Recently, we surveyed a bunch of specialty retailers in an effort to gather data on the current state of retail. There’s a lot of chatter out there about the “retailpocalypse” and the idea that retail is dead.  But how true is that? Is it all of retail or just some of it?

So we asked these specialty retailers a simple question: Have you grown in the past year?  Turns out, 82% of them responded that they had, in fact, grown over the previous 12 months.

Maybe the rumors of retail being dead are unfounded.  Because specialty retail is clearly a vibrant, growing channel.

Intrigued, we followed up. What had these retailers done to achieve their growth? From the results we got back, it’s clear to us that there are three main things these retailers did to significantly contribute to their

Getting The Word Out On Social

The first main thing was social advertising. This one is pretty simple - our respondents were active advertisers on social channels, both paid and organic. Clearly, it paid off.

Events, Events, Events

Second, retailers that experienced growth last year held in-store and out-of-store events. Think weekend workshops and booths at community events. This is a bit more involved than social media advertising, obviously, but has the added benefit of engaging directly with their communities as well as giving them fresh new content for their social streams.

Brand Collaboration

Finally, the third thing they focused on was collaborating with brands they carried in their stores. This is where you, the brand, can likely plan a more active part. Imagine if they just placed an order with your brand and you said “here’s some ideas for you to advertise our product on social media” or “Are there any events I can participate in?”  This would not only satisfy their collaboration needs, but also assist them with their social advertising and events.

Collaborating with your retailers doesn’t have to be hard, and it creates a situation where you’re helping them succeed, which helps you succeed. It’s a true win-win.

The takeaway here is that retail, in fact, isn’t dead. Far from it. Boring retail may be falling behind, but specialty retail is alive and well and growing every day.  It’s time for your brand to take advantage of this momentum and become a strong partner to your retailers.