Monthly Archives: February 2020

Personalisation in Retail: Real-time use cases for all marketeers

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Personalisation in retail is changing how retailers reach, interact with and utilise data to optimise campaign journeys. A one-size-fits-all message is unlikely to have a high success rate, especially with customers today having a plethora of choices. In order to capture the full power of today’s advancements in AI, tech & digital, McKinsey reveals that personalisation in retail will be the prime driver of marketing success within five years.

 

With Capillary, the personalisation process has 3 key components: 

 

  • Customer data, like location, browsing patterns, gender, engagement time, product affinity, store preferences, and more
  • Dissecting that data to determine individual preferences, and creating segments of customers
  • Delivering relevant, personalised and seamless experiences based on the data

 

Brands across the globe are increasing focus on offering the most relevant customer experiences. Here’s how personalising your campaigns can help increase the RoI you’re so looking to drive.

 

1. Increase emotional connect with customers— 1:1 behaviour-based interaction

 

Customer experience is a key metric while measuring brand success. Brands that promise compelling experiences have come a long way by building long-lasting customer relationships. Interacting with customers based on their behaviour and actions is best implemented with a direct-to-consumer mindset. 51% of companies today use at least eight channels to interact with customers (Aberdeen Group) and 48% of shoppers will share their data for more personalized service (Deloitte).

 

Every opportunity a user gets to interact with a brand is an opportunity to enhance the brand image, curate relevant customer journeys, and provide personalised experiences. Personalisation in retail through relevant messaging helps gather information about the user’s navigation flow, product interests, product volumes vs. sales, potential loyal members, and personalise recommendations. 

 

For example, Sephora gets this right:

 

 

Behavioral marketing typically involves the following phases—

 

  • Onboard –  Trigger an onboarding message, preferably personalised to the channel the user interacts with first
  • Educate and Incentivise – Feed users with relevant information that elevates their experience while providing immense value through pure content, or discounts.
  • Capture attention – Reclaim lost revenue by nudging visitors to get back to their abandoned carts, wish lists, or messages based on their personalised behaviour on site. Use strong CTAs that won’t give them a chance to ignore.
  • Remind – Make yourself useful to your customer. Remind consumers when free trials are about to end, when there is a shortage of their favorite product, when an item from the wishlist is already in stock, etc. 
  • Surveys and feedback – After leads or customers take action, provide spaces where they can leave their feedback. This information will assist marketers in improving user experience.

 

2. Increase in-mail click rate with personalized CTAs 

 

Brands often focus more on landing pages, and unwittingly give less attention to the top of the funnel: the Call-to-Action.The CTAs primary objective is to convert your website’s visitor into either a subscriber, buyer or a qualified lead. 

 

 There are three major types of CTAs – 

 

    1. Basic CTA – This CTA does not change based on any attribute of the visitor 
    2. Multivariate CTA – Usually used for an A/B test. 3 to 4 CTAs based on audience segmentation, and a winner selected based on which converts better. 
    3. Smart CTA – Tailored to an individual, based on visitor’s country, device type, referral source, lifecycle stage, contact list membership, behaviour analysis or transaction history. 

 

Point No. 3 is where retailers should be investing their time, effort and money. Let’s assume your company delivers financial and accounting services. If a user lands on your website with the search term, “how to avoid an audit”, an apt CTA you should be delivering is “Show me how to avoid an audit” or  “Read this step-by-step rulebook to avoid an audit” not “Learn more about our services” or “Explore our financial services” 

 

And if you currently don’t have massive design support, a great way to personalise your CTA is simply through plain hyperlinked text for nurture campaigns.

 

3. Increase newsletter’s impact across geographies with personalized time of delivery

 

60% of marketers admit that they struggle to personalize content in real-time (Neil Patel). Not everyone visits your website for the same reason, yet sometimes users (irrespective of their geo location) receive the same email, sent at the same time. Nurturing customers doesn’t stop after acquiring new ones. For transforming subscribers to buyers to loyal customers, you must provide value throughout the lifecycle journey. 

 

It’s no secret that certain times of day are tested better than others when it comes to email personalisation for retail, or email marketing for that matter. Segment your subscribers into different time zones, with the aim of sending emails to be received at a reasonable time for all subscribers, with personalised content too. 

 

75% of consumers ignore or opt-out because of frequency overload, and 55% blame lack of relevance. To solve this, a time timestamp (based on when emails are opened) allows for personalised communication with your consumers based on the time they are most likely to check emails. You can determine the content of the message at the time your recipient opens it too. This helps send relevant information to customers and build long-lasting relationships.

