The Retailer’s Guide to Marketing Resilience: 10 Challenges — and How to Solve Them, Part 1

6/22/2026

Achieving retail success in 2026 requires marketers to take a hard look at their current strategies and ask themselves some difficult questions. For instance:

• Are you truly aware of your customers’ current wants and needs, or are you relying on assumptions made over time?
• Are you proactively seeking out new ways to help customers find their way to your door, or are you still relying on the same channels you have used in the past? 
• Are you pursuing all the technology now available to you, or are you still relying on legacy systems?
• Are you ensuring your sales staff realizes they can play a major role in driving the company’s success, or do they see themselves simply as cashiers? 

In part one of this two-part blog, we’ll examine five of the 10 leading challenges that retailers face today, and provide you with actionable solutions for each. Plus, we'll showcase three brands we've worked with — a national mobile phone retailer, a home improvement retailer, and a regional farm supply chain — who have experienced meaningful impact by implementing those solutions.

1. Overcoming analysis paralysis

Retailers often waste valuable time and resources trying to perfectly plan out all of the possible variables and contingencies before launching a customer data initiative. In pursuit of this “perfect plan,” the effort can stall out or, worse, be lost in organizational limbo, never to see the light of day. As many organizations have learned, however, a good plan today is often better than a great plan six months from now. By pushing forward, a retailer can quickly learn what works, what doesn’t, and determine which elements need adjusting.

The solution: Media mix modeling (MMM) and predictive analytics. Launch small, learn quickly, and iterate rather than waiting for a perfectly engineered, comprehensive solution. By deploying unified systems built on robust data, your brand can more accurately simulate full-funnel marketing outcomes directly to your P&L with a lower margin of error.

The impact: By implementing MMM, a nationwide mobile phone retailer was able to predict their next 13 weeks of sales with 96% accuracy. This high level of forecasting allowed them to quickly enact various changes that would double their return on ad spend (ROAS). 

2. Working with disconnected and siloed data systems 

You have the data, but it’s rarely clean and straightforward. Or, you have an overwhelming amount of data — but little or no way to organize it and have it all make sense. While nearly all executives view accurate, trusted data as very or extremely important to their organization's success, according to a recent study by OneStream, nearly half (47%) admit they have made a material business decision based on inaccurate, incomplete, or outdated financial data in the past 12 months. Data that can’t be utilized is the equivalent of buried treasure without a map — there’s potential value there somewhere, you just may not ever be able to find it, let alone put it to good use. 

The solution: Secure a win by building automations triggered off of the reporting you’re already using — not by trying to over-engineer data that you have yet to leverage. You could, for instance, select one specific, high-return customer journey or marketing action (abandoned cart, post-purchase follow-up, etc.) that can be triggered by data from a single existing report rather than trying to connect everything. You’ll be able to demonstrate value quickly and build momentum for deeper integration work later. Working with a marketing partner can help you fast-track the process.

The impact: A regional home improvement store was able to take incremental steps, immediately making do with existing reports — while working to clean up and dig in deeper on their data on the back end. They were able to get to market faster in the current time frame and then make slow but steady improvement over time. 

3. Shifting from legacy channels 

You realize you need to adopt new tactics. Your current tactics won’t work forever — consumers are evolving, and you need to ensure your channels connect with your customers and extend value where and when they want it. But testing new (digital) channels can create internal friction fueled by concerns over risk.

The solution: Don’t assume that testing requires a massive budget. You could, for example, take a small portion of your existing media budgets and apply it toward a new touchpoint like CTV or influencer marketing. This allows you to get the trial you need without the tension of justifying additional ad spend. 

The impact: A regional farm supply chain was able to leverage their 1st-party data to fuel a social media campaign. The result was a 65% increase in engagement and CTR. In addition, they noted that the test itself boosted sales lift in some of their lower-volume stores. They were able to accomplish all of this without adding to their overall media budget.

4. Misunderstanding the customer

Too many campaigns are built on assumptions about the audience — rather than who they really are and what they actually want. 

The solution: Let your ad campaigns help educate you about your customer. When campaigns are based on results (instead of just “gut feelings”), you’ll discover what really moves the needle and drives sales. Make decisions based on measurement and customer experience — purchase frequency, browsing habits, content consumption — rather than on broad demographic assumptions. 

The impact: A regional home improvement store built a referral program for designers, but an examination of the data revealed that contractors were the ones actually using it. Willing to listen and learn — and motivated to grow their business — the retailer pivoted their messaging so they could reach the people that were truly using the program. 

5. Underestimating consumer tech literacy

Retailers sometimes avoid launching certain digital conveniences or tactics — buy online, pick up in store; social media, etc. — because they assume their demographic isn’t tech-savvy enough to adopt them.  

The solution: Test! Build a minimum viable product and test it. You may find that your audience will surprise you. One way to lessen any perceived risk is to offer a temporary, low-cost incentive (e.g., free item with first app purchase) during the testing phase — this can overcome the initial hurdle of trying a new channel while garnering the data required to validate or disprove assumptions about the audience.

The impact: A regional farm supply retailer decided to launch an unpolished e-commerce site during the COVID pandemic. They discovered that their older, bulk-buying consumers loved the convenience, and their appetite validated the additional investment in a fully digital experience. 

Read part two of The Retailer’s Guide to Marketing Resilience: 10 Challenges — and How to Solve Them here.

Iridio℠ by RRD simplifies marketing complexity by unifying creative, media, and data and analytics in one platform. As a trusted marketing partner to top brands in retail, healthcare, financial services, and other industries, Iridio's data-driven solutions connect brands with their audiences at defining moments.