Although e-commerce grew substantially during the pandemic, more than 85% of retail sales across the United States take place at physical store locations. It makes sense, then, for retailers to take advantage of this opportunity to drive sales growth.
As the internet phases out third-party cookies and other digital identifiers, more and more brands are looking for new ways to reach consumers. One approach involves first-party data, which can enable retail media networks to offer various types of digital advertisement opportunities that are more relevant to buyers’ interests and more conscious of their privacy.
Still, with inflation taking a toll on profits at both ends of the supply chain and people becoming more price-sensitive due to the resulting cost increases, it’s important to recognize how retail media can act as an indispensable lifeline for retailers.
Here are three of the most significant ways that in-store media can drive sales growth for your brand:
1. Connect with unengaged customers
It is imperative that you are able to connect with unengaged customers. These are individuals who may have visited your store in the past but have not actually made a purchase or truly engaged with your brand. By leveraging in-store retail media, you can help capture their attention and drive sales.
Omnichannel experiences have become a popular means of accomplishing this. “The big trend we are seeing among leading retailers is their desire to make in-store retail media a cohesive omnichannel experience,” says Garrett Dodge, cofounder and CEO of Rockbot, a multiproduct media platform that delivers enhanced in-location customer experiences. “They want to deliver messaging, promotions, and advertisements to shoppers in an immersive, 360-degree way—leveraging audio, video, and digital signage throughout the shopping journey.”
This can help engage otherwise apathetic customers and increase the likelihood of capturing their attention and sparking their interest in your brand. Touch screens, interactive displays, and even kiosks can all work exceptionally well for this purpose. These methods actively engage potential customers with product information, capture their attention, and make lasting impressions.
2. Deliver targeted brand promotions to customers
Using these methods to tailor advertisements to specific customer demographics, purchase histories, or preferences allows you to deliver content that is much more relevant to your audience. One of the most effective methods for this is to use personalized mobile marketing campaigns, which leverage data on various customers to determine their preferences based on their purchase histories.
This enables retailers to send messages that are individually customized to phones to increase customers’ interest. As a result, customers can become more aware of exclusive offers, and you can create a sense of urgency that encourages them to take advantage of those offers.
For example, retailers can use in-store digital signage packed with eye-catching visuals and relevant messages to showcase promotions and special offers in real time to ensure that customers are aware of them.
3. Enhance customer experience and loyalty
Retail media plays a vital role in enhancing the customer experience and fostering loyalty. Utilizing in-store advertising enables retailers to create more personalized shopping journeys for each of their customers. This can be achieved through recommendations, targeted promotions, and interactive displays that engage shoppers on much deeper levels. Not only does this provide value to the customer directly, but it also increases their satisfaction with their overall shopping experiences.
Enhancing the customer experience is vital when it comes to building loyalty in brick-and-mortar stores. Delivering these targeted promotions and creating interactive experiences allows you to gather valuable feedback from customers, which can be helpful when you’re trying to cultivate long-lasting relationships with your audience.
It is more important than ever for retailers to utilize every tool at their disposal to reach and engage with shoppers. Retail media offers a unique opportunity to do just that, giving them the means to deliver targeted messages directly to consumers during critical moments of in-store shopping. By understanding the metrics around retail media campaigns, retailers can gain valuable insights into what resonates with their audiences and make data-driven decisions for future advertising and marketing strategies.
As technology continues to evolve and shape the retail industry, it will be extremely critical to leverage retail media. There has never been a better time to invest in these improvements to boost current and future sales.
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