The retail industry is known to have cut-throat competition. It can be pretty exhausting to remain relevant in this fast-evolving industry. Brands with bigger budgets and financial muscle can trample smaller ones and swing the market in their direction.
However, all hope is not lost. Influencer marketing is one of the best ways you can reach a larger audience, even without a large budget. Influencers are people who are industry thought leaders and they shape the opinions of people in their niche. Collaborating with them can help you spread your brand’s message to a wider audience.
Just like all other industries, retail also has some extremely influential influencers. Here are the best retail influencers with whom you can collaborate:
1. Doug Stephens
Doug is one of the most popular retail influencers out there. He’s a popular speaker, columnist, radio host, and author who talks about the retail industry. His predictions about the future of the industry are always on point.
By collaborating with him, you can reach out to his loyal fans who swear by his recommendations. He can even help you overhaul your overall in-store strategy. Due to his unique ability of being able to forecast trends in the industry, he can help you with your future campaigns too.
2. Shep Hyken
Shep Hyken is yet another retail influencer you should consider collaborating with. He’s a New York Times best-selling author and is an expert when it comes to customer service. He can not only help your brand reach a vast audience but can also help you improve your customer experience.
By collaborating with him, you can win customers over not only through influencer marketing but through sheer good service.
3. Joe Skorupa
Joe serves as the Editorial Director and a Retail Technology Blogger at RIS News. He brings years of experience to the table and can help you grow your reach in no time. His expertise lies in store systems, digital commerce, customer engagement, and analytics.
A collaboration with him can ensure that your business will reach the right people. He can not only give you access to a large audience but can also help you rise to new levels.
4. Bryan Roberts
Bryan Roberts has over 20 years of experience in the retail research and insights industry. This makes him a very popular figure to follow and collaborate with. He can help you create special marketing programs that can drive engagement and sales.
Over time, he’s developed a strong following on social media and through him, you can reach this massive audience. He also frequently contributes to several popular industry publications such as Retail Week. Following or collaborating with him can give you tremendous insights into the state of the retail industry.
5. Bob Phibbs
When it comes to retail influencers, no list can be complete without the mention of Bob Phibbs. Currently the CEO of The Retail Doctor, Bob has been in the industry for decades now. He’s an expert consultant in retail and is even a popular business mentor.
If you want to stay ahead of your competition, a collaboration with him is everything that you need. He’s helped hundreds of companies grow by beating their competitors. By collaborating with him, you can learn a lot about how you can improve your sales. He can even give you ideas about how to manage your employees in a better manner.
His blog is extremely popular and is read by hundreds of thousands of people every month. It was even named the “Best on the Planet for Retail” in 2017 and subsequently in 2018.
6. Andrew Busby
Serving as the CEO of Retail Reflections, Andrew is one of the most influential figures in the retail industry in the UK. He’s a popular speaker and a columnist at Retail Week. In the past, he used to be a retailer as well.
A member of the advisory board of Retail Week Prospect, he speaks and writes about customer experience frequently. He even publishes work on consumer psychology and technology. A collaboration with him can get you a lot of eyeballs from the UK retail market. Lastly, he can even give you insights into the future of the retail industry.
7. Natalie Berg
Natalie is the founder of NBK Retail and is a retail analyst. She’s got a number of years of experience behind her in the industry and has written a lot of books as well. From customer experience to ecommerce, she has published research on almost every topic in the industry.
Collaborating with her can give you tremendous insights into the industry. Additionally, it can give you access to her loyal audience. Lastly, she can help you understand the future of the industry and give you a better understanding of global retail trends as well.
8. Sarah Halzack
Sarah Halzack is a retail columnist for the Bloomberg Opinion. Previously, she served as the national retail reporter at the Washington Post. With years of experience in the industry, she has a deep understanding of the market.
Additionally, she has a loyal readership that looks forward to her insights on consumer trends and major retailers. Collaborating with Sarah can expand your brand’s reach by giving you access to her audience.
9. Clare Bailey
Clare is the founder of the Retail Champion and is one of the most prominent figures in the UK retail industry. She’s a well-respected retail expert in the country and has mentored lots of retail brands in her journey.
She’s also served as an analyst, trainer, and consultant to help retailers develop new strategies and grow their businesses. You too can collaborate with her and increase your audience size. She frequently speaks at conferences and is a broadcast media contributor too. Clare has also written two best-sellers.
10. Barbara Thau
Barbara specializes in the retail sector and is a business reporter by profession. She has written about a wide range of topics from consumer news to industry analysis pieces. Her in-depth research about the consumer economy and retail sector has won her many loyal followers.
A frequent contributor to Forbes, she writes the, “Minding the Store” column. You can get access to her highly-engaged audience by collaborating with her. She may also be able to advise you on the latest updates in the industry which may be helpful to your brand.
11. Nicole Leinbach
Nicole is the founder of Retail Minded, which is a trusted source of information for small business owners and retailers. She has a lot of helpful insights about the industry to share with people as well.
She takes the approach of speaking directly to independent retailers and provides them with effective solutions and news. You can collaborate with her to spread the word about your brand. At the same time, she can also provide you with information that can help your business flourish.
12. Chris H. Petersen
Chris serves as the CEO of Integrated Marketing Solutions. He specializes in leadership, marketing, and retail segments. He’s worked with numerous retailers all around the world for the past 3 decades and helped them grow.
He frequently shares news about the latest happenings in the industry. This has enabled him to develop a huge readership over time. You can get access to this audience by collaborating with him.
Final Thoughts
It can be quite a task to grow a retail business. However, by partnering with the right influencers, you can reach the right audience for your brand. You can even get some great advice from these industry thought leaders. Using a platform like Grin, you can manage all of your influencer marketing campaigns with ease too.
Learn more about influencer marketing: Influencer Marketing 101
