Category: Retail

[Infographic]: Seasonal Shopping Trends 2017

Posted on by shopkick

They say the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior, which is why we have taken a look back at key behaviors our users exhibited during seasonal peaks throughout 2017.

In our latest infographic, we review what Shopkickers were most engaged with during important retail moments throughout the year. As 2018 trends already start to take shape, we look forward to seeing how these holiday trends will continue to grow and shift over time.

 

Shopkick Infographic 2017 trends

To learn more about how Shopkick can help you boost engagement during seasonal peaks, get in touch at partners@shopkick.com.

2018 trends from Shopkick’s CEO

Posted on by shopkick

With 2018 officially underway, Shopkick CEO Bill Demas shares some of the most important trends that brands and retailers need to keep top of mind to succeed this year.

  1. Real-time is key. Being able to track and react to shopper behavior across environments, stores and platforms will be key for sophisticated marketing. Shopkick helps expose otherwise opaque behavioral data, and it’s often what most directly impacts bottom line.
  2. One source to rule them all. While the world is now rich with data, it’s often piecemeal, and weaving together a complete picture of a brand’s impact, or an individual shopper’s path to purchase is time consuming and muddy. A central source of first-party data will be table stakes for future marketing.
  3. Fight for the full funnel. Rather than wasting resource divvying spend among initiatives, future marketing will examine holistic metrics vs. an amalgamation of the various parts. As consumers become savvier and channels continue to multiply, it’s the whole of a campaign that matters for ROI vs. any one element.
  4. The race to the bottom is done…and most brands and retailers lose. Only the giants can compete in this race, and no one else can even begin to approach them. So stop trying. Brands and retailers must compete on different value propositions – of experience, excellence, exclusivity and other elements that don’t dilute brand value.
  5. Pay for performance will gain prominence. In uncertain times, guaranteed returns will grow increasingly valuable.
  6. No room for fakes. Brands won’t tolerate fraud, so safe haven media buys are essential.
  7. New formats will change behaviors. Augmented Reality, incentivized video (already huge in Asia/S. Korea), and shoppable branded content (Pinterest) will change how and where people buy products.

While there are many trends already starting to take shape this year, we believe these are the biggest and most important for brands and retailers. It will behoove marketers to pay attention to each of these and think about what they mean for your business as we move forward into 2018.

Retail consumer apps: How to engage in-store shoppers on mobile devices

Posted on by shopkick

Many retailers view mobile apps only as an expansion of their online shopping space, and not as a route to in-store sales. This is a mistake. By their very nature, consumers use apps while on the go and, more often than many retailers believe, they’re using them for in-store shopping. When you’re evaluating which features to offer consumers within a retail app, you must think beyond online shopping. You must connect current consumer retail app technology to a physical, brick and mortar shopping experience.

retail apps for consumersIn order to evolve along with the modern shopper, retailers must be ready to acknowledge and capitalize on the fact that mobile shopping is only one component of the consumer retail app experience. Any brand can build an mCommerce space. However, innovative retail mobile apps have additional success when they’re designed to work in-store, traveling with the consumers as they visit brick and mortar locations.

Retail companies, then, need a thorough understanding of exactly what these users are looking for—and must be prepared to deliver it, either via a branded, proprietary option or by partnering with an established third-party shopping app.  

What Retail Consumer Apps Must Offer In-Store Shoppers

Retailers need to take a consumer first approach to retail app development as adoption is key in order to achieve a return on investment for your marketing dollars. Consumers generally prefer retail shopping apps that:

  • Provide convenience: Convenience is the main reason that consumers use apps. In fact, the majority of consumers, 60%, will choose an app over a store’s website. This is because they’re using the app as they’re out and about and smartphone apps, unlike many websites, are designed to cater specifically to mobile device users.
  • Create a connection: 48% of smartphone users say apps strengthen the brand connection when they feel like the app caters to their specific and individual needs. Consumers want shopping apps to feel like their personal concierge service; i.e. that the app guides them and tells them what they need to know about the retail store and its brands as applies to them, thus creating a connection.  
  • Offer in-store options: About 77% of smartphone users have used their devices to help them shop while they’re in the seemingly endless retail aisles. Creating an in-store experience via a mobile app is a key factor in encouraging consumer use.
  • A memorable customer experience: If the consumer using the retail app runs into an issue with the technology more than once, about 54% will delete it. Meanwhile, 21% will seek out an app with similar functionality to replace it with. That means you have a very small window of opportunity when it comes to keeping consumers loyal to your app.

