Retail Marketing – Strategies and Ideas to Increase Sales

While most people tend to make a distinction between in-store sales and e-commerce, the fact of the matter is that one can, and should, be used to complement the other. The statistics bear this out. A recent study has shown that 61% of people would prefer to buy from an online store that also has a brick-and-mortar location. Today we are going to give you awesome retail marketing strategies and ideas that you can implement in order to start getting a competitive advantage. First, let’s get a definition of retail marketing. 

What is Retail Marketing? 

Retail marketing is any initiative that you undertake to get your goods and services in front of your target audience. To be successful, you need to master the four Ps of retail marketing: 

1. Product – This is simply displaying your products on your site in a presentable way. After all, people need to see what they are considering buying.
2. Price – Whenever you are calculating the price, you need to take into account things like your overhead expenses, how much your competitors charge, and a lot of other variables. 
3. Place – Even if you have the best products in the world, it won’t help you if nobody sees them. Correct placement is a big part of your retail store marketing strategy. 
4. Promotion – This is where the rubber hits the road. At this point, you need to spark interest in the customer to buy your product(s). 

Once you have your four Ps in place, it is time to make sure that your e-commerce website is helping you increase physical sales. This will be a big part of your retail marketing strategy, therefore let’s explore this in further detail. 

Creating Memorable Experiences Online to Drive In-Store Sales

Marketing for retail is all about connecting with your customers and providing them with a customized experience. This is what your customer will remember long after the purchase and will keep coming back to you over and over again. One of the most important things you need to be able to do is offer your visitors relevant products. The one-size-fits-all approach does not work anymore because your customers will not feel like you get their needs or even care about them at all. Therefore, you want to make sure that you choose a platform like Magento, which can be customized by Skywell Software team, or any other one that allows for such personalized offerings. 

Utilize Videos to Engage Customers

When you are brainstorming ideas to increase sales in retail stores, be sure to use videos in your marketing efforts. A recent study has shown that video content increases conversions by 15%. Keep in mind, and this doesn’t have to be anything fancy with amazing graphics and model actors. You can create a video that explains how to use a particular product, shows a genuine customer review, or anything else that you feel will drive engagement. This is much better than simply having all of the testimonials listed on your site for the customer to read. A video allows them to better connect with the product and your brand, which is why it is an important tool in your retailer marketing strategy. 

Implement a Loyalty Program 

Loyal customers who have been with you for many years would like to be rewarded for their business. That’s why you should have a loyalty program in place that not only rewards your best customers but also gives people an extra incentive to shop. Loyalty program – is one of the most powerful tools of any online retail marketing strategy that makes people want to keep coming back to you again and again. There are lots of various loyalty programs out there, but the most popular are the ones in a game format. It adds an extra element of fun since your customers can compete with their friends to unlock new levels, take on new characters, and anything else to make shopping more enjoyable and rewarding. 

One of the best examples of loyalty programs in game format is Wizzzi. It’s an augmented reality game with cute characters inside a wizard universe. You can earn play cards for purchase and play the game with friends in augmented or physical reality.

Utilize Social Media

Social media is playing a more significant role in the e-commerce and retail industry as a whole. In fact, according to a recent report, 75% of customers bought a product simply because they saw it on social media. To take full advantage of this growing trend, you need to make sure that your e-commerce platform has the capabilities to automatically create storefronts on leading social networks, engage with existing fans and attract new buyers and lots of other functionality. If your brand currently has a sizable following on social media, you need to start taking advantage of the audience you already have. 

Start Taking Advantage of Online Retail to Drive Sales

Even the best online retail promotions ideas need to have a powerful platform that can properly execute your plans to complement your in-store marketing. It is essential to have the right retail software solutions in place since they can augment your marketing efforts, drive sales, and give you an advantage over the competition. If we think about how many both online and physical stores there are in virtually every industry, you will need something to help you stand out. You have already done the hard part in terms of coming up with creative marketing ideas and initiatives to get your name out there, so why not give it the best chance to succeed? The right technology will provide you with the highest return on your investment and will get you where you want to be faster.