Hello fellow marketers/entrepreneurs!

Covid has had a gobsmacking effect on all retail promotions and marketing efforts. For people with retail businesses that thrive on footfall, it has been an uphill battle, but markets of the world are slowly resuming action.

Knowing the footfall to your retail store can help you decide how many products you need to stock, which days of the week are best for promotions, and what type of promotional offers work well.

The pandemic has drastically impacted customer behavior and customer loyalty is plunging. People prefer shopping online to brick-and-mortar purchases, and consumers are limiting their spending on a range of items – investing only in essentials is the norm now (McKinsey).

We found some companies like Target having programs like Cartwheel that offer 5% to 50% off specific items when customers shop in-store to increase foot traffic. Strategies like these ultimately add up, an ICSC report cites that 69% of customers who went to collect their orders eventually bought additional items.

I've put together a detailed list of 7 strategies to boost footfall to stores post COVID, I hope they come in handy!

1. Abide by COVID-19 Protocols for a Safer Environment

Be well-informed of the COVID-19 protocols. Don't implement this merely under the government norms, instead take extra measures to show customers that you care!

• Have an automated entrance
• Deploy hygiene counters
• Fix thermal sensors in the entrance
• Have an isolation space for those showing symptoms of the coronavirus

To see more check this link for the entire list!

2. Run Catchy In-Store Promotions

Discounts are a perfect way to attract new customers and retain existing ones. When you want to increase customer traffic in a brick-and-mortar store, give customers an offer that only works inside the store.

• Surprise your consumers with free samples of your products. This would allow them to try some new brands and products.
• If you’d want to reduce your excess stock post the quarantine time, try running a multi-buy campaign.

3. Digital Signages – Enhance In-store Shopping Experience

Digital signage is a type of advertising that uses a video screen to display marketing messages. They can be used for attracting customers, conveying information, and promoting merchandise.

• Retail outlets in malls that have fashion sections can display the latest trends on their screens so customers know what’s new. This helps them pick out something they might like quickly.
• Some restaurants showcase menus on screens while others even project live cooking shows! These displays help with menu navigation too; helping a diner decide between chicken tikka masala or steak tartare by showing pictures of both dishes at once.

4. Leverage Beacon Notification to Attract Customers to Your Store

The beacon technology is a way to implement a tracking system indoors. A beacon is an inaudible signal that can be tracked and act as the trigger for other events like sending notifications about deals, discounts, or new products.

Beacon technology helps with driving footfalls by giving customers an indoor mapping experience of your store's inventory. This ensures they always know where they are going and what’s around them. The navigation reminds them of their proximity to items on display so there’s never any confusion over whether something is nearby or farther off.

5. Train your Salespeople to Become the Shopper's Friend

Educating your salespersons on how to be consumers’ friends is important.

They should be knowledgeable about what products are popular and in-demand so that they can help the customers find exactly what they want while at the same time giving guidance on how to save money by telling them where discounts and deals can be found.

6. Reconceptualize Checkout Counters

Customers abandon their purchases because of long lines at the checkout. With the pandemic out there, this could be one of the reasons why the retail foot traffic is diminishing. Include contactless payments that can be automated or replace your existing POS setup.

7. Encourage BOPIS (Buy Online Pick-up In-store)

To implement BOPIS for your retail store, you need to have a centralized platform that allows you to manage orders, sales, and customers. This helps you to deliver a personalized customer experience.

In combination with BOPIS, another way to promote footfall into the store and drive sales in retail is by bringing your website in-store. And this will be a good move if you have multiple stores and not all the stock in one place.

This is because, when you know how to calculate footfall in retail it can help you with many retail metrics like:

• How to plan your store for peak footfall times?
• How much stock you need in the store and how often you'll need to restock it?
• What products are selling well on an hourly basis? This is so crucial information for retailers that will help inform decisions about where to place certain items or which ones may be more popular than others etc.
• When stores should have promotions (if they want), discounts, and raise weekend sales?

We've put together an elaborate, research-based White Paper that covers these segments:

• How have pandemics catalyzed technological innovations
• Customer sentiment and behavior during COVID-19
• An omnichannel customer engagement strategy to drive sales in retail and footfall
• The ultimate roadmap to increase retail footfalls
• How to build the perfect loyalty program to turn foot traffic into brand ambassadors?

You can find the same over here, hope my team's effort comes handy to some of y'all that could improve your store visits, cheers!