One thing that should be noted about all these attributes and features is that most consumers are not loyal to a specific retailer’s app. A retailer can use a third-party option and get the same results, provided that third-party app offers a positive, engaging, and somewhat personalized experience. In fact, a third-party app may even provide more opportunities than a branded app.  

Why Retail Stores Are Partnering With Third-Party Shopping Apps

Creating a retail consumer app that combines all of the functionality and features that consumers demand is often an arduous and expensive process. However, partnering with a third-party shopping app can allow you to leverage all of the advantages of offering a retail app while minimizing your expenses. In addition, these shopping apps offer a few benefits that branded retail in-store apps can’t, including:

  • A wider audience: If your current target audience is already using your branded store app, they’re included in your current market share as well. However, by partnering with a third-party shopping app, you can expand that target audience—and, therefore, your market share—by gaining access to consumers who may not yet be regular or loyal shoppers.
  • Fast innovation: While retailers develop apps as a single component of their marketing campaign, app development companies have a singular focus. They are, therefore, in a position to take advantage of technological innovations, like smarter beacons and cross-platform functionality, much faster than companies who aren’t at the forefront of new technology.
  • Incentivizing without discounting: Third-party shopping apps often gain consumer interest by offering rewards. This allows their partner brands to gain in-store attention without having to discount their products. Retail apps, on the other hand, are often designed around promotions and discounts as a means of gaining buyer engagement. That’s a costly strategy that hurts ROI and the company’s bottom line.

Third-party shopping apps leverage the opportunities that mobile advertising provides without forcing individual retailers to develop and attract an audience for a branded, niche app. If you choose to partner with an existing shopping app that offers high engagement rates, you can reach out to a new group of consumers while seamlessly offering them exactly what they’re looking for—convenience and personalization.

When you’re using a retail consumer app to grow your market share, increase brand awareness, or build your company’s reputation, you need to maintain a focus on user experience, something that is automatic when you partner with a popular third-party option already established on the market. If consumers are actively engaged with the app to assist them as they shop, you are guaranteed an opportunity to travel with them into stores—and reach them when it matters most.

Shopkick offers their partners a shopping app platform for reaching customers with proven ROI—their active user base is proof of the effectiveness of their strategy. If you want to learn more about partnering with a third-party shopping app, and what it can do for your brand, contact the Shopkick team today.

Image courtesy gstockstudio

The Best Customer Engagement Strategies in Retail for CPG Brands

Posted on by shopkick

The Best Customer Engagement Strategies in Retail for CPG Brands

Many CPG brands, new and established, struggle with standing out on a retailer’s shelves. The CPG industry is going through a rapid growth phase and is estimated to be worth around $14 trillion by 2025, up from $8 trillion in 2015. That equates to more brands clamoring for limited consumer attention. And, when it comes to brick and mortar retail, they’re doing it all in the same aisle. However, your brand can gain the edge on your competitors by using mobile to help steer customers to your products both online and offline.

In the digital age, smartphones are your best connection to your customers. A successful customer engagement strategy in the retail space involves leveraging mobile opportunities not only for online sales, but for customers who are browsing the retail aisles as well. You can use mobile marketing to connect, build powerful moments, and help your brand stand out in a sea of competitors.

Now is the time to boost your CPG brand’s customer engagement  using technology that lets you travel with consumers, whether you’re sending a personalized message, responding to customers via social media, or using micro-moments to create brand recognition. The agility of smartphones to move with consumers can help you create a connection with your target market of existing and new customers—and help to guard your market share as the CPG industry continues to expand.

