Smart Shopping Carts and In-Store Beacons Improve ROI

Although e-commerce is emerging as a highly convenient form of retail, checkstandprogram.com reports that brick-and-mortar stores are still the most sought-after retail spaces. This is most relevant in the case of sales of packaged goods and groceries.

So it has become imperative for sellers to make use of in-store advertising to attract maximum transactions.

Benefits of Marketing in the Store

Advertising within the premises of the store, also referred to as Point-of-Purchase (POP) advertising, is significant in the following ways.

• This form of advertising could target window-shoppers and convert them into buyers.
• It could trigger recall of a product that the customer was previously exposed to.
• It is a channel to introduce fresh releases to the customers.
• Promotion of items on sale is a benefit of advertising within the store. This encourages additional purchases and impulse buying, as well.
• This form of advertising provides more information on the merchandise to the consumers; hence assisting them to make smarter purchases.

In-Store Marketing Channels

The conventional methods of marketing in the store are listed below.

1. Digital Screens

TV monitors are positioned at high-traffic locations within the store, and they deliver advertisements in a customized loop, providing product details and entertainment to the customers.

 

2. Counter Dividers at Checkout

Customers are exposed to the checkout dividers for an average of 5 minutes at one checkout. So this is a prime position for advertising banners and posters.

 

3. Floor Graphics

This includes fixtures of vinyl graphics on the store flooring close to the product being featured.

 

4. Product Stacks

The merchandise being promoted is stacked and highlighted at a busy spot in the store.

 

Apart from these traditional methods, cutting-edge digital technology has been affixed to the realm of store advertising in recent years.

 

1. In-Store Beacons

Beacons are small sensors that send coupons or other incentives to the customer’s smartphone during the shopping experience. These coupons are extremely popular, as they can be redeemed then and there itself. This technology has been observed to drive a lot of in-store sales of items that were not desired when the customer first entered the shop.

 

2. Smart Carts

Shopping carts with a certain amount of ‘intelligence’ have stormed into the store advertising arena. The cart is programmed to scan the shopper’s items and follow them through the store. Some of these smart carts also have GPS-enabled maps that assist shoppers locate the items they want.

 

3. Product Mock-ups with Videos

4-inch video screens are fitted into a product replica that resembles the other products on the shelf. A sensor technology starts playing a video when the customer approaches the product.

Return on Investment through In-store Advertising

In Point-of-Purchase Advertising, the recipients are the target audience for whom the advert was intended. This method of advertising has proven to increase sales in first-time customers or occasional buyers and is less effective on frequent visitors.

Based on various studies, store advertising programs have been found to drive a definite short-term return-on-investment and are a more effective marketing strategy when compared to outdoor and newspaper ads.

 

 

Primary Keyword – In-store advertising

 

LSI Keywords – In-store marketing, Point-of-Purchase Advertising, advertising within the store, store advertising programs

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