Many retailers are faced with the challenge of increasing in-store foot traffic. And even after they’ve found a way to draw shoppers in, closing the sale becomes the next challenge. Improving sales conversion is a complex tweaking and testing of variables such as store layout, promotional activity, inventory levels, and frontline customer service but with a revamped retail conversion strategy, it can be done.
Retailers looking to improve retail conversion rates should consider how to engage with their customers on a deeper level. If your current retail conversion strategy doesn’t include ways to increase brand awareness and improve customer retention, it may need to be revamped.
Why Your Retail Conversion Strategy Matters
A retail conversion strategy is not just about increasing bottom-line profits, though that is a prime consideration. Improving your retail conversions means you’re running a more efficient, well-oiled sales machine and maximizing your efforts in the physical realm.
You can use your retail conversion strategy to:
- figure out if your branding messages are on-point or attracting the wrong crowd
- assess the effect of store layout changes
- determine whether or not to hire/schedule additional staff members
- know when it’s time to increase your inventory
- decide when to run new promotions
- recognize successful changes implemented, so you can repeat success
If traffic and conversion rates are trending upward, it means your store is popular, efficient, and ripe with opportunity. It may be time to think about expanding to new markets, introducing a new product line, or expanding your reach to bring more consumers into your stores. If customers are leaving without making purchases, you’ll need to figure out why and plan an appropriate fix to ensure the long-term health of your business.
Improving your retail conversions means you’re running a more efficient, well-oiled sales machine and maximizing your efforts in the physical realm.
Concepts to Improve Your Retail Conversion Strategy
There are many concepts retailers can implement to improve their conversion strategy. Among these include:
- Personalization: Personalized marketing sets off a domino effect. Once you create a more effective message, the targeted recipient engages more frequently with your brand, loyalty and affinity develop over time, and you sell more to that individual.
- Create an immersive retail experience: Creating an immersive retail experience allows brands to interact with consumers in a non-intrusive way that builds affinity which, in turn, leads to sales. An effective immersive retail experience should be seamless, interactive, enhancing, and convenient.
- Leverage mobile technology: The best way for brands to capture consumer attention in pivotal shopping moments is to use mobile marketing that travels with them. Mobile marketing strategies can influence the consumer decision-making process as they encourage consumers to take specific actions that push them further down the purchase funnel.
Retailers are finding it beneficial to partner with mobile shopping apps like Shopkick that make it easy to personalize messages, create an immersive retail experience, and provide in-store engagement that converts browsers to buyers. Rather than agitating consumers with ads or expending valuable shelf space on signage, Shopkickers willingly engage with brands through the convenience of their mobile phones for a fun and rewarding experience.
Revamp Your Retail Conversion Strategy to Turn Browsers Into Buyers
Consider how various brands looking to increase sales in convenience stores partnered with Shopkick. The mobile shopping app leveraged engaging mobile content to build awareness of reward-earning opportunities at participating convenience stores. These “kick” earning opportunities drove foot traffic to convenience stores and engagement with product categories through scanning items. By physically handling the products and receiving rewards for their engagement, shoppers were more likely to add the products to their cart and make a purchase.
Shopkick increased sales in the snacks and candy, beverage, and alcoholic beverage categories by offering kicks for submitting receipts, which encouraged users to purchase products without the use of coupons or discounts. Barcode scans went from 380 per month to 3,000 per day during the course of the campaign, with a 180% increase in beverage purchase conversions. Seventy-three percent of Shopkickers indicated that kicks would influence future purchase intent for product categories at convenience stores, showing increased customer loyalty through reward incentives.
You may find yourself looking for the latest and greatest conversion tactic. Yet, every business is different, every consumer is different, and what works on one audience may not work on another. When looking at how to revamp your retail conversion strategy, retailers must consider how a mobile shopping app like Shopkick can increase awareness and engage shoppers. As more consumers turn to their smartphones to help them shop, retailers can guide them through the aisles, keeping them engaged throughout the path to purchase.
Shopkick is a valuable asset for retail partners looking to increase their conversions through in-store engagement with a ready-to-go app. Contact us to learn how easy it is to revamp your conversion strategy using the latest technology.
Image courtesy of Syda Productions
