Marketing
Rising above the noise: Stimulating in-store buying, strengthening customer relationships
Why retailers need to conduct a behavioral intervention, one aimed at moving the focus from messaging to action.
October 25, 2024 by Gail van Dijk — Head of Global Marketing, Communisis
In this new, powerful age of marketing, practitioners would do well to keep an old phrase in mind, "Simply saying it doesn't make it so." Specifically, if your organization has said something, don't assume shoppers have heard it and will be motivated to make a purchase — regardless of your marketing and technology prowess.
It's true we can now define, target and reach audiences like never before. Still, efforts will fail if we are unable to engage the shopper at the in-store and point-of-sale levels. Unfortunately, as retail store environments grow, getting the messages across you want to be heard can be harder. That's why you need to conduct a behavioral intervention, one aimed at moving your focus from messaging to action.
Being heard
Retailers want minimal brand noise on-site. Further, measurement tools like those used to gauge the impact of display media, often have proven inaccurate, considering only a sliver of the communication that's taken place. There are lingering pandemic concerns and new ones arising over sustainability. Also, many people are reluctant to stay in crowded stores long, while others believe cardboard and plastic-heavy displays waste resources and harm the environment.
Amidst this clutter, retailers can draw attention to their carefully crafted messaging with something that's always heard no matter how loud the voices — personal experience. Really understanding shopper behavior can help you intervene at the right time and positively influence outcomes. In fact, smaller innovations are often the easiest for obtaining shopper buy-in. The following looks at ways in which retailers are changing in-store behavior.
- Happy hens, better eggs: The Happy Egg Company encourages shoppers to go online and see exactly what their farms are like in order to back up their ethical claims. Each egg is also branded with a code, identifying the farm that produced them. With environmental, social and governance messages being thrown around and coming under suspicion, this company tells their story with direct, provable action, along with an invitation for customers to verify any claims themselves.
- No-touch soft drinks: Leave it to Coca-Cola to develop contactless vending solutions for on-site use. The dispensers show size and flavor choices on shoppers' mobile devices. There's no need for adding an app or even signing in — customers can even finalize purchases on their phones. The process is safer and customers appreciate the additional convenience.
- Stripped down shopping: The beauty brand, Lush, launched an augmented reality app employing artificial intelligence for the scanning of products — and no wasteful packaging is needed. The app can provide product details, ingredients used and a lot more, all without the environmentally unfriendly material. This stripped down approach enables customers to understand product without removing them from displays. This also creates a stronger bond with customers because you're addressing a major issue, together.
- Augmented reality meets beauty: Beauty retailer Sephora has developed in-store displays with augmented reality that lets customers test brands without applying the product on their skin. Beauty products are notoriously difficult to try. However, with these displays, customers can virtually apply makeup via an interactive screen. Things are kept tidy and customers often end up trying and buying.
The right time
While a company can spend more to become "louder" than competitors, returns will eventually diminish and lead to loss. The innovative approaches above are far more effective than any claim or prompt could ever be. Further, they influence the customer experience at the right time — when they're in the store and making decisions.
Actions speak louder than words. This is why customers are attracted to these engaging, new displays and presentations. Not only do they get to truly feel a brand's message in action, their relationship with a retailer grows stronger. As businesses become more digitally savvy, we'll see more innovative on-site shopping experiences, raising the bar for performance and creating a path to the future
About Gail van Dijk
Gail van Dijk is head of global marketing at Communisis Brand Deployment, a market-leading print management and brand activation company. Forever a customer champion, Gail focuses on delivering excellence to clients across global B2B markets and driving sales growth by understanding customer needs and the solutions required to meet them. Passionate about fresh thinking, innovation and transformation, Gail drives the shopper insights agenda for Communisis.
