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So far, 2019 has been an incredibly exciting yet challenging year for the brick and mortar retail industry. Especially in the MENA region.
Exciting due to the boom of digital transformation with more and more offline retailers adopting digital-first technologies to grow their businesses.
Challenging because now the competition is not only offline, but online as well. In fact, in the MENA region alone, eCommerce sales have been growing year over year with 2017 closing at $8.3bn, 2019 already hitting $17bn and 2022 estimated to grow till $28.5bn.
eCommerce Revenue from 2017 to 2019 in MENA.Data Source.
Here’s the thing: it’s become super important for brick and mortar retailers to stay up to date with digital technologies. Technologies that make it 10X easier to compete with their online counterparts and boost in-store footfall and sales.
In this article, we’ll walk through 5 such digitally transformative ways to not only measure and increase store revenue from new customers but also keep existing customers coming back.
Hey, before you dive right in– There is a simple form to request a demo or request more info at the end of the article. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions.
1. Track and collect accurate in-store data to plan accordingly
Needless to say, if you’re tracking in-store metrics, not only will you know exactly where your store stands in terms of footfall and sales but also be able to plan campaigns and set realistic goals.
At the bare minimum, you need to track your daily footfall, sales, retention and churn rates, and the average time spent by visitors.
For physical retailers, historically there has been a lack of easy-to-use tools that track these offline metrics.
Here at Converted.in, we’ve taken a holistic approach to help you easily collect and track this valuable data on an hourly, weekly and monthly basis- your visits, transactions, retention rates, churn rates, slow and peak times and much more.
Converted.in’s dashboard; makes it easy to view all useful store metrics at a glance
Whether you’re looking to double down efforts during seasonal peak times or want to attract footfall on slow months- you can do it on Converted.In.
2. Gain demographic and behavioral insights on the people who visit and purchase from you
Combining your store data with customer demographics and purchasing data is becoming more and more common among big and small brands in the retail space.
Why? Well, this data comes in very handy in creating highly targeted ads or promotional campaigns.
Here, useful customer data would include things like:
– where your customers live- their location
– the age group they belong to
– their interests
– what brands they like
– the frequency and days at which customers regularly visit a store
– where they are most likely to visit
and much more.
Converted.in’s advanced demographic and behavioral analytics, for instance, collects this data and uses it to automatically segment your customers into unique groups. Thus, identifying exactly who your most profitable target audience is and where they are.
With this valuable information, you could then maximize your ROI on ad budgets by targeting specific campaigns to specific groups of people. How? Store analytics and customer intelligence data can both be leveraged to:
– create personalized purchasing experiences
– customize promotions and offers based on customer segments and preferences
– get valuable feedback that can be used to improve your products and store services
3. Run data powered online ad campaigns to attract new customers to your store
ROI focussed ads on platforms like google, facebook, twitter or Instagram has gained a lot of momentum this year.
Why? These platforms make it super easy for you to reach and attract larger audiences who are almost certain to buy from you.
To run a cost effective facebook ad campaign for example, you could be targeting particular age groups. Then you could add zip codes to target a specific area around your store or where your maximum shoppers come from.
But, here’s the challenge: The number of tools and platforms that need to be mastered to run effective ad campaigns can be overwhelming, to say the least.
After all, no one wants to waste ad budgets.
This is where Converted.in comes in to make running an online targeting campaign easy and revenue-generating. You can run Google, Facebook or Twitter ads from under one roof- without burning a hole in your ad spends. Not to mention SMS and push campaigns, as well.
Converted.in’s ad engine, to run targeted customer campaigns
Plus, retailers can accurately measure the impact of their campaigns, i.e. exactly how many and who end up purchasing from their store after seeing an ad.
4. Leverage retargeting campaigns to drive repeat customers
When it comes to engaging and retargeting existing customers, most retailers make the mistake of sending too many SMSes, notifications, emails, and ads.
Truth is: it’s not that hard to go from annoying customers to generating repeat sales, over and over again.
i) Think about how long your products last.
For example, do you sell shower gels? What is the lifespan of your product? If it’s one month, consider re-engaging customers in 20 days to remind them to buy before they run out.
ii) Upselling is gold.
Based on your customer’s past purchase behavior, you could be targeting them with products that directly complement what they’ve already bought. So, those who bought the shower gel could be targeted with a moisturizing lotion or a powder.
iii) Exclusive early notifications for sales.
You know who is most interested in your end of season sales? The people who are already buying from you. Your existing customers.
With Converted.in, you are already tracking your store purchases and customers. So, it becomes that much easier to use that data for retargeting your customers. Be it through push, ad or SMS campaigns, all from one place.
5. Keep store customers hooked with a value-adding loyalty program
If there’s one thing that works in the retail space, it’s loyalty programs. Offering a loyalty program is a great way to make customers come back without giving away discounts.
Loyalty programs can come in any style, but the foundation idea stays the same.
You offer points to your customers, every time they make a purchase.
The more they spend, the more points they get.
These points are then redeemable against a future purchase.
^Creating and tracking the effectiveness of your cashback program on Converted.In
With converted.in’s loyalty features, you can run a smooth loyalty program from the same dashboard that calculates the return on every penny spent.
At the end of the day, a successful loyalty program is one that generates higher revenues. Not one that becomes a cash sink.
Bottom Line
Ultimately, there are a lot of moving parts that can be leveraged to boost store visits and purchases. As a physical retailer, you have the liberty to drive as little or as much footfall as your inventory can fulfill.
Are you ready to make digital transformation work for you? Fill out the form below for a quick demo of Converted.in and learn how we can help you boost and measure your store traffic and sales.
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