Customers are slowly coming back to stores and they expect retailers to create amazing experiences. Since eCommerce is growing and the pandemic accelerated that growth, physical retailers need to find new, innovative ways to engage with shoppers and increase sales.
Stats show that customers are spending less time in-store, which means that retailers need to quickly grab the attention of shoppers and convince them to make a purchase. As you know, the less time shoppers spend in the stores, the fewer products they purchase. This is because they don’t have the time to see all of the promotions, read all of the labels, and so on.
In this article, we are going to talk about retail marketing strategies that will help you grab the attention of customers, engage with them, and convince them to spend more, no matter how much time they spend in the store.
What is retail marketing?
Retail marketing is a form of marketing that incorporates all of the strategies and tactics retailers use to attract shoppers and increase sales. Retail marketing is used by both online and brick-and-mortar retailers, but the tactics used differ.
While online retailers have technology on their side, brick and mortar retailers usually rely on more traditional marketing tactics. For example, eCommerce platforms run ads to show their promotions. Brick and mortar retailers use POP displays and flyers to raise awareness and promote their products.
Although the tactics might be different, all retailers want the same things: to have more customers and bigger sales.
Let’s see how you can achieve this with the best retail marketing strategies.
Top retail marketing strategies
1. Leverage social media
No matter if you are an online retailer or you have a physical store, social media is your friend. People love to spend time on social media. Actually, people are using social media, on average, for 145 minutes a day. While they might like and share their friend’s photos, they are also looking for offers, promotions, and loyalty programs.
If you have a physical location, you can still have social media accounts where you can show off your latest offer, promote products, and engage with customers. You have the opportunity to build a community. People like to be a part of a bigger community and social media offers you this possibility.
Define your target audience and find the right types of posts. Then, keep posting regularly. Make sure to answer as soon as possible when a customer asks you anything. Also, you should reply to comments and actively engage with people on the social media pages of your store.
2. Find innovative tools and solutions
Technology helps businesses grow faster because it gets rid of boring or hard tasks. Also, technology can be used for entertainment or as a way to attract attention. Using technology in-store is a great way to grab the attention of your customers and offer them an amazing experience.
Retail robots are the biggest hit for big physical retailers. A robot that can clean up spills or a robot that can tell you when some products are out of stock are both great assets. But what about a robot that can promote your products? Tokinomo, the robotic POP display, can make products talk, dance, sing, and move in order to promote themselves. Also, a campaign implemented with Tokinomo usually leads to a 200% increase in sales.
3. Provide adequate training for your employees
People don’t do business with brands, they engage with other people. This is why you need to train your employees and show them how they need to act. Your employees are the image of your brand. The way they act is the way customers are going to perceive your brand.
Establish what type of store you want to have and how involved your employees should be. For example, there are stores where an employee guides you at every step of the way and there are stores where you know you have to go and ask an employee for guidance.
These are three retail marketing strategies that you should try to implement in-store. See which ones work for you. Always test and adapt because every business is different. Remember that the most important part of your business is always the customer.
Author bio:
Nicoleta Niculescu is a Content Marketing Specialist at Tokinomo, the most innovative brand activation solution for retailers and consumer goods brands. Tokinomo advertising robots bring CPG products to life on the shelf and lift sales by an average of 200%.
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