Relying on deals and sales for growth is a recipe for disaster. And yet, some leading retailers stick to it.

It may be a desperate attempt at competing again because they’re simply so out of touch with what it takes to succeed in retail today that they don’t know what else to do.

Believe it or not, and if you read this blog regularly you hear us say this all the time, Amazon’s existence does not have as much responsibility for the demise of leading retail powers as some think.

Many retailers shoot themselves in the foot simply because they haven’t adjusted to what it takes to succeed in 2019. They still want to use retail strategies from the 1990s (and even from before that).

Deals and sales can be a good thing. Customers like those. But if you primarily rely on those to keep going, you’re in trouble.

Here’s what makes two leading retail brands so loveable that customers don’t need deals and sales all the time to stay interested:

1. Publix

Publix is America’s most beloved grocery store chain. It’s a small regional chain located in the Southeast.

Employees truly take service to a different level. Managers and cashiers get to know you by name. They’ll tell you when your favorite items go on sale. They may even know your childrens’ names.

They have a high-quality store brand which doesn’t disappoint. They also have amazing fried chicken (the best in the South, some say), a top-notch bakery, and superb subs.

Publix also has kiosks with a live instructor who cooks simple and delicious recipes. Next to this demo, you’ll find a recipe card and all the ingredients. This makes homemade meals as easy as you can get.

You hear us chatter about in-store experience. Publix nails it!

2. Costco

Believe it or not, grocery stores dominate the list of the most beloved retailers in America. Wegman’s, Trader Joe’s, Kroger, and Aldi rock the house.

Costco isn’t exclusively a grocer, although it is their focus. However, yet another reason consumers love Costco is its haggle-free car buying program.

Yes. Costco has one. And it sold 520,000 cars in 2017. Costco simply connects you to local participating dealers so you get the best price and don’t have to deal with a car salesman pressuring you into something you don’t want to do.

It’s also a large pizza chain. No one goes to Costco exclusively for the pizza. But, they do have it available in their mini in-store food court. And it’s delicious enough and done exactly the way pizza should be – oily, cheesy, and large.

Saturday mornings, when most consumers go shopping, have a marketplace atmosphere. Costco has a couple dozen employees out passing samples.

They pay their workers the best in the industry, which only makes them too happy to provide stellar service.

And to top it off, Kirkland, its store brand, retains high quality at lower prices.

So these two retailers, one large and national, and the other smaller and regional, have secure positions in the market. Amazon does not, will not, and cannot stamp them out of existence.

They do the in-store experience too well. What can your brand do to rise to the top in your customer’s minds?