Shopper marketing has seen a sea change over the past few years, as the digital age has put consumers in the driving seat.
Digital tools such as ecommerce, smart phones and social media have given us the freedom to shop where, when and how we choose.
The competitive prices, along with the convenience of online shopping – (particularly the lack of queues!) means that an ever increasing number of us are choosing to do our shopping from our sofas.
With this in mind, let’s look at three of the biggest digital shopper marketing trends that are dominating the online environment:
Graphics by Shutterstock
1. Digital marketers are moving beyond the cookie.
Publishers are concerned about their impact on page load times, ad discrepancy counts and data leakage, while consumers are worrying about privacy issues. Instead, solutions that aren’t reliant on cookies are popping up, including those that focus on leveraging Wi-Fi networks to deliver targeted ads.
2. Mobile analytics are even more essential.
According to netimperative, 71% of Brits now own a smartphone. With many consumers using smartphones in-store, mobile has moved from an experimental shopper tool to one that’s the status quo.
In 2015, digital shopper marketers are focusing heavily on mobile analytics — both within apps and on the mobile web — to identify customers and provide them with targeted, personalized offers to enhance loyalty and boost sales.
3. Retailers are providing seamless shopping experiences.Marketing, (and in turn shopper marketing), is moving from multichannel to omnichannel.
At first glance it may seem that this is merely a buzzword update, but the transition between the two approaches identifies a fundamental trend in today’s digital world.
Multichannel marketing came to the fore at the rise of the Web, where retailers had to add web-based e-commerce to in-store and catalogue channels. Omnichannel, however, represents more than simply adding mobile and social media to the mix.
It heralds an interconnectedness among touch points that (from the perspective of the consumer), blurs the distinction among channels.
Forward-thinking retailers are testing new technologies and engagement methods that will bring the shopper’s wish for a truly omnichannel experience to fruition.
Digital shopper marketing has proven that it can leverage the latest in data-driven solutions and technologies to go far beyond traditional print inserts, circulars and in-store displays, to influence and drive positive shopper behaviour.