Perfecting Personalized Customer Communications as an Engagement Strategy

The fact that personalization is a major sales driver for consumers is no secret. In fact, 70% of companies consider personalization their top priority in 2017—and it’s likely that number will only increase in 2018. But what is personalization, exactly?

There’s a fine line between using a customer’s data to give him or her a positive and unique experience, and using that data in a way that a customer will find invasive. On top of that, in-store personalization means that you have to effectively use that data quickly, to both recognize the customer’s needs and then offer them an option to meet those needs in the short moments before they make a purchase decision.

One brilliant campaign from Snickers encompassed all the best parts of personalized advertising. The company monitored Twitter posts based on emojis. The higher the uptick in negative emotion emojis across the platform, the lower the brand dropped the price of a Snickers bar at select 7-11 locations. Consumers following the brand could then lock in a low price via their smartphones for the next time they bought a Snickers at a participating store.

This was a clever campaign that also tied into its television commercial slogan, “You’re not you when you’re hungry.” This was another successful aspect of Snickers’ strategy: they aligned their mobile campaign to their television and print campaigns as well. Then, they took this strategy a step further by using it to personalize messages to consumers who posted a negative emoji and offer them a discounted price on a Snickers bar in order to improve their mood. The campaign used freely available data to reach out to consumers, but made sure to walk the right side of the line when it comes to personalization without privacy invasion.

The Key Takeaways:

Use data consumers freely give away:

The key to Snickers’ successful campaign was that they used publicly available data that consumers chose to share. They simply looked at the emojis consumers used on social media to measure their mood. The use of that data wasn’t invasive. Instead, consumers felt as though Snickers was listening to them. Permissive use is crucial when leveraging consumers’ data to make a personalized recommendation. Social media, purchase history, and data that consumers opt to share with apps can be a great way to permissively gather information.

Don’t make assumptions:

There’s a difference between using a customer’s prior purchase history to make an assumption versus using it to guide your suggestions. For example, if a customer previously purchased a gluten-free frozen meal, it may be safe to recommend another gluten-free product. However, if a customer bought a home pregnancy test, you should not assume they would be interested in a coupon for diapers. One is a suggestion based on a prior purchase. The other is an assumption that companies should steer clear of. Personalize the message by using it to guide messages, but don’t jump to conclusions.

Make Magic With Micro-Moments

Micro-moments are those short instances when a person turns to their phone for information. 82% of smartphone users say they consult their phones on purchases they’re about to make in a store. One way to make an impact in those micro-moments is to use the personalization recommendation mentioned above and tie it into that mobile interaction.

This is what Pantene did when it teamed up with a popular weather app to provide hair styling advice to consumers. When the weather app indicated that the humidity had reached a certain level, Pantene would recommend products designed to keep hair under control in those conditions. They would explain why humidity caused hair to fall flat and recommend their own products to combat the problem. This allowed the company to leverage their very specific product focus and knowledge to gain the attention of the right target audience in immediate need of their offerings.

There’s a reason why 48% of smartphone users are more likely to buy from companies whose mobile sites provide instructional video content: those companies have proven themselves to be experts in their industry. Consumers trust them, so they purchase from them more confidently and regularly. Through their personalized micro-moment campaign, Pantene was able to gain a 10% increase in sales and secure a top position in the highly competitive beauty market.

The Key Takeaways:

Recognize the consumer’s problem:

When a consumer buys a product from a CPG brand, they’re generally doing so to fill a specific need or solve a problem. Pantene recognized the impact that humidity had on hair and used weather apps to deliver messages about how to combat the problem.

Use your knowledge:

Every CPG brand has an area where they consider themselves to be an industry expert. Using that knowledge to answer consumers’ questions can be a successful way to create a micro-moment that leads to consumer trust and loyalty.

