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IDEM reports a significant increase in the cherry pickers group of buyers ("taking the cherry off the cake"): they commit 50% of their expenses, focusing only on unique offers and promotions. They have no loyalty to both the brand and the outlet, such customers move from one shopping center to another, from one store to another in search of an attractive price. "Buying behavior is gradually changing towards reasonable and economical consumption," reflects Ekaterina Gress. – The reason is obvious – revenues are falling, and the way out of the crisis, judging by everything, is still far away».

Olga Yarullina, director of the retail real estate department of S.A. Ricci, agrees: it is too early to say that the Russian buyer has "calmed down" and is ready to spend large sums on clothes. "But even here, some fashion houses and well-known designers, in an attempt to attract a new audience, began to produce collections for the mass market (Louis Vuitton, Alexander Wang, Lanvin and others)," the expert clarifies. Brands are ready to use all means in the struggle for the buyer's wallet: discounts, loyalty programs and promotions. So, the Rendez-Vouz shoe brand treats visitors to coffee shops, and Pull& Bear and a number of other brands offer a service for fitting clothes to the figure (though for a fee). Nike conducts free yoga, fitness, basketball workouts at its flagship store on Kuznetsky Most.

According to S.A. Ricci, discount promotions still generate high traffic, which is confirmed by queues in stores during the sales season. Original marketing moves also affect sales: for example, the Kiehl's brand (the average check is 1.5 thousand rubles) launched a collection of signatures on its website for the brand to arrange a large-scale discount campaign in Russia for the first time - a 20% discount on products. The link to the company's website had to be shared on social networks, and the number of signatures eventually exceeded several times the established plan of 5 thousand. The action took place. Thus, a new audience was attracted. "Indeed, promotions and discounts have become more progressive, but no one has canceled the effect of stupid dumping, and I think this year we will already see massively such rare offers in the past "70% OFF" during the sales period, " supported by Mikhail Petrov, CEO of Smart Estate Moscow. – ​In the trend – closed stocks « for their own ».

According to Mikhail Petrov, the Moscow market now resembles the St. Petersburg market, where the purchase is traditionally carried out in several stages. "The first visit is an independent selection and fitting, the second is a visit with her husband, the third is a visit with her family and buying things for the whole family at once," Mr. Petrov lists. – Price matters in the case of an equal quality alternative. For example, a buyer accustomed to premium brands will easily prefer a Russian designer or an unknown Western brand with good quality tailoring and a lower price. This forced the stores to expand the assortment of the lower price segment. Department stores such as TSUM have increased the offer of inexpensive ordinary items in the new season: a sweatshirt for 4 thousand rubles, a leotard for 4 thousand rubles, a insulated jacket for 15 thousand rubles and above, since there has been a sharp increase in sales of this segment, which has not been observed before.

IDEM supports: low-cost clothing and footwear stores, such as Familia, O’STIN, Funday, were most actively developing in 2017. The company also reports on the dynamic development of second-hand stores and various stock formats. "Today, every district shopping center or shopping center in a small town has a similar store in its composition, most often in the format of a supermarket with an area of 500, 700 or even 1,000 square meters," says Ekaterina Gress. – ​According to the managers, these stores generate very good flows. Based on the research that our company regularly conducts in various cities, developing the concepts of shopping centers, we can say that the price, discounts and promotions are often crucial when making a decision about buying and visiting a shopping center or a specific store.

To be continued.

Text: Evgeny Arsenin

Photo: shutterstock.com