Finding creative ways to increase retail sales can be challenging for brands looking to blur the line between in-store and online purchases. In the past, brick-and-mortar stores seemed in competition with e-commerce. Today, we know that there is room for both shopping experiences as one report found that more than half (56%) of consumers surveyed shop equally online and offline. But, in order to increase retail sales both in-store and online, there must be seamless integration to meet customer expectations.
If you’re looking to develop an effective retail marketing strategy, consider these three tips that offer creative ways to increase retail sales.
3 Creative Ways to Increase Retail Sales
Whether you’re looking for an increase in e-commerce or your brick-and-mortar store, these modern sales tactics will take your marketing strategy to the next level.
- Increase Gift Card Sales
More than half of gift card recipients will overspend. One study found that the average gift card user spends $59 more than the value of the card. The study also found gift card spending to be particularly large at restaurants and drug stores. At supermarkets, spenders tacked on 94% beyond the gift card value.
Furthermore, about a third of recipients don’t redeem their gift cards, which equates to $1 billion a year poured into businesses as pure profit. But that doesn’t mean customers don’t like gift cards—in fact, three-quarters of consumers say they prefer receiving gift cards.
In order to take advantage of the ways in which consumers use gift cards, consider partnering with an app like Shopkick which rewards participants with kicks (rewards points) for things like walking into stores, browsing products, and making purchases. Those points are then redeemed for gift cards to participating retailers—your retail store could be among them.
- Reengage Wayward Online Shoppers
Personalized marketing can go a long way. Personalization can translate into increased loyalty and sales. In fact, reports suggest that 41% of consumers have switched brands over poor personalization, and the effects of poor personalization can cost businesses around $756 billion a year.
One way to reach online shoppers through personalized marketing is to target customers who browse but don’t buy to remind them of products they recently viewed. Another example is to target customers who abandoned their shopping carts, letting them know of price changes.
- Create an Immersive Retail Experience
For customers who would prefer their shopping experience go beyond walking into a store, purchasing a product, and leaving, brands should create an immersive retail experience. Creating an immersive retail experience allows brands to interact with consumers in a non-intrusive way that builds affinity.
Gamification is one way to create a retail experience that engages consumers beyond making a purchase. Shopkick offers an environment where customers can discover and interact with brands in an engaging and non-invasive way. Shopkick gamifies the typical shopping experience by turning it into a scavenger hunt for rewards points (“kicks”). Not only is this fun for the consumer, but great for retailers as the mobile shopping app drives shoppers to products in the aisle, incentivizing purchases and helping to boost sales.
When exploring creative ways to increase retail sales, consider ways to boost gift card sales, reengage online shoppers, and create an immersive retail experience.
Once customers download the Shopkick app, it travels with them all along the shopping journey via their mobile device. The app enables customers to interact with brands from any location and incentivizes engagement while they’re already in a shopping mindset. And when a customer enters a participating store, interacts with a featured product at shelf, or makes a purchase, they are rewarded—which makes for the perfect immersive retail experience.
When exploring creative ways to increase retail sales, consider ways to boost gift card sales, reengage online shoppers, and create an immersive retail experience. These three tactics are sure to engage customers, drive brand awareness, and increase retail sales—in-store and online.
Shopkick helps our partners develop creative ways to increase retail sales both in-store and online. To learn how we have helped other companies like yours increase sales, contact us and check out our success stories.
Image courtesy of Torwaistudio
