Shopper Marketing Fundamentals - Explanation, Tactics, and Examples
Shopper marketing has been around for decades and is something that we have all experienced in some way when making purchases in store, online or in bars and restaurants.
The path to purchase today is far more integrated, where shoppers now have all the resources they need to make purchase decisions way before they even enter the market. However, the ongoing success and power of shopper marketing proves that we are all still susceptible to being distracted and swayed towards a purchase if we are engaged at the moments that really matter. We call this “winning in the moments of truth”.
A solid approach to shopper marketing enables brands to influence buying decisions throughout the path to purchase. Understanding where, when and how to do this is a key focus for most brands in FMCG and of course, for us over at Quantum.
What is Shopper Marketing?
Shopper marketing involves creating awareness and driving interaction with products right at the POS (point of purchase). Whilst other forms of marketing try to increase awareness and affinity for a brand or product way before a potential purchase, shopper marketing uses real-time factors to entice shoppers at the very moment they’re considering buying. Or put another way, shopper marketing done well gets you on the shopping list whilst consumers are in shopping mode.
Shopper Marketing Tactics
In order to really win a share of the basket with today’s shoppers, robust shopper marketing campaigns involve a combination of tactics across multiple touch points, shopper missions and channels in the buyer’s journey:
Retail Displays
Shopping can be an overwhelming experience sometimes. There are so many brands competing for your attention all at once. As a marketer, your job is to make the buying experience and process as easy as possible.
One simple way to do this is to create exciting displays in-store. Otherwise known as off-trade or retail activations, these can be informative, purposeful and non-intrusive ways you can capture the attention of shoppers. They can interrupt the shopper journey and help the shoppers gain buying confidence, putting hard-to-find products right up in front of the store, educating shoppers or emphasising a key ingredient or feature that they would otherwise have had to read the label for.
Sampling and Real-Time Demos
We all love a free trial. Whether it is tasting a cube of cheese in the supermarket or playing an Xbox game way too long in GAME, demos let us build a connection with a product that we would otherwise have to fork out for. Creating these pre-purchase connections takes the fear of regret out of shopping, as you’ve already figured out how much you are going to enjoy the product. This in-turn, knocks down a barrier to purchase, enticing your audience to buy.
Creating Good Vibes
Vibes and ambience are crucial when it comes to making purchases. You unconsciously experience these all the time. For example, ASDA doesn’t have a dedicated radio station just to host after-dark raves for employees, and Lidl doesn’t put their bakery section at the entrance to give the croissants some UVs. They do this to create a sensory experience to drive you towards a product or store, making you want to return to experience it again and again.
Digital Shopper Marketing
With the ubiquity of smartphones and the blurring of channels, an integrated digital shopper marketing approach is fundamental to success. People often use their phones in-store whether it be for shopping lists, talking to housemates or scrolling through social media. Grab them when they’re staring at their screens by creating geo-targeted ads that pop into news feeds when they are in or near stores.
Examples of Shopper Marketing
At Quantum, we talk a lot about the last 3 feet – That all important moment when you are making a decision about what to buy. We are no strangers to using shopper marketing tactics to win in these moments to bring attention to and drive purchases for our client’s products. Check out some of our favourites.
Interrupting the Path to Purchase with Aperol
Our front-of-store display for Aperol showcased all the ingredients you need to create your very own Aperol Spritz at home. This display was featured across 37 Sainsbury’s stores nationwide during August.
Scannable On-Shelf Activation with Monkey Shoulder
We developed an in-store GWP offering consumers a mini speaker as a reward for every purchase in key Sainsbury’s stores. A QR code on the fixture opened a digital ‘Monkey Mixer’ game, helping users to choose their tipple and a chance to win merchandise. The Monkey Shoulder In Line Plinth was sited in 15 key Sainsbury’s stores.
Celebratory Chances to Win with Wilkinson Sword
To celebrate Wilkinson Sword’s 250th anniversary, we designed dramatic on-pack graphics and retail displays that promoted giveaways and prizes with purchases. The campaign also featured geo-targeted social media advertising that would target Wilkinson Sword’s audience every time they were in proximity of a retailer.
How to implement shopper marketing for your brand
So now you know about shopper marketing and the impact it can have on purchase behaviour, you are probably wondering how you can get started.
In order to have any chance in competing at the moment of purchase, you need to start with accurate, relevant and actionable data about your audience’s behaviour, habits and purchasing preferences.
This then needs to be aligned to the channel you are activating in and the dominant shopper missions in that channel.
You then use this information to create shopping experiences that resonate with your shoppers the most. Then you’ll need the resources, tools and expertise to implement what is required.
If you are still scratching your head, then we can help. Quantum are experts at creating shopper marketing activations. From acquisition of data to implementing the experiences on location, we can provide a full service to get your shopper marketing campaign up and running to ensure your products are turning heads right at the point of sale. Get in touch with us today to find out exactly how we can help.
