Insights from location-based data are a surprising tool helping retailers swim in an economy that is treading water
The game is changing for retailers that rely on foot-traffic data to identify and reach customers.
While online shopping is gaining momentum, physical retail spaces are far from dead. In fact, data shows that shopping in person remains relevant. New research from Forrester projects that by 2028, brick-and-mortar sales in the U.S. will reach $4.2 trillion and represent 72% of the retail market.
However, it is worth noting that e-commerce platforms are here to stay. The U.S. Department of Commerce shared that e-commerce sales in the second quarter of 2023 totaled $277.6 billion, an uptick of 7.5% from the second quarter of 2022.
So why has online retail has been so successful?
Meet Customers Where They Are Using Precision Marketing
Personalization and the shift to what is known as the “age of personal commerce” is a major selling point for customers. However, this tactic has proven challenging to replicate offline due to the difficulties in obtaining the same levels of data measurement and analytics that are available digitally.
Despite this hurdle, as more investment pours into real estate tech, the gap is closing between shoppers’ buying habits online and in physical stores. Traditional retailers are beginning to bridge this gap by accessing the right data to reach optimal prospects and personalize the customer experience to stay relevant.
For brick-and-mortar retailers, the key to boosting return on investment from marketing is accurately tying a customer’s digital footprint to a store’s footprint. From neighborhood demographics and commute times to income levels and housing values, location intelligence-based data provides insights into customer lifestyles, as well as how and where they shop.
Learn to Leverage Data-Driven Marketing for Sustainable Growth
Retail Reimagined Through Location-Intelligence Property Data
Stores must offer a level of “attractiveness” to draw more shoppers to a brick-and-mortar location. Traditional retailers can accomplish this through offering convenience, ease of access and a diversity of merchandise that appeals to the right demographic mix in the area. Location-intelligence information can help provide the necessary insights for retailers to design their offline shopping experiences, and it can also help traditional retailers identify shopper habits that enable them to plan for:
- Last-mile delivery services
- Omnichannel efficiencies, such as providing online shoppers with information about the availability of online products in local brick-and-mortar stores
- Where to place merchandise based on how certain demographics shop for products
- Buy online, pick up in store (BOPIS), a strategy that enables shoppers to purchase items on the Internet and retrieve them at a physical location
Precise Data Lowers Retailer Risks
As Americans continue to move in search of affordability, it is important for retailers to keep precise tabs on their target audience’s location and lifestyle using location intelligence. This information can be the difference between reactively responding to economic tailwinds and actively laying the groundwork to grow with your customers.
Traditional retailers that wish to remain competitive need to have more than just customer data to keep up with their e-commerce competitors. Understanding current real estate, shifting demographics and lifestyle trends helps brick-and-mortar retailers target the right prospects where they live and build bespoke shopping experiences. This is essential to accelerating business, gaining loyal customers and becoming a more “location intelligent” company.
Retailers who hope to reach customers before the competition need access to location and property intelligence. With Precision Marketing, it’s now straightforward to uncover shopper insights that go beyond foot traffic.
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