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65% of Consumers Still Want The Traditional Retail Experience

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If you listen to anyone in the tech industry today, there’s a consensus that shopping in an actual, physical store is passé. Over. Done. Cooked. In a few short years, we’ll all be seamlessly ordering everything from mattresses and groceries to clothes and books directly from our phones.

Or… not. A new report from TimeTrade found that 65% of consumers would still prefer to purchase an item in a nearby store as opposed to online. The majority of them said they wanted to “touch and feel” the products before making a final purchase.

More importantly, 42% of consumers have never actually purchased something from their mobile devices. And when they’re looking to buy something, only 13% will decide to buy it from mobile.

So where does this leave brick-and-mortar retail? Somewhere in-between. Clearly, physical purchases are still extremely important. But digital can help drive foot traffic to the store and get customers interested in what the store has to offer.

Here’s how.

The Mobile Shopping Slowdown

Retail shopping is an experience. Mobile shopping is a convenience.

A wild shopping spree with your friends isn’t quite as fun (or wild at all, really) if you’re clustered around on a couch with your iPads. But if you need something in the moment – or, as Google calls it, the micro-moment – then mobile devices come in handy. You can buy items of necessity and items that you may not be able to find in a nearby store.

Overall, though, mobile devices are still very much shopping companions, rather than shopping destinations. TimeTrade’s research found that, among consumers using their phones in a shopping cycle:

  • 50% research products
  • 60% compare prices
  • 46% look for the nearest store location

The real opportunity for brands is to match the digital browsing and research experience with the in-store buying experience. The report showed that customers spend more in stores and 90% are likely to buy when helped by an associate.

API in the Sky Shopping

So how do you reach the middle ground between researching a product or service on a phone and purchasing it in a store?

One way is through an email campaign powered by contextual marketing.

For example, Lenscrafters recently sent a geo-targeted email powered by custom API integrations. The API integrations synced up to display the available reservation times at local stores. When customers reserved specific times, those options disappeared from the email:

Lens crafters used API integrations in email to allow reservations within the email.

This kind of email doesn’t just help drive traffic to brick-and-mortar locations. It helps cut down on the amount of back-and-forth between different teams and systems, ensuring that there’s no overbooking and local stores can get in touch with the closest audience.

Retail stores can use API integrations in email to do this and more – by personalizing an email based on past purchases and then showing what’s in stock, you can significantly increase foot traffic to local stores.

Showing local product results to relevant audiences works really well. Google worked with Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores and, though Local Inventory Ads that displayed real-time stock for local stores, Sears increased foot traffic by 122%.

By geo-targeting and personalizing emails, retail stores can do the same – all the while getting in touch with an opt-in audience who already wants to hear from them.

Triggers, Beacons, and Data – Oh Buy!

Shopping habits have changed over the past ten years. Walk through an aisle today and you’ll see people on their phones researching products, talking to family and friends about potential purchases, or even sharing their experience on social channels.

But they’re still in the aisles.

With the latest technology, email marketing can become as much of a retail shopping companion as phones. Imagine if people could scan their phones and be sent a personalized, triggered email when they get into the store – helping them navigate potential purchases, showing what’s on sale, and guiding their shopping experience through dynamic content.

By using API integrations to pull in relevant data from multiple systems and channels, email can create a central customer experience both in the store and outside of it. People still want the traditional retail experience – they just want to bring their phones along with them.

Inkredible5 Movable InkWant to see how brands like eHarmony, Lenscrafters, and others are using context in emails to build new customer experiences?

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