The pandemic has changed so much about consumer behavior and in-store opportunities for engagement, creating a fundamental shift in how brick & mortar retailers reach, communicate with, and engage consumers in meaningful ways. From the monumental rise of buy online, pickup in-store (BOPIS) to the more than half of all consumers, 64%, that now prefer at-home delivery as retailers continue to expand curbside pickup options, customers behaviour has forever been altered.
While some customers might be spending less time in-store than prior to the pandemic, as a whole, customers are heading back to stores in droves. A recent Mastercard SpendingPulse Report found that U.S. consumer in-store spending in February 2022 increased significantly, with retail spending (excluding auto) rising 10% in February compared to the same month last year and 8.0% compared to pre-pandemic levels in 2019.
For brick & mortar retailers updating their retail strategies, investing in the in-store customer experience should be a top priority. A recent State of Consumer Behavior 2021 report found that a positive in-store experience can have a major impact on revenue. According to the findings, 90% of consumers surveyed said that if they have a positive experience, they are more likely to return again.
Consumers are eager to shop in-store and they want – and expect – a personalized experience, and the retail technology available today can be turnkey in helping retailers target consumers in a hyper-localized way that can drive engagement and conversion rates.
The Evolution of Strategic Consumer Messaging: Dayparting in Retail
The practice of dayparting – scheduling messaging and consumer-facing content at different parts of the day – has become a tool commonly used by digital marketers. The strategy of having ads or messages only run at certain times is effective for many reasons and allows companies to capitalize on shifting opportunities to engage consumers throughout the day. Many brands also use the concept of dayparting in content pushed out through social media such as Twitter, with audience segmentation influencing what content is pushed out when.
Given the ability to strategically target customers with customized messaging, the concept of dayparting through digital signage is naturally being embraced by brick & mortar retailers. Utilizing dayparting can significantly help retailers increase foot traffic, relevancy, engagement and ultimately sales, and retail management platform Optimum Retailing (OR) helps brands create localized store profiles and localized messaging that resonates with consumers.
Leveraging insights and analytics to inform dayparting strategies
While dayparting isn’t new, leveraging modern digital signage makes it easy for retailers to embrace and execute dayparting. Segmenting customer messaging through digital signage is extremely common in the quick serve industry, where many restaurants digitally display different menus – from breakfast, to lunch, to dinner – depending on the time of day. However, for retailers who don’t have such clear guidelines on what messaging to change when, consumer analytics are required to inform dayparting strategies.
OR provides retailers with the ability to develop store profiles based on multiple retail data sources, resulting in a powerful predictive modeling tool. With those local insights, store profiles are created that lead to localized and personalized products, messages and campaigns, which drive conversion rates. With the right insights and analytics, retailers can create effective consumer profiles with insight into what customers are coming into the store when, and leverage dayparting to reach them in the most effective way and at the right time of day.
Elevating Retail Strategy and Stores with Digital Signage
Digital signage is reinventing localization and consumer engagement, and for retailers considering incorporating digital signage into their brick & mortar strategy, there are a number of factors to consider when evaluating its value.
- The in-store experience has the potential to be transformed by the inclusion of digital signage. From individual LCD screens that are wall mounted, to signage hanging from ceilings, to those on shelves or endcaps, to tiled video walls and LED displays, a physical retail space can be elevated and enhanced, which positively reflects on future-focused brands.
- The business benefits of incorporating digital signage can be significant. Strategic and localized digital signage drives foot traffic at the entrance and brand awareness, as well as sales of specific SKUs at critical points of decision. With the OR platform, the integration of digital signage means brands can develop and send targeted system-wide messaging by store, department, and/or physical location, ensuring messaging resonates with local customers based on local preferences and demographics.
- OR’s platform and its digital signage integration feature was developed to empower front line staff while saving management time and money. OR’s self-service functionality means employees can interact directly with the system to execute messaging or trouble shoot in the event of an issue.
- In today’s new normal, brick & mortar retailers can use digital signage to display up to date messaging around health and safety measures a store or brand is taking. As the world recovers from the pandemic, digital signage can therefore be seen a critical tool to reassure consumers and communicate critical information as they head back to stores.
With OR, integrating digital signage is made easy. Execution can be done in the same platform and workflow as all other marketing campaigns delivered to stores. Further, with OR, digital signage becomes part of the online planogram. The same people who manage the planograms can seamlessly incorporate digital into their workflow while users benefit from real time system monitoring and alerting with escalations. Stores can check in real time to see what their screens should be displaying, and ticketing can be automatically assigned to the appropriate service provider. OR is committed to ensuring all client stakeholders have full visibility, and that commitment extends to digital signage on our platform.
As retailers look to optimize their retail, a digital signage strategy is increasingly becoming essential – not surprising given its ability to strengthen relevance and customer engagement, while localizing in-store execution. Get OR working for you today and find out how we can help your brand improve and maximize store performance.
