At a time when retailers are seeing an increase in online spending, and people are using shopping centres as a form of entertainment, experiential marketing becomes a great asset to drive footfall in-store and keep it coming.
In the battle for consumer’s attention, retailers have to be more creative in the tactics they use to drive consumers into their stores. According to a report from Econsultancy, 85% of UK consumers regularly use the Internet to research before buying in-store, whilst 65% of consumers will check the products in-store before buying online. With the growing demand for multi-channel retail, and the tough competition on the High Street, brands need to adapt to the ever-changing consumer behaviour, or face losing business to savvier companies.
Most brands traditionally use PR and marketing to drive consumers in-store and boost sales. Those now enjoying the great success are also implementing new ways to enhance the customer experience, using experiential marketing to make access to products easier, simplify the purchasing process, and creating smart ways of introducing consumers to what’s on offer.
Retailers have been pulling out all the stops to embrace the ‘shoppertainment’ trend and give consumers a shopping experience to remember. However, to drive the right type of consumers into your store, you need firstly to remind them that you are there. Secondly, there needs to be a reason to be driven into the store. This is when experiential marketing takes place. When putting experiences in front of or near your retail store, you can reap the rewards of: 1/driving awareness to your brand, and 2/ give your consumers a reason to visit your store.
A recent tactic adopted by retailers to increase awareness and sales is creating temporary pop-up shops. With a good planning and a relatively low budget, brands can craft immersive brand experiences where consumers will be able to try and test the products, receive samples and give-aways, thus making it easier to target new areas with lots of consumer footfall.
Integrating digital technology into the overall shopping experience can also help bring more customers into your store. More and more, we have seen retailers getting their creative juices flowing, and crafting amazing interactive experiences utilising their storefront windows. Consumers are looking to be ‘wowed’, and by making your window display creative and interactive, you can reap the rewards of getting the attention of passers-by and driving traffic in-store.
Consumers value brands that approach them with experiences that are fun and engaging. As well as using emerging technologies and social media to help catch the attention of consumers, experiential marketing can be applied in various fresh and funky forms to provide a more useful and enjoyable shopping experience for your customers.
Hotcow tips to attract the right kind of shoppers to your store:
1. Know why your existing loyal customers love your store and your products.
2. Tell more people about these reasons.
3. Continue to tell people more consistently to not lose the momentum.
Don’t miss out on the opportunity to retain potential customers. Contact Hotcow to help you improve your retailing experience.