 

4. Increase effectiveness of in-store sales promotions 

 

Have you ever received an email from your favorite retailer promoting a sale that was happening “in-store” only? Have you been directed to a store to buy a product, and when you reach there, it’s out-of-stock? Promotions are always part of a retailer’s sales and marketing mix— they drive sales and help you move inventory.

 

Discount sites flood inboxes with daily in-store promotional offers. This is often frustrating for users, unless the offers and products match their individuals requirements. The key to personalisation (for retail and in-store commerce) is identifying your audience based on their interests and geographical location, so you can send them to a store that works best for them with the assurance of product availability.  

 

Here are a few ways you can drive in-store sales: 

 

  • Multi-channel percentage discounts, redeemable only in store
  • “Flat XX” dollars off 
  • Buy One Get One 
  • Buy 2 Get 1
  • Multi-save and conditional promotions

5. Increase in-store sales with personalized POS offers

 

Personalized one-on-one experiences can increase sales & influence consumer behavior. Almost half (40%) of U.S. consumers say they’ve purchased something more expensive than they originally planned because their customer experience was personalized. Assuming the POS is integrated with the online store, store-staff should be able to access all customer history across sales channels for a holistic view, especially when delivering personalised offers or incentives. 

 

In the case of a POS Advert, let’s say you run a paid online advertisement for your grocery shop, promoting 25% off on certain items. The ad will probably reach only those who have searched the web, and or are in the same location. With POS Advertisements, a customer will walk into your store and see that there is an additional offer coupled with that 25% for a larger purchase order value. The customer lands up walking away with a larger, more economically valuable deal than originally intended. Directing your customers to a location that’s most convenient to them offers you a higher buying propensity – it’s a win-win. 

 

6. Multiply first time purchases with personalized product recommendation emails

 

Open rates for welcome emails are on average, 50%. Compared to standard newsletters, they are 86% more effective. However more than 50% of brands don’t leverage this opportunity.  Whether it’s an interview or your first attempt at tap dancing, first impressions go a long way. If you sell products that are personalized at start, show your customer what they could look like before purchase as well as photos or words related to their lifestyle. Welcome emails are a great way to cross-sell and up-sell your products. 

 

60% of marketers admit that they struggle to personalise content in real-time (Neil Patel). The nurturing process doesn’t stop after acquiring new customers. For transforming subscribers to buyers to loyal customers, you must provide value throughout the lifecycle journey. 

 

Segment your subscribers into multiple time zones, with the aim of sending emails to be received at a reasonable time for every subscribers, based on personal preferences.You can also determine the content of the message at the time your recipient opens it. This helps send relevant information to customers and build long-lasting relationships. Capture the big idea of your message with a bold image and a strong headline, something that’s relevant to how that user landed on your page – personalise it. 

 

7. Win back lapsation-prone customers with personalised messaging

 

Radicati Group estimates that by 2021, the number of business and consumer emails that are sent per day will reach 319.6 billion. Customers often drop-off because they feel your brand is no longer relevant to them and there are tons of brands competing for it. They understand and seek two-way communication because after-all they invest their money and time in your product. Personalise triggers based on your customer’s latest actions – a good start would be to engage them in a 1:1 communication journey, integrated across all channels in real-time. More than often, customers will forget the existence of your brand, don’t wait for their purchase, personalise your prompts. If you see the click-through rates dipping, try incentivising till you find the path to conversion. For example:

 

 

Make each email individually relevant at open time

 

Survey forms and collecting routine customer feedback are great ways to stay on top of relevant and trending customer demands. An email preference centre is a simple way to gather this information and makes sure your communications stay closely connected to what they want to hear about by building an emotional relationship. 

 

8. Monetize out-of-stock pages

 

Out-of-stock pages conventionally become a dead end. This leaves the prospect barely any other option than to leave. What if personalization could help you convert this visitor? Journey workflows that are relevant to each individual’s real-time behavior, interests and purchase history have the potential to convert even your out-of-stock pages. Use your “out-of-stock” page to: 

 

  • Recommend similar products to the product that’s out-of-stock
  • Upsell or Cross sell products within the same category 
  • Recommend the most popular or highest selling products 

 

Out-of-stock pages have a higher propensity for users to bounce off. The main goal is that the page should be as relevant as possible to encourage visitors to keep exploring your site.

