Think back to the last time you bought something in-store. Did you research it online and research it first? I bet you did… and that makes you an ‘omnishopper’!
An omnishopper is someone who utilises more than one retail channel when shopping. Perhaps they research online and buy in-store, buy online and collect in store or research in-store and buy online.
Bricks-and-mortar stores should be harnessing the power of digital marketing to increase in-store visits. Whether your website is a fun place to browse your range or an educational site with in-depth information about your products, it is integral for conversation and conversion.
Here are some tips on how to increase website traffic and then use the ensuing website data to activate in-store sales.
Harness data power
Data is important. To be able to drill down and understand buyer behaviour, you need the following metrics: look at what users bought or browsed, the devices they used to access the site, the times they visited, how they arrived on your page and where they went next.
Drive traffic to your website
To generate traffic, you must have a compelling and attractive site that encourages people want to do business with you. It must be active and updated with high-quality content and it must make use of search engine optimisation (SEO).
This means you have done keyword research and have included these keywords on your page, ensure you’re listed on Google Business and any other industry-relevant directories and have active reviews and listings on social media and use Google and Facebook for online advertising.
Once your users are on your site, it is helpful to capture their data with an email sign-up form.
Encourage sign-ups with a special discount or offer, like a five per cent discount in your online store or a gift with purchase.
If your email sign-up form is hard to use or requires too many steps, users are not going to bother.
Make it effortless for them to click through and give their information as your email list will form part of your digital-marketing efforts.
How to use data
Data is vital because it means you can shape what you do, based on your users’ behaviour – you can follow users wherever they go on the web; you can tailor blogs, content and campaigns using user data and conversions.
Let’s say you have looked at your data and found that shoppers aged between 25-34 are generally browsing your site from their mobile phones between 6pm and 8pm.
Perhaps they came via an organic search term and looked at the home page and product page before clicking through to a blog article.
You would use this information to make sure your advertising exists between 6pm and 8pm. You would also make sure that mobile users were getting the ads and that you wrote more content similar to the blog they’re reading.
Include this new content on your site along with a strong call to action to shop in-store for a special promotion. It’s actually just common sense. Break down your user data and use it to power your sales.
Content to mail out
Once you have a great database of email contacts, what do you send them to get them off the couch and into your store?
One idea may be hosting a theme day or special event to encourage in-store shopping, like an in-store flash sale. Special in-store discounts are also effective.
You need to create a sense of urgency so think about sending an in-store coupon and allow just 72 hours to redeem the discount.
You could also offer giveaways or some type of upgrade exclusively to in-store shoppers to incentivise them coming in.
You want to do just enough to deliver more value and create engagement but be careful to keep your promotions sporadic enough to ensure that people don’t come to expect deals like this all the time.
What has been discussed here are just some of the ways that you can leverage your website to drive visitors to your store. The ideas are limitless so go wild and use your imagination.
To achieve maximum success, it’s simply required that you think of your online channels – your website, your social media platforms – as in-store promotional tools as well as internet shopping destinations. That’s the real secret of omnichannel retailing.