Strategies for Driving Online Shoppers In-Store

The way consumers discover, vet and buy new products is undergoing rapid change. In 2023, 274.7 million people in the U.S. shopped online, which is more than 81 percent of the population. By all projections, this number will continue to rise in the coming years.

Although the majority of retail conversions occur in-store, brands must engage online audiences. This top-of-funnel awareness is key to driving meaningful sales.

The Rise of Online Lifestyle Marketing

When online marketing first emerged, product shots were enough to move the needle. However, as the content ecosystem becomes increasingly saturated, brands must find new ways to stand out.

Lifestyle marketing isn’t a new concept. In-store demos have long been a proven method for driving sales, and shopping networks like QVC brought that experience directly into consumers’ living rooms. Now with the rise of online shopping networks like TikTok, the in-store demo is everywhere, and all at once.

Whether a shopper is riding the metro or scrolling at a coffee shop, they can find compelling content. So, how will your brand stand out from the rest?

Creating Effective Content

Consumers want to see real-life applications of products and understand how they’re used. This helps move the consumer through the decision funnel toward buying intent. Leverage these three digital strategies to drive online shoppers in-store:

1. Customer-Led Content

Your loyal customers are your biggest brand advocates. They buy with regularity, use the product often, and are the most likely to spread the word. When these customers create content, new customers can see how the product is used. This method cultivates authenticity that produced media often lacks.

There are several ways to capture customer-led content, whether inbound tags, comments or product reviews. Another great way to engage consumers is through a content competition. For example, “Create a reel using our product and enter to win a year’s free supply!”

2. Team-Led Content

People buy from people. Whether a founding story or an origin story, consumers like to know who is behind products they love.

Interviewing team members can unlock interesting insights as well. Ask questions about why employees started working at the brand, their experiences, etc.

Both produced content and come-with-me styles are effective. Personal narratives are powerful hooks to capture and maintain an audience’s attention.

3. Creator-Led Content

Brands have more options to work with content creators than ever before. The influencer landscape is full of creators with varying platform sizes and styles. Now, with the rise of user-generated content content creation, platforms aren’t even a prerequisite.

Scope out the content landscape to find creators who are unique but resonant with your brand. The individual eye a creator brings can be the differentiating factor for virality.

Leveraging Digital Content to Drive In-Store Sales

Imagine your content is firing. Views are rising and the social team is happy with the engagement metrics. But sales in-store are flat. Why?

Your content may be lacking a clear call to action for retail.

Once you’ve hooked consumer attention, you must provide an actionable next step. Most online advertisers are driving traffic to a checkout page online. Whether direct-to-consumer or Amazon.com, consumers can buy with a few clicks. To motivate a consumer to travel to a store, there must be clear, actionable instruction.

Try these two call-to-action strategies to drive online shoppers in-store:

• Provide a clear retail callout. Include the retailer logo in the creative to clarify the buying journey for consumers. If there is an audio overlay, ask the speaker to include a vocal callout in their scripting. As the adage goes, “If you need something, ask.” Sometimes we underestimate the power of a few magic words.
• Attach an incentive to the media. Are you running any form of in-store promotion? Make sure to tell your customers about it in your content. This can help turn idle curiosity into real-world conversion. With the rise of digital incentives, there are more options than ever to motivate consumers to buy. With modern solutions, you can now test different discount values across multiple channels. This helps determine which incentive values your audience responds best to.

Winning the Cart

The digital marketing space is full of opportunities to drive more sales in-store.  However, too often the point of conversion is an afterthought for top-of-funnel media.

Understanding where you want to make an impact is paramount. If you leverage this as your North Star, you’re sure to reap the benefits at the point of sale.