 

With so much noise, getting customers to give you the attention feels like yelling at a band during a sold out concert. Build strong and meaningful relationships with customers on a personal level, it’s the next big thing, we promise. Personalisation in retail becomes increasingly more personal as a customer progresses through the sales funnel. Keeping up with them, is what brands need to crack. 

 

Can’t wait to launch your first personalised campaign? Sign up for a demo or explore the new Engage+

How Dark Stores are Revolutionizing Grocery eCommerce

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Let’s accept it.

 

It is a chore.

 

Yes, we are talking about grocery shopping – one of those unavoidable duties that millennials call part of adulting, and not in a fond way!

 

So, what do they do about it?

 

Often, they put it off till they no longer can. But once they decide to get things in order, research suggests, they are starting to look online, increasingly.

 

While grocery eCommerce is still miles behind electronics and apparel eCommerce, it is fast picking up, primarily driven by the need for convenience among the new age working individuals.

 

International researcher IGD Asia expects sales across the continent’s top 12 online grocery markets to grow from US$99bn in 2019 to US$295bn in 2023, making it 7.6% of the total grocery retail sales in these markets.

 

Shirley Zhu, program director at IGD Asia, predicts South Korea will lead this phenomenon propelled by the rise of single-person households and mobile shopping in the country. She also adds that India and Indonesia will become increasingly important due to their scale.

 

Zhu concludes that suppliers need to consider several things in gearing themselves up for this fast-paced growth in Asia’s online grocery market. And one of the factors she mentions is ‘supply-chain’! While partnering with brick-and-mortar retailers is certainly a way forward, newer supply chain formats like Dark Stores are offering a much more advanced model of fulfilling electronic grocery orders.

 

The Rise of Dark Stores

 

As the name suggests, a Dark Store practically exists in the dark for the shopper. It is not one of those stores with an impressive customer-facing shop front or lighting.

 

Dark stores were initiated in the UK and meant to serve a focussed purpose – to offer click-and-collect fulfilment for online orders. As such, these stores do not exist in prime real-estate spots such as high streets or shopping malls. They are instead tucked away in relatively nondescript establishments strategically at locations with great road connectivity.

 

Inside, you have pickers scurrying to collect ordered items for online shoppers and send them off for delivery. Outside, you have vehicles shuttling in and out, picking one order after another for delivery to addresses in the earmarked pin codes.

 

If the store is highly mechanized, you may even see robots picking groceries and items, requiring, of course, higher inventory accuracy, but ensuring in return much greater efficiency.

 

Why are dark stores rising in popularity for grocery eCommerce?

 

Grocery has its unique category level challenges, such as the need for a high number of SKUs and, of course, item perishability. Moreover, online grocery stores are much more dispensable, with the ‘good old’ street-side vendors and marts readily available and now also offering near-real-time doorstep delivery to their hyper-local customers.  All this means that the challenge in grocery eCommerce lies not in getting the online order alone, but in fulfilling the same and getting customers to keep coming back week after week, or day after day! While everyone from heavily-funded startups to ecommerce mammoths like Amazon and Flipkart have taken a shot at hyperlocal commerce for grocery, none of them are yet to get it totally right. With brands like Spar and Reliance Smart investing in hypermarket ecommerce solutions and joining the fray, the segment has become even more competitive.

 

Here, Dark Stores come into the picture. They work especially well for groceries by addressing some specific challenges. Let’s see how:

 

  • The SKU Challenge

Someone needs a 6-loaves pack of gluten-free bread, and someone else needs a multi-grain, full-size pack of chemical-free and preservative-free home-made bread. When it comes to grocery, there could be as many SKUs for practically the same item as the number of consumers, simply because when it comes to food, everyone likes to have it their way.

 

By focusing on storage and click-and-collect functionality, Dark Stores can optimize SKU management in many ways. One, they save real-estate costs by steering clear of high traffic zones in the towns. Two, they can cater to multiple online grocery stores at once, so real-estate costs get shared. Three, they also save space because they do not have to bother about the shopping experience and display or in-store advertising. Thus, dark stores can accommodate much more variety per item at a much lesser space cost. What’s more, the scope for better SKU management increases fulfillment accuracy and reduces mix-ups, which are otherwise commonplace in the delivery of groceries ordered online.

