of loyalty, that sends a really clear message for retailers to understand what, what values do their customers really affiliate with and how can they market those to them and ensure that that's understood and really build that, build that bond with their consumer base.

Casey Golden: Yeah. It really backs up the, communicate your brand and your values. Stop talking about price.

Georgina Nelson: Yeah, yeah, exactly. And even just recently, we've still seen that over 75 percent of US consumers, they do want to buy ecologically sound products. They do want to buy organic when those choices are [00:03:00] available. And so it's really to retailers, don't squimp on these initiatives just because times might be tough because consumers are still looking for those and looking for that stance and values to make their choices.

Ricardo Belmar: Georgina, it seems like for this to really be beneficial for the retailers that are going to like, are suggesting that they need to lean into this and not stop investing. They'd have to really understand how to communicate that to their customers to, to make it really worthwhile and beneficial.

Georgina Nelson: Yeah, I, I think strategies need to be. It's not like a blanket, one, one email, one shot in the dark, we really need to have a nuanced understanding of the customer base and what drives that loyalty. And then that needs to be communicated across a website, across product placements, across brand messaging. And I think what's important is [00:04:00] that, all customers are not alike. There's going to be a mix. And what we see is that mix is more, it's obviously very prevalent at a store level in terms of each store is a snowflake with different customer segmentation and really beginning to understand that at a store level, how, and testing and asking customers, how have your, have they understood the green initiatives, which you are pushing. Do they understand the drive on organic produce? And, understanding that awareness and then being able to tailor better comms and better marketing is absolutely key and, and we recommend doing that at a granular store level.

Casey Golden: I couldn't agree more. Well that does it for another edition of Retail Razor Blades.

Georgina Nelson: Does this mean I get to keep the segment intro music every time I'm on the show?

Ricardo Belmar: I think we can arrange that.

Georgina Nelson: Thank you so much both.

Casey Golden: [00:05:00] absolute pleasure.

Show Close

Casey Golden:

If you enjoyed our show, please consider giving us a five star rating and review on Apple podcasts and Goodpods. Remember to smash that subscribe button in your favorite podcast player and tune in on YouTube so you don't miss a minute. I'm your cohost, Casey Golden.

Ricardo Belmar: Please share your feedback with us on Twitter at Casey C Golden, Ricardo underscore Belmar, and at RetailRazor, or find us on LinkedIn, Threads, and Instagram. For the best highlights from each episode shipped straight to your inbox, subscribe to our Substack newsletter for full episode transcripts and bonus content.