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Azira’s recent survey showed a majority of shoppers using more than one channel in their back to school shopping journey.
It’s that time of year – temperatures start to cool, pumpkin spice starts showing up on menus, and kids across the U.S head back to school. And this year, as they head back they’re increasingly shopping using multiple channels – a combination of online, in-store and apps – to research, test, and complete their purchase journey. In fact, in Azira’s new Retail Study of 2,048 global shoppers, we found that 61% of the 619 U.S. back to school shoppers are using omnichannel shopping, higher than the overall 52% of shoppers who are using omnichannel shopping.
Why Shoppers are Turning to Omnichannel
Here’s a breakdown of some of the specific omnichannel purchase journeys shoppers are taking:
Omnichannel Shopping Behaviors Used By Back-to-School Shoppers
When it comes to deciding how to shop, consumers have specific reasons they prefer to shop online versus in-store. When it comes to online shopping a majority of back-to-school shoppers say “it saves time” (56%). 47% also said online shopping was “easier to find deals”. However, in-store shopping also had some distinct advantages. 50% of back-to-school shoppers said in-store shopping made it “easier to see product quality.” And not to be counted out, 45% of shoppers say they enjoy the experience of shopping in stores. Omnichannel shopping can give consumers the best of both worlds, helping them reap the benefits of both online and in-store shopping.
Finding Deals is Important Too
Omnichannel shopping can also give savvy consumers a better chance at finding deals, as roughly two-thirds of respondents are looking for ways to save this back-to-school season. Of the back-to-school saving strategies, roughly half of shoppers are turning to buying generic items over brands. Additionally, one-third of shoppers are cutting out clothes, accessories and other discretionary items completely to focus just on classroom supplies.
Money-saving strategies Used B back-to-school shoppers
Shoppers Are Planning to Spend More for the Rest of the Year
However, while back-to-school shoppers are on the lookout for deals, they do seem to be optimistic on spending overall. In fact, 58% of back-to-school shoppers say they plan to spend more for the rest of the year versus last year, with 27% saying they plan to spend “a lot more” and 31% planning to spend “a little more.” This group planning to spend more outnumbers the 29% planning to spend about the same as last year, and the 13% planning to spend less than last year.
How much do you plan to spend for the rest of the year (including holidays), compared to last year?
How Retailers Can Navigate Upcoming Shopping Seasons with Consumer Behavior Data
The growing prevalence of omnichannel shopping underscores the significance of a seamless shopping experience. As consumers seamlessly traverse both digital and physical realms when making purchase decisions, the integration of online platforms, mobile apps and physical stores has become pivotal. Businesses looking to harness the potential of omnichannel shopping need to provide consistent and personalized experiences across various touchpoints. To achieve this, retailers must turn to accurate, comprehensive, and real-time data that offers deep insights into the preferences and behaviors of diverse consumer segments.
With consumer behavior data, retailers can:
- Curate audiences for multi-channel advertising based on real-world behaviors, such as store visits, to target those consumers with digital, social or CTV ads.
- Attribute store visits and other behaviors to consumers who saw ads, visited your website and more
- Understand both visitation patterns and demographics in locating and formatting stores
- Ensure more relevant messaging and increased personalization for shoppers by understanding shopping patterns, demographics, and more
As retailers serve customers for back to school shopping and other upcoming key shopping season, the significance of high-quality data and a steadfast commitment to consumer privacy cannot be overstated. In an era marked by ever-changing consumer behaviors, data serves as the compass guiding strategic decisions.
How to rethink your media mix
First off, what is a media mix? Advertisers are constantly trying to optimize their campaign strategies, as well as their budgets. A media mix means harnessing a combination of different advertising channels for an ad campaign. This means prioritizing different media based on the return of investment.
Because of the restrictions on the use of printed flyers and the ever-evolving nature of technology, retailers and distributors are gradually being forced to rethink their communication strategies. This is particularly true given that today people are online more than ever and the internet is such a pivotal part of consumers’ daily lives.
Hybrid communication
What is the best strategy? The solution is to customize a media mix, by using a hybrid communication strategy including digital flyers and digital advertising. This provides the best of both worlds.
- Digital flyers are cheaper and reduce waste (the perfect communication advantage for a CSR strategy).
- Digital advertising means you can target specific profiles using analytics tools which track performance, which in turn allows you to optimize costs.
For retailers that still prefer the flyer format, online alternatives are available which allow them to effectively share a digital flyer and replicate the printed flyer experience by featuring a wide range of products. Advertising agencies such as Azira can create a digital version of a paper flyer.