 

  • ·The Perishability Challenge

There’s yogurt, there are pulses, and there’s the fresh spinach, all within the same order. Grocery involves items with all kinds of expiry windows. And they are all to be delivered together in their ideal states. Crackers mustn’t crack, liquids mustn’t spill, and what’s airtight must remain so. It is not easy to achieve this at scale. Unless there are dedicated places and processes designed to serve this very purpose – to retain item freshness not just for the duration of its storage but also till it reaches the consumer’s plate! That means fulfilling online grocery orders is not as simple as picking the item off the shelf (if it exists in stock that is!) and dropping it into the cart to be delivered whenever.

 

It requires impeccable inventory management, stock replenishment and order fulfilment – all of which needs to work seamlessly so that the window between off-the-store-fridge and in-the-home-fridge is as short as possible. Long story short, grocery fulfillment requires pickers to work at SPEED – not easily afforded in your average retail grocer where aisles are full of leisurely shoppers gliding around with their shopping carts.

 

Dark stores come to rescue by dedicating the much-needed time, space, and visibility for stock managers and pickers to manage order fulfillment while maintaining desired freshness levels for all items in the order. Brands will also need to invest in omnichannel ecommerce solutions that support hyperlocal capabilities like geo-fencing and localization.

 

  • The Fulfilment Window Challenge

Online grocery shoppers do not think beyond a few days. Orders happen not so much in foresight, as out of emergency. And delivery is expected the same day, at the most the very next day – adding to the speed challenge. Consider a situation where online orders may flood in at midnight, and delivery may be expected in time for the next day’s breakfast preparation, i.e., in the wee hours of the morning. Quite obviously, the brick-and-mortar grocery retailers are a bad site for the fulfillment of such an order. Hence, another grocery eCommerce challenge, that dark stores can address much better.

 

Benefits of dark stores

 

By addressing such challenges specific to grocery eCommerce, dark stores promise multiple benefits for the online storer as well as for the end consumers:

 

Easier to serve larger areas: Dark stores can serve multiple locations with high order density, unlike grocery retail stores, which come with space and volume limitations.

 

Greater product availability: Being dedicated to online order fulfillment, dark stores offer better visibility into stock availability and help e-tailers plan smarter.

 

Reduced cost of operations: Real-time visibility, space and time optimization, and efficient supply chain together make dark stores a much wiser choice from a financial angle, considering the volatility in the grocery market.

 

Better customer service: Whether it is 24×7 order fulfillment, picking accuracy, or living up to the quality promise, dark stores are in a much better position to make it possible.

 

 Future of Grocery eCommerce

 

 Indeed, there are umpteen challenges with Asian grocery eCommerce. The consumers depend highly on the neighborhood stores, they like to touch and feel products in the before purchase, and they think of shopping mostly when the next meal is due!

 

Yet, the overall picture looks good, given the market size. South Korea, China, and Japan are fast establishing themselves in terms of market share and scale. And Singapore and Taiwan will have more advanced channels by 2023. However, apart from size and growth, the different markets vary also in terms of grocery purchase habits and cultures. As a suggestion to marketers, IGD program director, Zhu points out, they will need a strategy for where to invest first. Overall, in terms of the online share in the total grocery market, Asia appears to be not far behind (7.6% by 2023), compared to the US (10% by 2022) And now, with Amazon entering this market, it is difficult for grocery retailers to shut their eyes to eCommerce.

6 Ways to Increase Same Store Sales

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Over the years, retailers have used Same Store Sales (SSS) as a yardstick to measure store performances. It is a closely scrutinized metric since it gives an accurate picture around revenue growth and more importantly, the overall customer satisfaction levels and in-store experience. The current retail landscape marked by higher competition, fickle customers and digitization has made it all the more important for brands to focus on basics like improving same-store sales.   

 

So, what exactly is same-store sales?

 

Same-store sales or comparable-store sales is simply a comparison of sales for a set of stores over a specific period. For instance, it allows brands to compare third-quarter revenue for 2019 with third-quarter revenue of 2017.  If the figures of same-stores have increased from the previous year, then it means that the company is moving in the right direction. So it is important for companies to keep an eye on same-store sales figures to gauge how well they are doing.

 

Importance of measuring same-store sales

 

Comparisons between existing locations and new ones help companies understand and learn business trends and shape important and critical strategies; for instance, to take decisions around  focusing on existing stores or going into expansion mode and opening new ones. 

 

An increase in same-store figures is a good indication for investors because it helps them to evaluate how well the company is doing in retaining their customers.  It also helps to boost the stock prices of a company. Whereas, a decline might indicate that customers are losing interest in their products or services or that new stores are cannibalizing business in existing locations.  SSS typically affects stock prices; industry forecasts around the health and future success of a company.

