Best Marketing Strategies For Retail Stores
High levels of competition, rising overheads, staff issues, and people switching to online shopping have all combined to create an incredibly challenging trading environment for physical outlet retailers.
This is regardless of whether they are operating in fashion, homeware, food, beauty, leisure, or other sectors. If they have a physical store and staff, making a profit has become increasingly difficult.
As a result, many outlets have had to shut their doors. In 2020, the number of stores closing in the USA rose by 14.8% from the year before.
A trend that continues. Of those that remain the ones that are making the most significant profits are the retailers that are skilled at in-store marketing.
Below, we take a look at the different methods available and outline how effective each approach is. This article aims to help real-world retailers to understand what their options are and determine which of them are likely to provide the best ROI.
Window Displays That Pop And Attract
Attracting people to their stores is the first hurdle that physical retailers need to overcome. Once consumers walk through the door providing them with a good experience and tempting them with the right offers is relatively simple.
Creating an eye-catching and attractive window display is one of the best ways to stop people from simply strolling past a store.
A recent study carried out by the Department of Fashion Technology, PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore, India found that 31.5% of fashion shoppers enter a store because of an eye-catching window display.
They give passers-by a taste of what is available inside, acting as a calling card for the store. Importantly, it does not have to cost a fortune to put an eye-catching one together, so this form of marketing is worth investigating.
It could be as simple as setting up a large digital screen that displays offers and examples of the merchandise that is likely to appeal to the type of people using the shopping center.
Highly Flexible In-Store Signage Advertising And Marketing
These screens can also be used to good effect inside the store. Research shows that properly deployed in-store digital signage can significantly increase sales as well as help to build the brand and improve customer loyalty.
Numerous studies have shown that sales of items that are promoted using in-store digital screens increase by at least 10%. Sometimes the item sells through almost immediately.
Many of the studies that show this effect are outlined in this ResearchGate paper which looks closely at the impact digital signage has on several aspects of consumer behavior.
Interactive Displays
It is now also possible to make some of the digital display screens used in-store interactive. This opens up the opportunity to provide potential customers with extra information, which increases the likelihood of making a sale.
For example, a special offer for a raincoat that is broadcast using a touch screen could have a “click here to find out more” button incorporated into the image.
Once clicked, that could take the consumer to another screen that tells them whether it is available in that store in their size and, if it is not, perhaps gives them a chance to order it online.
Embedding QR codes into digital screen ads is another approach that works well. A lot of consumers are willing to scan them to be entered into a prize draw, which provides the opportunity for the retailer to ask them for their phone numbers.
Provided the consumer agrees, further direct mail-style advertising can periodically be sent to that number. Research into the effectiveness of interactive digital screen-based marketing is still at an early stage. But you can read more about it here.
Product Demonstrations
We are visual creatures, so we respond well to product demonstrations. Showing people how effective a food processor is in a real-time demo is far more effective than doing something similar using a video.
When you invite people to give the item a try themselves or let them taste a food or drink product, the power of in-store product demonstrations only increases.
The above is just an overview of a few of the more modern in-store marketing methods and their effectiveness. It does not tell retailers everything they need to know about each approach.
But it is a good starting point, which enables them to select which ones to try first. With just a few weeks of experimentation and results tracking most store owners can identify which forms of in-store marketing are most effective for their particular business and locale.
Conclusion
The world of retail is constantly developing, and staying on top of the latest marketing strategies is necessary for success. By executing some of the best marketing methods outlined in this post, retail stores can attract new customers, retain existing ones, and ultimately grow their bottom line.
Remember to keep experimenting with new ideas and techniques to keep your marketing approach fresh and engaging for your audience.
