Twenty years ago, the Internet was still a news story. In less than a generation, the concept of commerce has changed dramatically, and as e-commerce continues to evolve so do consumer expectations. New techniques, such as geo-fencing and mobile cross-device targeting, require wider adoption to meet these expectations.
According to a recent Accenture study, nearly half of all smartphone users worldwide say that they “can’t wait to receive real-time promotions” from retailers on their smartphone. However, that same study found that only 7% of all retailers are sending them.
Source: Accenture, “Retail Customers Are Shouting – Are You Adapting?” Feb. 2, 2016
The technology to support these real-time promotions is emerging rapidly, and it will shortly be accessible to any advertiser – a simple geo-fenced location can designate an area around a point of sale (storefront) that can deliver mobile promotions.
The key in retail is to get customers in the door. With ecommerce, that process is becoming a sales process of systematic branding, promotion, and up-selling. Sales, coupons, product promotions, and more – they all need to be working together to target, attract, and deliver value to the best consumers in a trade area.
Encouraging a consumer to research a product of interest and click on a coupon while at home or within the physical proximity of a store goes to the heart of targeting the right prospect at the right time and place. This is what the new advertising paradigm will look like in the future.
Retailers have the opportunity to generate closer relationships with their customers beyond the branding and get closer to the purchase transaction than they ever have in the past.
To read more about trade area and mobile targeting capabilities, download our datasheet.
