Shopper Marketing
What is Shopper Marketing ?
Shopper marketing is a marketing strategy that aims to increase growth of brand and sales by focusing on the overall shopping experience. Key parts of this strategy include online presence, digital coupons, mobile presence, contextual relevance, product placement, promotions, food displays, store layout, lighting, sound and scent. Each element is chosen with the goal of influencing the customer into making a purchase decision.
Long before the internet existed even, food brands focused on trying to capture customers while then they were most likely to buy – when they were already in the store.
Shopper Marketing Online
But now with the internet playing a much more crucial role, Shopper Marketing starts online. With the average supermarket carrying more than 30,000 items, many purchase decisions are being made online, well before arrive in-store. While the original elements such as store atmosphere and product placement are still important, shopper marketing has become more advanced.
Developing an Effective Shopper Marketing Strategy
The first step to developing a strong shopper marketing strategy is to collect data on how your current and potential shoppers’ shop. Where do they shop? How frequently? What do they buy? What influences their buying decision the most? This data is getting easier to attain thanks to advances in technology. It’s also important to note that there is a distinction between target customer and target shopper. A customer is a broader term whereas a shopper refers to a someone making a purchase decision in a particular location at a specific time.
Once there is a clear shopper segmentation, then campaigns can be developed to target each of these segments. It’s important to consider the cost versus the potential gained market share or increased sales from each campaign. Often the most successful strategies involve a collaboration between a manufacturer and retailer. Online and social media platforms can also play an interesting role in today’s shopper marketing strategies.
As with any marketing strategy, shopper marketing strategies should be monitored and evaluated while they are in effect and after they end. This information will help inform future successful shopper marketing strategies.