Make use of beacons:

Pantene used sensor beacons located in Walgreens stores to notify them when consumers entered and then offer them information on a Pantene hair product that would help them combat humidity. As they were able to reach out as soon as the customers walked through the doors, they were able to direct those customers straight to their aisle in the store with little distraction.

Offer Social Customer Service to Help Engage Retail Consumers

Customer service is no longer tied to customer hotlines or even to email. Now, consumers ask questions and file complaints in full view of the public via social media platforms like Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. Due to this fact, about 81% of companies integrate social customer service in some way. This allows companies to be transparent in their dealings with customers, which also leads to engaging with them in-store. In a study, it was found that 10% of all tweets directed at a CPG company occurred while the customer was in-store.

Duncan Hines is one of the strongest performing CPG brands using a social media strategy today. The company strategically focused on gaining user-generated content, such as photos of creations made with Duncan Hines products. They even went so far as to offer suggestions to consumers via social media while they were in the store looking for baking inspiration.

Since the company has made its commitment to engaging customers via social media, Duncan Hines now generates more mentions than any other CPG brand on Facebook. This is in large part due to the fact that they like and comment on posts that mention their brand, they share user-generated comments on their page, and they respond to social media questions and concerns almost immediately. This is a full-time job that requires constant interaction, but it is a strategy that has paid off for them in spades.

The Key Takeaways:

Focus on a specific audience:

Duncan Hines used social media to find and market to people who specifically enjoyed baking. They were able to creatively engage with them and offer suggestions as they choose products in-store.

Respond quickly:

When a consumer sends a message to Duncan Hines on social media, the response is almost instantaneous. Duncan Hines has proven to be very proactive when someone is seeking help regarding one of their products, creating consumer trust.

Gain user-generated content:

An important component of interacting with consumers is allowing them to share their content regarding your brand on your brand’s public spaces. Users of Duncan Hines products are encouraged to share their experience with the brand on the company’s page and, most importantly, the company always responds to that interaction.

Leverage Third-Party Apps for Successful Customer Engagement Strategies in Retail

Many companies run into trouble generating a positive ROI with mobile marketing as they believe that they must create their own proprietary app to connect with consumers in stores. This isn’t the case, however, as there are many third-party apps that brands can partner with which will give them exposure that’s often more profitable than the exposure they’d get via their own in-house app. These apps are specifically useful when they’re designed to be used in-store, like in the case of shopping apps. As consumers have these apps out and running when they’re in the store searching for items to check off their list, brands are able to advertise in the moment of a purchase decision.

Shopping apps allow you to combine all three of the prior customer engagement strategies in retail. You can use a shopping app to share information about your brand, help consumers solve a problem—and you can even use them as a social platform. Many shopping apps are specifically designed to work with in-store beacons as well, which makes it easier to direct consumers to your products’ shelves. Finally, consumers get the incentive of gaining customer rewards to keep them engaged, rather than discounts, which keeps you from having to cut your prices and put a dent in your bottom line.

All CPG brands are challenged by gaining attention in the retail environment, but mobile marketing makes this strategy easier and more profitable by allowing you to travel with your consumers. Use data to craft personalized messages and beacons to help them locate your product in stores. Offer them the opportunity to share their experience with your brand and manage this all through the use of intuitive shopping apps that put your products in front of eager and interested target audiences. By studying the stories of Duncan Hines, Pantene, and Snickers, we’re able to see that consumers respond to personalized and in-the-moment social marketing. A shopping app allows you to harness that power—and use it to grow your own brand’s presence in a crowded marketplace.

Shopkick is a beacon-enabled shopping rewards app that allows our partners to connect with consumers in the retail space. If you’re interested in using our app to help guide customers to your products in-store, contact our team today.

5 Trends from Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday

Posted on by shopkick

Throughout the beginning of the year, the media was consumed with stories of a retail apocalypse; exemplified by mounting bankruptcies and store closures as well as consumer spending shifting away from retail and towards experiences, dining and travel.  So all eyes were on the biggest shopping weekend of the year, Thanksgiving-Cyber Monday, to evaluate both the current health and the long-term viability of the beleaguered retail industry.

