Have you ever tried shopper marketing? In today’s evolving retail landscape, it is more important than ever to focus on the in-store shopping experience. With low-cost e-tailers like Amazon and eBay becoming the norm, bricks and mortar retailers need to work harder to attract customers.
One way to coax customers into your store is shopper marketing.
What is shopper marketing?
Once a consumer steps into a store, he or she becomes a ‘shopper’ and is susceptible to an array of carefully curated shopper marketing strategies, ranging from in-store shopping phone apps, to attractive end-of-aisle displays.
Shopper marketing strategies focus on the path to purchase, taking into consideration what is on shoppers’ minds when they are planning and executing their shopping trips; from shopping lists, holidays and health conditions, to price comparisons or special offers.
Understanding how your shopper approaches these topics and how you might intercept them can help you impact their purchase decisions.
Here are a few tips to help you make the most of your shopper marketing strategy:
1. Integrate Your Online and Offline Presence
E-commerce may be here to stay, but consumers still want the option to shop in-store. It is therefore imperative that you ensure consistency between your online and in-store marketing efforts.
Consider using online promotions to drive consumers into stores, or look into emerging technologies that allow shoppers to interact with you online, while they are in store.
2. Localize Intelligently
The chances are that what works in a store in London probably won’t work the same in Glasgow. You need to focus on what the consumers in your area want – do your research and produce localized assortments and planograms.
One recent study revealed that Millennials prefer to shop in stores that have a local neighbourhood feel. So, if Millennials are your core shoppers, you need to focus on their preferences and cater the in-store experience to them.
3. Test before you invest
You wouldn’t dream of launching a new website without carrying out usability testing – and neither should you when implementing shopper marketing tactics.
One way to gauge consumers’ opinion is using an Interactive Shelf Testing Platform like EyeSee, which makes it possible to test the impact of shopper marketing on sales through virtual shopping games.
The platform combines the benefits of virtual store simulators and questionnaires: Consumers see pictures of actual shelves, recreated in the same environment as they would in the real store. While they shop, EyeSee tracks their eyes and knows exactly what draws their attention, for how long they look at a particular element and what, at the same time, goes unnoticed.
Hotcow is a non-traditional creative agency that specialises in experiential marketing that goes viral. Our campaigns generate buzz through crowd participation, PR and content sharing. Contact us on 0207 50 30442 or email us on info@hotcow.co.uk.
