Retail is a challenging business sector, due in part to the evolving nature of the consumer. Indeed, brick-and-mortar retailers closed nearly 7,000 stores last year, according to a recent Yes Marketing report, “Surviving the Retail Apocalypse.” The marketing firm outlined eight strategies that it believes can help retailers adapt to this difficult operating environment, even as they are faced with a growing threat from online giants such as Amazon.

“More and more, consumers turn to the internet to shop, forcing traditional brick-and-mortar retailers to pivot or lose business,” the report noted. “The good news for marketers is that they can compete with Amazon in certain areas, especially when it comes to shopper demands for better personalization, exclusive mobile offerings and quality in-store experiences.”

A copy of the Yes Marketing report can be downloaded here.

Email is an important “personalization” tool for brick-and-mortar retailers to utilize, according to the Yes Marketing report. In fact, the report says, marketers earn $44 in ROI for every $1 spent on email marketing. One reason for this is that nearly half of consumers (47 percent) rank email as their preferred channel for communicating with retailers, the reported noted.

“Email is so prominent for consumers that even if they don’t open a brand’s message, they’re still paying attention to what the brand sends,” the report noted. The study found that more than four in 10 consumers (42 percent) said they don’t unsubscribe from emails they don’t read, but, instead, scan the subject lines to determine if the content might be something they’ll want to open eventually.

“At a time when competition is high and loyalty is fleeting, marketers must do everything they can to differentiate themselves on their customers’ preferred channel,” the report noted. “Subscribers’ instinct to read subject lines presents retailers with an opportunity to gain a competitive edge in the inbox. With effective subject lines, retailers can engage subscribers, boost open rates and generate more conversions from email.”