The results? Blockbuster sales all weekend long for both physical and online retailers, propelled forward by aggressive promotions and a surge in mobile shopping. Adobe Analytics reported that American consumers spent $19.62 billion online over the five-day period from Nov. 23, 2017 (Thanksgiving) through Nov. 27 (Cyber Monday). This was $2.6 billion and 15% more than they spent during the same timeframe last year. At Shopkick, our users actively shopped throughout the long weekend both in-stores and on their phones at retailers like Amazon, Best Buy, TJX, Walmart, Kohls and eBay.

Below, we explore 5 key Thanksgiving-Cyber Monday trends and what they mean for the rest of the holiday shopping season.

1. Shopping is spread out throughout the whole weekend

Given that discounts are readily available to consumers year-round, and holiday discounts started in early November, Black Friday has mostly lost its significance as THE make-or-break shopping day. Also the nature of the event has changed, as better online and mobile experiences has meant that the days of millions of consumers waiting outside for doorbuster deals and enduring jostling crowds are largely over as consumers can shop from the comfort of their own homes or phones.

While Shoppertrak found that foot traffic did decline on Thanksgiving and Black Friday by 1.6% from last year, sales were up, especially online sales.  Thanksgiving Day saw a surge in online spending in the U.S., with purchases growing 18.3% to $2.87 billion compared to last year’s $1.3 billion, according to Adobe Analytics. On Black Friday, a record $5.03 billion was spent online, an increase of 16.9% over last year and a new record for the day. A good deal of the shopping took place on the websites of physical retailers – not just online only retailers. Finally, on Cyber Monday, a record $6.59 billion was spent online, an increase of 16.8 % over 2016, making it the largest mostly U.S.-based online shopping day in history and nearly a billion dollars more than last year at $5.6 billion.

2. A surge in mobile shopping

Consumers are now much more comfortable shopping and transacting on mobile devices. On Black Friday, Adobe reported smartphones accounted for 45% of visits and 26% of revenue for online retailers, working out to just under $2 billion in sales. On Cyber Monday, purchases made on smartphones broke records with $2 billion in sales. Adobe said early data for Cyber Monday activity showed mobile driving nearly 40% of online sales.

Another positive sign is that conversion rates on mobile are improving, due to improved apps, wallet integrations, and mobile transactions closing at a 12 percent higher rate year on year. Conversion rates on smartphones were at 3.5%, a 10% increase over last year according to Adobe.

3. Amazon vs. everyone else

Amazon continued to assert its dominance, and not just on Cyber Monday. Amazon accounted for half of Black Friday online sales. Based on web traffic, Amazon and Walmart increased their combined market share by 1.5%, while Target, JCPenney, and Sears all lost ground. Cyber Monday was Amazon’s biggest shopping day in company history, beating out the previous record holder, Prime Day. Amazon isn’t planning on slowing down anytime soon as their Amazon Prime subscriber growth — in terms of both numbers and how much they spend — sets them up nicely for the rest of the season.

4. Differences between online and in-store shopping

NRF and Prosper Insights found that more Americans shopped both in-stores and online, rather than sticking with just one channel. 38% of shoppers shopped both online and in-stores whereas 33% shopped online only and 29% shopped in-store only. These multichannel shoppers are more valuable to retailers, spending $82 more on average than the online-only shopper, and $49 more on average than those shoppers who only shopped in stores.

Aside from shoppers, successful omnichannel retailers are tailoring their marketing and merchandising strategies to each shopping environment. Walmart, for example, had more discounts online for heavy or bulky items like electronics that are more suitable for shipping, whereas in-store was stocked with deals for smaller, impulse buys.

5. Driving the sale: differentiated experience or discounts

Retailers essentially had 2 options to drive sales during this time: either rely on discounts or create a differentiated experience. Those that can drive sales through differentiated experiences, such as product assortment or a stellar in-store and mobile experience will protect their margins and equity against those that solely rely on heavy discounting.

