Digital Strategies That Contribute To In-Store Retention

Are you within the camp of retail business owners who believes new customers are more important than existing customers? You may be surprised to find out that the contrary is true. Taking a look at the infographic featured alongside this post, you’ll notice that retailers have a much easier time selling to existing customers than they do to new ones. Recent research indicates that retail businesses have a 60% to 70% chance of reselling to existing customers, compared to a measly 5% to 20% chance of making the first sale to a new customer. While some retail organizations are aware of these vast differences, many others remain adamant about investing their marketing budgets into new customer acquisition. Can this truly be successful? Or are they wasting their investments?

A number of organizations go about investing this capital into new customer acquisition as they believe it is the best way to bring about new and innovative ways to increase their dynamic revenue growth. However, this post’s accompanying resource is an excellent place to gather some fresher ideas. For example, utilizing a strategy that interconnects both online and in-store sales techniques is a successful way of creating the most customized shopping experience you can for your loyal customers. Typically, the most personalized shopping experiences come in the form of online shopping, however, when executed correctly, those same tactics can be used in physical retail locations. These tactics, in addition to the up-selling potential of sales representatives in physical retail locations, create the most ideal scenario for both your organization and your customers.

These techniques in tandem fall underneath the omnichannel marketing umbrella, which according to the infographic, is imperative to the success of a retail business today. Having a digital presence strong enough to draw customers into brick-and-mortar stores is one of the many benefits that this form of marketing can have on a retail business. There are plenty of others, though.

Why is it some important to have such an established online presence, though? Well, think of it this way. How long does a customer truly spend in a store during their typical retail business visit? On average, each customer will spend between fifteen minutes to an hour in your store. After they leave, they won’t have a chance to interact with your brand until they return for their next purchase. Unless, of course, you have a reinforced social media presence or online marketplace where customers can continue to engage with your business even after they exit the store. Online sales tactics targeted toward these customers who visit physical locations are also great tools for increasing the frequency in which your customers visit your stores. Think of something along the lines of an online only notification for a sale in-store that’s meant to drive more business into retail locations.

Building off a strong communication between customer and business, a sophisticated enough system could provide a sense of personalization to any customer’s account online. If their product suggestions are based on their previous purchases and preferences, they might have more luck finding the right product for them from home. This caters to customers who may prefer the safety of purchasing online while lockdown restrictions are still in place.

One way in which customers can interact with your business digitally in store, however, is through the use of touch screen monitors or tablets. Typically these tools will display information regarding products and allow for customers to pinpoint exactly what features they’re looking for in a product from your business.

With these techniques, more and more retail organizations can continue to meet the increasing expectations of their customers. For more information on how to successfully tie these strategies into your organization’s current processes, be sure to take a moment and check out the infographic featured alongside this post.

Courtesy of IDL Displays.

Jenny Paul

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