Instore Advertising

We may be living in The Digital Age, but retailers are missing a trick if they fail to use one of the most cost-effective forms of marketing at their disposal: instore advertising.

In a recent shopper engagement study, US based Spectrio acquired some interesting statistics on customers purchasing decisions. Of 3,000 shoppers interviewed, 82% of decisions to purchase are made in store, 62% make an impulse buy and 16% of these unplanned purchases are driven by instore advertising. According to Statistica it’s a similar picture in the UK, where customers are more inclined to buy last minute products they are made aware of in-store. How can smaller retail outlets cash in on this lucrative advertising opportunity and not only encourage this type of buying but also draw in more customers?

WHAT EXACTLY IS INSTORE ADVERTISING?

Any information that is on display in a retail store to inform or educate the customer is referred to as instore advertising. It can take a variety of forms from wall and floor displays, shopping trolley panels, above and end aisle displays and digital screens.

It is a low cost, highly effective way to communicate with your customers on a regular basis as the outlay is nominal and has an immediate effect on your audience prompting them to buy.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS?

Advertising in and around your outlet can achieve several objectives, including:

Drawing in customers
Leading purchasing decisions
Encouraging impulse buys
Introducing new products
Promoting sales
Supporting cross promotions
Creating up sell opportunities
Informing customers
Reminding customers

HOW CAN YOU ADVERTISE?

Customers can be reached both inside the shop or unit and around the surrounding environment. Externally large banners can be fixed on railings, attached to walls or around the car park. Window displays highlighting a specific product or service or introducing something new to try, if executed well, can entice punters off the streets.

Internally, pop up display stands, large roller banners or desktop stands can be used as signage providing information and making customers aware of important information such as opening times, location of WC’s or safety procedures. Or these can be set up in a way to influence a browser to make a purchase. For example, attaching together a ‘screen’ of colourful roller banners can create quite an impact on shoppers’ product perception and influence their motive to buy.

WHERE TO ADVERTISE?

The message you are sending needs to be easily seen and read by as many people as possible to have the maximum effect. It is unlikely that every person entering your shop will visit all areas of your store but what is certain is that everyone enters through the same door. An eye-catching pop up display at the entrance or advertising posters or boards on pillars or walls as they come in will get noticed by a large proportion of visitors. Equally a roller banner display set up next to washroom facilities where people tend to linger, or at the end of aisles or even a smaller stand on the cash counter or point of sale (POS), in fact any place where people tend to congregate or wait around, will work well.

Always keep your window displays simple but interesting. They should tell a story in a way that your audience will understand and relate to. Highlight your USP’s (unique selling points) that make you different to your competitors and the benefits available to the customer should they choose to purchase your service or products. Think about what is going on in the life of your public, select visual images to portray and reflect this and include additional sales items they could buy to enhance, support or facilitate the event or situation. For instance, seasonal representations may be unoriginal, but could you put a creative slant on these to appeal to the humour or intelligence of the onlookers? It’s all about thinking outside the box, being clever but not too random as well as displaying items for purchase in an attractive way. So-called Guerrilla Advertising is a strategy that adopts unconventional methods to promote products and services at low cost. It involves creating innovative ways and ideas to attract the attention of customers on a personal and memorable level.

WHAT TO ADVERTISE?

First, identify your objectives. What are you trying to tell your customer and why? Is the aim to increase the sale of a certain product or brand? Are you trying to break into a new market with your products or services or are you merely wanting to increase brand awareness and promote brand loyalty?

Select the target customer. The elderly? Families? Teens? It’s better to tackle your advertising by segmenting your customers into smaller groups with similar outlooks, interests or needs. That way the message is more focused and fitting for the group in question and you can provide them with exactly what they want.

The message needs to be to the point and simple to understand. Use bullet points where possible as people do not have the time or inclination to laboriously read through wordy content.

The display should always be professional- looking or this could detract from the impact of the message. If there is no facility to design inhouse, submit your design criteria to a professional studio who can put together the content and display in a short time. Always opt for high quality stands, banners and screens because they will serve you long-term, are therefore better value and reflect well on your business.

Draw up an advertising schedule to keep on top of what is being promoted and for how long. Keep up to date with changes in season, promotions expiring or discounts becoming out of date. Selecting roller banners with the option to change the graphic panel regularly will prove cost effective and less labour intensive for staff.

WHY USE ROLLER BANNERS FOR INSTORE ADVERTISING?

For high quality visuals and professional looking displays
For convenient storage
For flexible and practical re-use
To grab customer attention or entice them into your store
To reiterate USPs, customer benefits and brand strengths
To highlight offers, promote special products
To provide product information
To guide customers through your store
To partition categories of products
To showcase a specific brand
To advertise opening hours
To prompt impulse buying at POS
To share business news
To announce community support

For assistance with any of the above Roller Banners UK is waiting for your call to advise, design and print your promotional material. Call 02380 700111 today or contact the team online.