Smart, not blanket, promotional strategies will win out as retailers are under tremendous pressure to feed today’s discount-driven consumer, with research showing that more than 60% of holiday shoppers are motivated by discounts. In fact, retailers have already discounted goods 10% more this year than last. These major discounts early in the holiday season lead consumers to believe that deeper discounts will be coming.

A positive outlook for the rest of the season!

While the immediate week following Black Friday was slower, as consumers recuperate and remember the doorbuster deals, December is poised to be strong for retailers. Healthy economic conditions for consumers and strong confidence should result in robust sales for physical and online retailers alike. Retailers must focus on strategies that engage shoppers across channels with relevant content, merchandise, experiences and promotions.

Video advertising: Advantages and disadvantages for brand growth and awareness

Posted on by shopkick

Video advertising’s potential advantages and disadvantages are open to debate. Many companies have found video to be a powerful converter and have made it an integral part of their marketing campaigns. Others choose to go with more traditional advertising avenues. Determining if it will be profitable for your own brand is something that’s often difficult, though, as calculating the return on investment for video advertising isn’t possible until after you’ve run a campaign and can crunch the numbers. However, if you’re aware of the common barriers to success related to video marketing, you can overcome them and effectively utilize the medium to boost consumer awareness of your brand, and, as a natural result, sales.

Positioning video advertising to get your brand’s message across can be highly impactful on your brand awareness and bottom line, provided you use the right tools to make it visible. One way  to see a significant return is by crafting a compelling message and delivering it through third-party platforms. First, however, you must have a firm grasp on the advantages—and disadvantages—of video advertising in the digital age.

The Advantages of Video Advertising for Brand Growth and Awareness

It can’t be denied that video has a certain appeal that text and image-based advertisements don’t. While it can be a bit more expensive or time-consuming to develop than other mediums, it allows you to deliver a message that connects with consumers in a deeper and more genuine way.

Here are a few of the advantages of video advertising for brands:

the advantages and disadvantages to video marketing on apps

  • Video is popular: The first and most obvious reason to choose video is that it’s simply what consumers want. More than 70% of the online US public regularly watches streaming video online. This is an audience that can’t be ignored.
  • Video is a powerful converter: Video is an excellent way to increase brand recall. In one study, it was noted that 80% of respondents remembered the videos from brands they’ve watched in a 30-day period. That’s not the case for text and photos, which consumers are inundated with so often they rarely remember individual instances of advertising.
  • Video gives your brand a personality: Video allows you to give your brand or product a personality. They allow your consumers to connect with a person or situation, rather than an image, which can help to humanize your brand.
  • People share videos: It’s estimated that 92% of individuals who’ve viewed a video have shared a video. If you’re looking for an innovative way to increase brand awareness, then this is a number that you need to consider, as the more people who share your brand’s message, the more that awareness will grow.

Video is clearly an advantageous option for many brands of all sizes as it allows you to create a message with genuine impact. It’s specifically successful for growing brand awareness, as people remember and share videos more often than they do any other kind of content. That being said, it must be noted that video can have its disadvantages as well.

The Disadvantages of Video Advertising for Brand Growth and Awareness

While video might be a great medium for marketing, it needs to be acknowledged that not just any video can compete against a similar product or company that puts out quality text and images. A bad video can cost your company more in the long run as you could invest a lot only to see a minimal return on your investment.

Here are some of the potential disadvantages to consider with video advertising:

  • The market is saturated: While video advertising has a lower cost of entry now than it did in the past thanks to new tools like low-cost cameras and free-to-use hosting platforms, that benefit creates a disadvantage as well in that anyone can make a video. It’s estimated that 300 hours’ worth of video is uploaded to YouTube every minute! That’s a large pool that your brand is going to have to compete against.
  • Video doesn’t promote itself: Due to the staggering number of videos online, it’s not possible to simply post a video and hope for the best. Marketers need to essentially market their own advertising tools by sharing it—and ideally convincing others to share it as well.
  • A commercial is still a commercial: If your video is strictly advertisement-based, don’t expect a strong conversion. A big part of ad conversion is ad viewability. After all, a commercial is still a commercial. About 65% of consumers who watch online videos skip commercial ads. Brands that do the best with video don’t advertise. They offer content with real value.

