In 2012, the ground-breaking Shopper Engagement Study done by POPAI found that 76% of shoppers’ purchase decisions are made in-store. 2014’s study found that this number increased to 82%! This means that your biggest opportunity to sell continues to come directly from your packaging and display marketing strategy.
Recognizing the role played by technology when it comes to customer engagement, many companies have developed various new methods to try and attract attention. One company has taken insight such as this and attempted to use it to their advantage using beacon technology.
House of Fraser, a retailer in the UK, announced back in August that it was going to start using beacon technology, in the form of beacon-equipped mannequins, in an attempt to further engage shoppers. Once a customer (with an enabled smartphone app) gets within 50 metres of a mannequin, a signal is sent via Bluetooth to that individual, providing them with details about the items on display.
House of Fraser isn’t the only retailer – Michael Kors and Waitrose also said they planned to introduce this technology, which has been celebrated for its many benefits. Not only can it provide a great source of communication between a retailer and a consumer, as well as providing additional means to purchase items, it can also provide that retailer with important data regarding shopping habits, etc.
However, this amazing technology is not without its pitfalls. Firstly, people need to have (as mentioned) an enabled app on their smartphone to receive and access these signals, and a fair majority are still unaware that this technology is being used. Secondly, one size does not fit all, and while some customers may be ok with downloading a unique app for each store, others will choose perhaps their top 5 and the others lose out to the competition.
Check out the full article here.
We have yet to see beacon technology spoken about in the CPG world. In the grocery industry specifically, mannequins may not make much sense, but interactive displays are no less useful! Thinking again about the POPAI results, and how many decisions are made on the store floor, integrating technology into your displays can be huge when it comes to customer engagement. Your marketing and packaging strategy should be taking this into consideration!
For more about how to use your packaging and displays to ramp up customer engagement please contact Packaging Technologies Inc. today at 1-800-303-5883.