 

Same-store sales also reveals missed opportunities; problem areas that can be worked upon and the type of process that can be set in place.  These figures also help market analysts to find out the effectiveness of retail management and if they are able to convert existing assets into the revenue growth.

 

How to increase same-store sales

 

  • Know your customers

In today’s competitive world, it is extremely important to proactively know who your customers are, rather than being reactive and responding to customer feedback.  There are various in store retail analytics solutions that will help you track frequent customers and the ones who spend the most. Loyal customers and repeat visits are critical factors in determining your same-store sales.

 

Analyzing in-store customer behaviour using AI-powered footfall counters and empowering your store staff with clienteling solutions can further help you improve the in store customer experience through personalized engagement strategies.  For example, if a frequent customer has fallen off the radar , your store staff can send them a personalized promotion to bring them back by making them feel important and valued.

 

  • Send promotions and personalized offers

To increase in-store sales, you can send personalized offers to a targeted audience to increase footfalls during a slump.  For example, if your business is slow in the second quarter, it might be a good idea to offer a 20% discount during this period to a select set of customers who have previously shown high purchase intent.  This could go a long way in increasing customer loyalty and same-store sales.

 

Customers like to feel appreciated and valued by their favourite brands. Promotional offers and exclusive promotions targeted at them can go a long way in increasing the Average Basket Value, besides increasing the frequency of visits to your stores. The key to successfully execute such personalized experiences is an AI-powered Customer Data Platform that combines and refines online and in-store data to build a Single View of Customer.

 

  • Responding to customer feedback

Responding to customer feedback with immediacy is critical to the health of a company; and in terms of customer loyalty and increasing the revenues over a period of time. If there is positive feedback, then it means that the business is moving in the right direction.  But, if the feedback is negative, it becomes important to address the concerns of customers positively. For instance, if there is continuous negative feedback about your staff, it becomes imperative to have a staff meeting and coach them about handling customers and also have a training program to address the gaps in performances. 

 

  • Focus on the quality

It makes perfect business sense to review your products and services periodically, to find out how you can improve, provide additional value to customers and offer solutions that are innovative and creative.  It is important to evaluate your offerings and find out what is working and what is not and why. With advanced people counters, you can understand the demographics of your visitors like gender, age so that you can tailor your products to appeal to a specific segment.  High quality products and exceptional after-sales services will ensure a loyal and repeat customer, thus increasing same-store sales.

 

  • Hire the right staff

Investing in hiring the right staff who will do the actual selling of your products and services will have a major impact on your in stor experience.  They should love their job, be glad to be where they are and know their products, like the back of their hand. Mike Eden, owner of the Ultra Gear Shop says “The staff should be knowledgeable and passionate about their products and should offer exceptional experiences to customers, the same as they have.  They should share their passion with confidence.”

 

Offer your employees training programs from time-to-time, to upgrade their skills and bring them up-to-speed with the latest in retail trends.  The staff should be able to identify customer needs, give them what they want and show them value in their choices.  Brands should also invest in clienteling solutions and instant access to customer data via mobile apps for staff to help them track and engage with customers on an ongoing basis.

 

  • Understand & adopt the latest trends

It is important to keep an eye on the latest trends, understand what your customer wants, what sells and what does not.  For instance, cashless checkouts, VR and BOPIS are some of the recent trends in retail. If your store does not offer customer experiences that are in sync with current trends, there is a chance of your comparable store sales taking a hit. 

 

And more importantly, it’s important to understand what your customers are expecting from your brick and mortar stores. Is it the touch and feel aspect? Or personalized interaction? Or immediate delivery? Brands will need to understand the role of their brick and mortar stores in the overall omnichannel context and focus on enhancing the strengths of this channel. The more up-to-date you are with the latest trends, the better you will be in meeting customer needs, staying ahead of the competition, adding value and staying relevant.

 

Conclusion

Brands – often mistakenly – focus only on promotions and discounting to increase same-store sales. However, customer satisfaction and customer engagement are increasingly becoming important factors in boosting revenues and creating loyal customers.  In order to improve same-store sales and increase Customer Lifetime Value, it is important to offer engaging and personalized customer experiences, invest in infrastructure and improve efficiency.

Looking to ace your in-store sales? Contact Capillary Technologies now!

 

 

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