While there are disadvantages of video, they can be overcome with better marketing, the right partners, and the right timing. By being aware of potential pitfalls, you can use the benefits of video to its full advantage.

Balancing the Advantages and Disadvantages of Video Marketing

The types of videos that get shared and improve brand awareness aren’t advertisements. Instead, they’re videos that provide useful content to the viewers. If you’re going to release video as a medium to advertise, it’s important to create branded content over pure product advertisements. Branded content may include:

  • How-to videos: These can be videos that show how to use your product or answer questions about it. They can also be videos that show your product being used in a new or unique way.
  • Product reviews: User-generated content, like product reviews, are a good way to share your brand’s message through a third-party. While not as easy to control, if you get a good review, ask for permission to share it on your brand’s page.
  • A behind-the-scenes look: People want to work with companies that feel human to them. Giving a consumer a sneak peek inside your company or interviews with your employees, for instance, helps to humanize your brand.

The options are extensive but the key to video advertising is to create content that’s not simply based on making a sale. Put yourself in your consumer’s shoes and ask yourself “Would I watch this?” when you’re considering a video campaign.

In addition, you need to put your marketing muscles behind that video. Share it on social media, your website, and encourage consumers to share and comment as well. One good way to leverage video is to offer it via a shopping endemic publishing platform, such as a shopping app. You can leverage strategically placed videos within these apps to help your brand stand out and increase consumer awareness.

When partnering with a shopping app, there’s a built-in and engaged audience at your fingertips. By creating a compelling video with a powerful, branded message, you can grow awareness of your brand exponentially.

Shopkick offers our partners the opportunity to reach users with video messages within an endemic shopping environment. If you’re interested in gaining more attention for your branded video content, contact our team today to learn more.

Image courtesy GaudiLab

How to Measure Video Advertising ROI: The Metrics Brands Must Know

Posted on by shopkick

The brain processes images from photos and videos about 60,000 times faster than it processes text. With stats like that, it’s not surprising that brands want to leverage visual mediums as a powerful way to share their message. In fact, more than half of all marketing professionals state they see a stronger ROI with video advertising than with any other form of marketing campaign.

Continue reading “How to Measure Video Advertising ROI: The Metrics Brands Must Know”

The Mobile Proximity Marketing Advantages and Disadvantages Retailers Must Know

Posted on by shopkick

The mobile market is maturing, with 82% penetration anticipated by 2020 in the US. With the majority of adults now with a smartphone in hand, it stands to reason that retailers will want—and need—to leverage these devices to gain foot traffic, sales, and new customers. Continue reading “The Mobile Proximity Marketing Advantages and Disadvantages Retailers Must Know”

Retail as marketing: redefining the retail experience

Posted on by shopkick

by Kristy Stromberg, CMO

Originally posted in Forbes as part of the Forbes Communications Council

In the pre-digital era, the relationship between brick-and-mortar retail stores and their customers was largely transactional— places to fulfill supply and demand. Yet as online commerce continues to grow exponentially, the role of the retail store is shifting from purely pragmatic to more experiential. Moving forward, the key to survival for retail stores may rely on their ability to act as a living showcase for products and brands.

Take Coach, for instance, which has made some radical yet effective changes in its approach. Last year, the company pulled its line of handbags and accessories out of 25% of its North American department store locations — choosing instead to focus energies on its own stores. Chief among those stores is the new Coach flagship location in New York, which elevates the ordinary shopping experience with special touches like a monogramming station (replete with emojis), a 12-foot dinosaur fashioned out of Coach leather pieces, and Made to Order Rogue (which gives shoppers the ability to create a bespoke Rogue bag).