Some retailers already offer fully digital flyers on their websites. Many state in their corporate social responsibility roadmap that they are aiming to reduce the social and environmental impact of their activities. For some, e-commerce developments have meant that they can have a catalog that is 100% online.
Finding your media mix
There is no perfect media mix. As we already mentioned, the choice of media used in a communication strategy depends on several factors, each of which is specific to the brand. A media mix will be different for every brand, depending on consumer habits of the target audience, the advertiser’s budget, return on investment and other factors.
Individual retailers can develop a strategy to suit their specific needs and objectives, whether national or local. Depending on this, some brands will adopt a specific strategy using online and/or offline levers.
What are the advantages of online advertising over paper?
With technological developments and evolving consumer behavior, marketers are including more digital activities in their media strategy. This is particularly true following the “Oui Pub” program, where it makes sense to use digital tactics to respond to environmental and financial challenges.
Optimizing print format for online
Digital flyers have their benefits, both for consumers as well as advertisers. Extra functionalities can improve the catalog experience. For example, interactive features can be added to advertising materials.
Retailers can use video to help get the message across and clarify what they are offering. This will increase conversion rate in the long run. The same applies for using links. An online version of a flyer can also link directly to products and guide the customer towards a potential purchase.
For redirect links, we recommend integrating CTAs (Calls to Action) which send the user to a navigation app that directs them to the nearest point of sale. Buttons with CTAs such as “Let’s go” or “Get offer” can lead them to the store. This type of functionality strengthens consumer engagement and also increases conversion rates.
Finally, digital format allows retailers to include more products without using more paper. You can include a wide range of products, to demonstrate to customers the extent of your range and how you can respond to their potential needs.
Expanding your catchment area
The catchment area represents the perimeter from which the customers of a sales outlet would theoretically come. A catchment area would traditionally look at where consumers live, without taking into account where they, or people close to the area, travel (e.g., professionals commuting to work).
Direct mail, as we know it today, focuses on a fixed catchment area, focusing on where the potential customer lives. This concept is traditionally rooted in the distribution methods of a store manager, but can be complemented by analyzing online and offline behavior.
By combining online and offline data we are able to take into account more information to offer communication that is more personal to the consumer. Therefore, having geographical data (such as place of work or places they usually frequent), allows you to map consumer travel. This will shake up and reinvigorate your catchment area, which was previously focused only on where people lived.
The time and financial resources spent on mass mailing, based on a traditional catchment area, would be better spent on the customized communication processes described above. For example, consumers would receive personalized digital flyers, referring them to the nearest store through CTAs.
Digital flyers allow you to boost and broaden your catchment area. The physical time and cost spent on mail marketing are reduced with digital flyers and targeted to the right people based on their travel habits.
Tracking performance
With mailbox flyers you are unable to accurately measure performance. After sending a flyer, it is generally difficult for an advertiser to calculate their return on investment. How many customers really visited after receiving the flyer? Did they already plan to stop by before seeing the flyer?
You don’t know your real conversion rate. Online campaigns can be measured much more accurately, especially by monitoring the click-through rate. You can also use tracking UTMs in your flyer links, so you know the exact number of people that have clicked on your products.
If you want a more accurate idea of consumer response to your flyers, you can do A/B testing. Send two different versions of your visual to your contact list. See which gets most results and tweak your flyer as appropriate.
Digital flyers allow you to analyze performance, which in turn can help you develop a retargeting strategy. Knowing which profiles have already engaged with you allows you to target them with more personalized communication, optimizing the conversion rate for future campaigns.
Finally, you can track incrementality in your offline strategy. Also known as incremental measurement, this allows you to improve your media planning and optimize where you spend money. This strategy is very similar to offline A/B testing. It involves comparing the visit rate of group A who have seen one message, with group B who have not seen the message.
By having one group see the message and another not, you can calculate the potential increase in visits generated by the message you sent out. By comparing behavior of both groups, you have a better idea of how your campaigns are performing.
Post “Oui Pub” conclusions
The opt-in program is in line with current general attitudes and environmental awareness. It does not mean it is the death knell of printed flyers. As we have seen, hybrid marketing is a potential solution that can benefit retailers in a number of ways.
You can set up more repeat and profitable campaigns, while optimizing your ability to track performance in order to offer flyers that are tailored to your customers’ needs.
Guide : Transitioning to digital circularsA
