Marketing “refers to activities a company undertakes to promote the buying or selling of a product or service. [It] includes advertising, selling, and delivering products to consumers or other businesses.”
As we have transitioned to a digital world, marketing strategies have shifted to accommodate changing consumer demands, and brick-and-mortar stores have leaned on digital solutions to improve in-store marketing strategies. Let’s take a closer look.
What is In-Store Marketing?
In-store marketing refers to all marketing strategies implemented within a physical store. Instead of marketing to customers to enter the store, in-store marketing focuses on engaging and converting customers once they have entered a specific location.
What is In-Store Marketing Used For?
In-store marketing can be used for a variety of purposes, including the following:
- Promoting Products: Retailers can use in-store marketing to introduce new products and explain their features and benefits. They can also use it to increase sales by highlighting current promotions.
- Upselling/Cross-Selling: Stores can use in-store marketing to get people to spend more money by highlighting package deals for additional savings, promoting seasonal products, or explaining features of lesser-known products.
- Educating Customers: An important aspect of any marketing effort is customer education. Brands can use in-store marketing to raise customer awareness of available options or the benefits of different choices.
- Building Brand Recognition: Brands can use in-store marketing to tell their story. While most believe storytelling is for online spaces, brick-and-mortar stores have the advantage of making a real-time connection with shoppers, which can build customer loyalty.
- Entertaining: In-store marketing can keep customers entertained and engaged while they’re shopping. It provides an outlet for distraction and amusement, making the waiting process more palatable.
Effects of the Pandemic on In-Store Marketing
While many retailers have focused primarily on digital marketing strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic, they are now starting to reinvigorate their in-store marketing efforts. With shoppers eager to return to brick-and-mortar stores, businesses have an excellent opportunity to attract their attention with innovative in-store tech solutions that turn shopping into an experience and casual browsers into committed buyers.
Benefits of In-Store Marketing for Retailers
When done right, in-store marketing has many benefits. It’s not all about selling products, it’s more about offering a positive customer experience. Here are the top three benefits of successful in-store marketing tactics:
- Connecting with Customers: In-store marketing offers something online advertising lacks: the opportunity to make a real connection with shoppers. People need to feel and touch products before making a purchase. In fact, 72% of customers consider the in-store experience the most important channel when making a purchase.
- Converting Undecided Customers: Research shows that 70% of customers make their final purchasing decision in brick-and-mortar stores, not online. They may turn to the web for product information and customer reviews, but they still prefer to go to a store to complete the purchase. Retailers can close the deal with attention-grabbing in-store marketing.
- Leveraging Impulse Buying: In-store promotions can also help retailers encourage impulse purchases. According to studies, more than 40% of shoppers who buy from brick-and-mortar stores spend more than they had planned. Retailers can capitalize on this by convincing people to buy products along with what’s already on their shopping list.
Changing Consumer Values
Most people have started to raise their expectations when it comes to shopping. Gone are the days of speed and convenience, when shoppers would simply go out, purchase an item, and return home. Today, consumers want shopping to be more engaging – like it is online.
While e-commerce platforms have been offering experiences to shoppers for years, brick-and-mortar stores are relatively new to the game. However, they can no longer afford to ignore the reality that today’s consumers want more than just products; they want products accompanied by an experience that they can share with their friends.
Types of Technology Retailers Can Use to Elicit the Most Positive Effect
To meet these changing demands, marketing has had to evolve. No longer is in-store advertising limited to a set of static signs or cardboard end-cap promotions. With the growth of media channels and video display options, in-store marketing is now delivered through a variety of digital tools that make in-store advertising more interesting for customers and more effective for marketing.
Here are the most common in-store tech solutions offered today:
- Digital Signs: Instead of using static posters or signs, retailers now use digital signs to share ads and messages through video and multimedia presentations.
- Wi-Fi (personal devices): Many retailers offer free Wi-Fi service on-site, which they use to promote various products and services. They also encourage shoppers to check in on social media and share related updates.
- Audio Messaging: Overhead messaging allows retailers to speak directly to in-store shoppers and relay information about sales, promotions, specific store departments, and special events.
- Wayfinding Screens: Retailers use wayfinding technology to guide shoppers to the items they’re looking for on-site and educate them on the items’ features and benefits.
- Interactive Kiosks: In-store kiosks provide shoppers with high-quality customer service. They are convenient when searching for product pricing, availability, reviews, feature comparison, limited-time offers, and more.
Ombori Solutions to Use for In-Store Marketing Purposes
Many companies, including Ombori, offer innovative solutions to help retailers boost their in-store marketing efforts. This Swedish-based company specializes in bridging the gap between the digital and physical retail worlds through technology.
Here are some Ombori tools that retailers can use for in-store marketing purposes:
Ombori Digital Signage
In-store advertising is all about appealing to customers here and now; so, one of the most obvious ways to grab shoppers’ attention is through digital signs. Retailers can use Ombori Digital Signage for a variety of purposes in their brick-and-mortar stores.
This tool allows them to create custom animations, videos, and interactive in-store advertising to influence buying behavior and build brand loyalty. Retailers can use digital signs to help customers learn about products and promotional packages or guide their eyes to specific upselling or cross-selling opportunities. Signage is one of the best options to grow sales and get shoppers to spend a few more dollars every time they enter the store.
Ombori Sales Remote
Another effective tool offered by Ombori is Sales Remote. This innovative technology allows sales associates to present products on a large screen to small groups of people in a brick-and-mortar establishment.
They can use it to showcase high-value items such as home improvement projects, electronics, or cars with ease through either a mobile device or voice activation. Presentations can include text, images, video, audio, and other marketing materials. Customers benefit from having access to knowledgeable sales staff who can access a large volume of up-to-date promotional material – something they can’t find online.
Ombori Web Kiosk
Ombori Web Kiosk is perfect for educating and entertaining customers on the premises. This interactive tool allows shoppers to browse products and place orders, avoiding long queues and increasing customer satisfaction. It also provides real-time information to both shoppers and employees and collects valuable data to help retailers improve operations and increase sales.
Kiosks can be placed throughout the store based on foot traffic and, if used effectively, can create a positive in-store experience that shoppers will remember, drawing them back to the brand for future sales.
Marketing to a Captive Audience
Research shows that it pays for retailers to market to in-store shoppers. They are the most engaged prospects a business can have. They are already familiar with the brand, interested in the store’s products and services, and just steps away from making planned – and, perhaps, unplanned purchases. Various innovative tech solutions exist to help retailers reach this captive audience and close the sale.