Tesla and Nike are also among the companies leading the charge to create new associations with the traditional retail experience. For luxury car manufacturer Tesla, the dealership concept has made way for direct-to-consumer stores and galleries. Sleek interactive displays and on-site demos educate shoppers about the brand’s electric vehicles, while design studios enable would-be Tesla owners to configure their desired model (which they can then share on social media). As Automotive News put it, “The idea is less to sell a product on the spot than to let shoppers spend time with the brand.” It seems to be working: Reservations for Tesla’s Model 3 are reported at around 400,000.

As for Nike, its new concept store in Soho adopts an omnichannel-style approach to marry the company’s virtual and physical offerings. The goal? To offer dynamic tools for personalized performance. Among the in-store features: an instant personalization studio with laser engraving and custom printing capabilities and a fitting room with digital checkout and adaptive lighting (to mimic the feel of a yoga studio or evening run). Numerous “trial zones” offer inviting spaces for shoppers to test shoes, whether on a synthetic turf soccer field or on a basketball half court. For instance, the Nike+ Running Trial Zone transforms the treadmill into a 90-second run in Central Park or the West Side Highway via digital screen (fueled by real-time performance feedback).

The Shifting Role Of Stores

This new breed of experiential retail signals the movement toward stores as vehicles for marketing rather than just straightforward sales. Though e-commerce provides instant gratification through savvy search engines and easy one-click buying, there is still no replacement for the sensory touchpoint provided by a brick-and-mortar location where customers can touch, feel and evaluate the product in person. Retailers that recognize this distinction will certainly have an edge in the rapidly changing marketplace, in which the number of distressed retailers has tripled since the Great Recession, according to Moody’s Investor Service.

The proof? Highly successful online retailers such as Amazon, Fabletics and Warby Parker have all ventured beyond the digital landscape to open physical stores in recent years. Though it may seem counterintuitive in today’s rocky retail climate, these retailers are finding real value in reaching customers the old-fashioned way. According to Amazon’s Chief Financial Officer Brian Olsavsky, the retailer’s burgeoning chain of bookstores is “another way [for the company] to reach the customer and test what resonates with them.”

No matter how long a retailer has been in the brick-and-mortar game, its longevity will depend on not only its ability to create enhanced experiences for customers but its unique take on how to keep them coming back. One shining example is Nordstrom, which is slated to open 17 new stores this year (amid a landslide of closures for other department stores). The retailer has long been hailed for excellent customer service, from hassle-free returns to hand-delivering items to homes. Whole Foods has also succeeded in this vein, going to great lengths to ensure an inviting environment with colorful displays and carefully-curated playlists.

This “feel-good” takeaway is yet another aspect that is largely exclusive to the real-life shopping realm, and it goes hand-in-hand with shaping the new face of retail. Now is the vital time for retailers to embrace these realizations, as many shoppers still prefer buying from physical stores over shopping online — and forward-thinking, experientially-minded retailers have a shot at keeping it that way.

Meet Shopkick at the Path to Purchase Expo!

Posted on by shopkick

Planning to attend Path to Purchase Expo in Chicago? We’d love to meet you!

With 97% of CPG purchases still happening in-stores, it’s critical for marketers to have the right strategies and solutions in place to reach and engage shoppers where they are spending their time and their money.

Shopkick is the most engaging rewards app that bring moments of joy to everyday shopping by offering fun ways to earn rewards. For brands and retailers, Shopkick provides high consumer engagement along the entire path to purchase. Our unique pay for performance model has been proven to deliver high ROI, driving incremental foot traffic, visits to shelf, and sales.

Schedule a meeting with the Shopkick team to to learn more about how our valuable shoppers can help you achieve your shopper marketing goals, or simply visit us at our booth #737 to take the app for a spin and get a free gift card!

The event takes place September 26-28 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center and is the world’s largest gathering of shopper and retail marketing professionals.

We hope to see you there!