There's
plenty of hype surrounding the rise of Ecommerce with an expected
$340
billion to be spent online in the USA this year! But does this mean
that we're about to see the death of the traditional brick and mortar
store?
Absolutely
not.
Sure,
shopping online has it's benefits: it's convenient and often provides
more variety. But selling
in person
has huge advantages too. There's something about physically touching
and seeing the product before buying that draws people into a
physical store.
The
key is to get both online and offline to work together to get more
people visiting every store you own. So how do you use your online
channels to push people in-store?
Take
a look at this post to find out...
1.
Showcase positive experiences
Your
social channels are the perfect place to show your customers exactly
what they can expect if they visit your physical store. When people
click to follow you, they don't always want to be fed promotions in
every post.
We
already know that consumers
trust peer recommendations
ahead of ads, so by showing people enjoying a positive experience
with your brand, this can help to push people in your store.
Take
a look at Target to find some great examples of how they showcase
positive in-store experiences. They posted this image below on their
Twitter feed to show two kids dressed up as Star Wars characters...
Why
does it work?
-
It
takes advantage of a popular franchise – Star Wars.
-
It
shows two people having fun in a Target store.
-
It
features products that they sell in-store.
-
It's
a customer photo, rather than one that has been created by Target
themselves.
The
more you encourage customers to share their in-store experience with
the online world, the better chance you will have of getting people
to visit your physical stores.
2.
Incentivize with discounts
If
you want to get more people to visit your physical store then running
a promotion can definitely help. And considering 91%
of consumers check their email every day, an email marketing campaign
is the perfect place to start.
This
email from Bed Bath & Beyond, offers a great example of a brand
encouraging their customers to visit their store using a discount.
The email comes with the promise of 20% off and asks the customer to
either print out the email, or bring it with them to the checkout
during the time of the promotion....
3.
Show off your latest products
Using
your online channels to tell everyone about the latest products is a
great way to push people in-store. You could include it as a regular
feature on your social channel and assign a hashtag to it, so that
customers come to expect it and look forward to it each week.
This
example below comes from Garden Center Gertens. They've uploaded a
full set of photo's with the latest bulbs that customers can buy to
get ready for fall...
Why
does it work?
-
It
shows the various in-store images of the product and what they will
look like once grown.
-
They've
added a touch of humour to the post – to show off the face behind
the brand.
-
They
use images – Facebook posts get a 37%
higher level engagement when photos are included.
4.
Shout about events
By
celebrating an event in-store, you can create a buzz about it online
and then push people to come and celebrate with you in-store. Whether
it's Christmas, Thanksgiving, Labor day, or International Dog Day
(yep that's a thing), customers will love to see you celebrating
events.
Toys
R Us certainly know a thing or two about how to get their audience
excited for new toys! As you can see from this post below on their
Facebook page, they're letting their audience know that they will be
celebrating the launch of a new game by holding an event to play it
in-store.
Why
does it work?
-
It
celebrates the launch of a brand new game in a unique way.
-
The
business understands what their customers want – by encouraging
them to visit the store and play a game.
-
It
clearly states the date and time of the launch.
-
It
features the branding of the game to get fans super excited.
5.
Show them where your stores are
How
do you expect customers to visit your stores if they don't know where
to find them? The internet has made everything accessible, so rather
than a customer aimlessly wandering around a city to find your store,
their first port of call will be to visit your website.
So
for example on the Starbucks website you can click 'Find a Store' and
be taken to a map of your country and then locate the nearest store
to your location...
Why
does it work?
-
It's
a visual map helping customers locate any store that they need.
-
It's
easy to use and you can filter the map depending on their individual
requirements.
-
It's
something that your customers will look for on your site if they
want to visit you in-store.
6.
Create a mobile app
Did
you know that 70%
of iPhone users will use apps or web browsers to assist them with
their purchase before stepping into the store? And, 38% of all
smartphone users check availability of a product through an app?
Smartphone's have taken over our lives, so it makes sense to keep
this in mind when promoting to your audience.
Ensuring
your online channels are responsive across all devices is a given,
but have you ever thought about creating an app for your business?
Not only will an app act as the perfect reminder that you exist, but
you can use it to let customers know what products you have in store
at that given moment, so they can come and visit you!
Why
does it work?
-
It
provides accessibility for your customers
-
It's
a handy way for shoppers to keep up to date with your merchandise
-
You
can use the app to send push notifications to bring people in-store
Creating
your app may sound complex, but this
Forbes article
tells you how to do it in 12 easy steps!
7. Try
click and collect
Click
and collect is another great way to unify your online channels with
your brick and mortar store. The idea is that the customer can choose
the products from your website and then pick them up in-store - and
the stats show that shoppers love the convenience of it - with 79%
of consumers using this method to complete their purchases.
It's
a popular method amongst grocery stores including Walmart, but
there's no reason why any kind of business can't adopt it. A popular
UK retailer Argos, is known for it's convenient click and collect
solution. Their customers can shop for any product they like on their
website, and then choose to collect them in-store that very same
day...
Why
does it work?
-
It's
highly convenient.
-
Consumers
really like it.
-
It
offers more solutions to help bring people in-store.
-
It's
a guaranteed purchase.
Takeaway
The
takeaway here is that you truly need to embrace the omni-channel
way of thinking. Whether a person is viewing your website, looking at
your social channel, or visiting your retail store, customers expect
the same experience whenever they come into contact with your brand.
By
adopting these top tactics above and making sure you create a unified
customer experience, you'll see far more people walk through your
doors.
Are
you thinking about setting up a physical store? Take a look at our
mobile
card reader
solution to see how easy it is for anyone to do!