Consumers still love local retail shopping. Despite the increase of online shopping and decreasing numbers of local retail, 80% of the consumers in the DACH region claim to still enjoy shopping locally and will continue to do so in the future. But local stores are challenged to provide their on-the-go customers with new ideas and think of new ways how to drive mobile audience into their stores.
In reality, local stores have limited knowledge about the footfall and audience. Meaning that the actual conversion of an audience around a store into an in-store consumer remains uncertain and is based on guessing. Marketing Experts have limited data insights on their potential customer audience around their locations and don't know which products to promote when and to which audience.
Location data insights can make the conversion funnel of local customer purchases transparent, mobile advertising financially plannable and its RoI projectable. Similar what Google Analytics in the digital world becomes a replicable funnel in the physical world. What are the benefits and why should local retailers consider using location data for better planning, better Marketing and better customer service?
1. Local shopping has a 20% higher conversion rate of a purchase in comparison to the conversion rate in an online store
Item in stock? One key to drive nearby customers to store is by showing them items that are in stock. Customers that search mobile for available products can increase store visits by more than 110%. Using location-based Marketing for local stores has even more aspects: 50% of consumers who conduct a local search on their smartphone visit a store within a day.
Local retailers will need to consider how to increase their online presence in order to benefit from the online-offline conversion? One potential way of how to increase drive to store traffic is by placing inexpensive ads targeted in the store's geographic location, whenever consumers search online for products and services, they would be shown an advertisement by a local store nearby.
GDPR approved companies such as Adello, specialist for mobile advertising, offer self-service platforms that are easy to use and don't require big Marketing budgets for mobile advertising.
2. Knowing your footfall and audience will help to shape local retail offers for customers who 'stroll by'
Yes, majority of footfall traffic around stores is mobile and uses smartphones for optimized shopping consumer experience. But what about potential clients, who just stroll and enjoy their leisure time? According to various research sources, the shopping experience will outrule the pure consumption in the future. There will be a high chance that stores that make shopping a great experience will enjoy both: increasing their customer numbers and securing long-term customer loyalty.
Stores will need to think of ways how to still get insights of their local footfall. Tracking footfall with sensors is one option that will allow data insights on how many people are located around a store over daytime and week. Combining footfall data with audience data - provided by GPS mobile data, will provide data insights that will allow to shape window-offers, daily specials and provide information how to optimize store logistics.
3. Use DooH for interactive store windows
Digital out of home (DooH) is one way of showing advertising for a mobile audience and doesn't require the consumer to actively use their smartphone. Digital ads played out to the right audience. A study by POPAI (Point of Purchase Advertising International) states that the more time a consumer spends engaged with a brand the more likely they are to convert.
Connecting mobile devices and analyze a consumer for age, gender and interest e.g. by using GeoCTRL audience product will help local retailers to create advertising in the store window that will attract the consumer to enter their store.
Conclusion
Location-based Marketing tools can be huge drivers of store traffic. Combining them with a set of different hardware and software tools and connecting them to the store's payment system will be the basis of building a conversion tracking system for the physical world. Interested on how this might work for your retail?
