3 Retail Predictions to Increase Footfalls This Holiday Season with SMS Messaging
Ever since the American-born Black Friday craze hit the UK (and the world) in 2014, retailers struggled to plan for the holiday season. In 2014 it was completely crazy in-store and online. In 2015, high street saw a decline in footfall over the weekend by as much as 4.5%. But online sales boomed.
According to TechRadar, retailers have learned some lessons. Many plan to offer sales during the whole month of November to avoid crowds and website crashes on Black Friday. But how will they bring more people into their stores when price shopping and searching online for the best deals is so easy?
Enter SMS Messaging
We’re just about six weeks before the November sales season begins. Your sales and marketing planning are probably well underway. But if you don’t have SMS marketing in your to-do list you might want to pause and consider it.
Looking at the retail predictions for 2016, there are a few big ones that can help shift the trend towards more footfall this year than last. Here are the biggest predictions and how you can use SMS marketing to stay relevant to your customers:
Click-and-Collect via Mobile
Many retailers already provide a service to have online orders picked up in-store. The prediction for this year is that more people will be doing the ordering from a mobile phone. To deliver the best service, send the customer an SMS update when their order is ready for pickup.
Also, any offers you send via SMS should go directly to a mobile-friendly site that offers click-and collect. It’s more convenient for customers, which means they’ll be more likely to buy from you, and come to your store to collect.
Loyalty Rewards Aren't Enough
Continuing on the theme from the click-and-collect, consumers are putting less emphasis on loyalty rewards. They “prioritise value, track record and convenience” according to vendhq.com. SMS messaging can communicate all three of those to a customer. You make your SMS marketing messages convenient by using links to mobile websites, or easy to show coupons for in-store purchases. If you are consistent in your messages, you’ll have a great track record – right on their mobile. When they look at the latest message, they’ll see all the old ones (does anyone delete old messages?).
It’s important to offer value too – not just for their money but their time as well. So if you want them to visit you in-store, make it worth their while. That doesn’t necessarily mean deep discounts, but perhaps there’s a special event they can only experience in the store. Maybe you offer a bonus item – whatever your customers will value – that they are willing to trade their time to come inside and get. SMS messages are great for these offers because they are so quick. You can announce ahead of time, then send reminders just at the right time when you want them to come to the store.
Make it Personal
One of the most consistent predictions is that shoppers want “Personal Commerce”. SMS messaging can be extremely personal. With a little effort you can send specific offers to different customers. It doesn’t even have to be individual. Simply dividing your list up by demographic or purchasing behaviour can make the offers more relevant which will feel personal. Did a customer spend hundreds on toys last year? Chances are she or he has children in their life. Let them know when the latest toys arrive via SMS so they get a chance to get them before anyone else.
That approach can work for any type of retailer. Use as much information as you have on the customer to create an SMS offer or campaign. The more specific you can be the better, but use what you have and you’ll probably see an upswing in sales.
TechRadar predicts holiday sales in the UK will be £2.2B over the four-day weekend including Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Shoppers expect stores to be bustling, and may opt to order online. Don’t let them. Use SMS messaging as described above to get them into your store that weekend, and all season long.
Related Articles
SMS Marketing for the Domestic Pets Market
With consumer spending on Britain's 57 million furry friends valued at over £4.5 Million and all the signs showing that this is only going to increase, there has never been a better time for the sector to invest in marketing - and SMS marketing should be top priority. As pet owners spend more and more time pampering their pets and investing in pet paraphernalia, the opportunities are infinite. SMS marketing is one of the best ways to ensure that your offers get seen - and in most cases, instantly. With its low costs, exceptionally high open rates and above average response rates, SMS Marketing offers huge potential for ROI.
SMS Marketing For The Equestrian Sector
The British Equestrian Trade Association’s findings from their National Equestrian Survey 2015 put the economic value of the equestrian sector at £4.3 billion of consumer spending across a wide range of goods and services, with the average spend per horse during the same year at £3600. It is an incredibly varied industry encompassing all types of businesses from sole traders making a living in remote areas to multinational companies. Their customer base typically tends to be busy people who lead largely outdoor lifestyles so the obvious and most effective means of communicating with them is by mobile phone, yet very few equestrian businesses appear to be utilising SMS text messaging marketing. So how could businesses in this sector benefit from this method of marketing?
Always Follow Through on Your SMS Marketing Promises
The other day I received a text message promising me ten days of deals. All I had to do was reply “DEALS” to the shortcode each day and they would send me a coupon for their service. This was great I thought, because my kids had been asking about the company for a while. A deal was just what I needed to get me to let my kids have their way...
How an SMS Customer Survey can Take Your Business to the Next Level
When it comes to small to medium sized businesses, however, a lot of companies believe that they don't have the time or resources to truly find out who their customers are. This often results in confused messaging, emails with low open rates and low conversion levels on their website. There is, however, a way that businesses can collect precious data from their customers which will not only help them engage with their customer base on a personal level but also result in data which can help power future marketing campaigns as well as improve aspects of the company.
Top Three Things Retailers Should Do to Keep Customers on Their SMS Opt-In List
You've run a successful SMS opt-in campaign for your retail store. Now that you have your list, do you have a plan to keep them from opting out? Wait, you mean there's more to this than just sending out coupon codes? There is if you want to keep your customers from opting out.
Why Your Startup Needs to be Using SMS Marketing
Are startups afraid of using SMS marketing? Is it because they’re afraid of annoying customers and breaking the regulations? I don’t think so. If your startup isn’t using SMS marketing already, it’s probably because you don’t know all the facts. Find out why SMS is actually perfect for startups.
How Text Messages Help Small Shop Owners Build Business
If you are the owner-manager of a UK retail business, then you will know that it’s vital to use every weapon you have available to battle with the big guns on the high street and online. That must include embracing all the advantages modern technology provides, including a communications campaign based on the Short Message Service (SMS) – better known as text messages. Not sure what SMS is about and how it will work for your shop? Then read on, because you are missing a golden opportunity to give your small shop a much bigger presence and outreach.
Technology And Text Messaging Support In-Store Shopping Experiences
Shoppers are very tech savvy. Even when they shop in store they are using their mobiles to do price comparisons, look up reviews or post on social media. And while your customers are busy using tech, your store needs to be using it too. SMS is one of those technologies that can really enhance the shopping experience whether your shoppers are in store, or not.
Use All The Data You Can When Personalising Your SMS Messages
It’s said over and over that SMS is one of the most personal forms of communications today. That’s mainly because people guard their mobile numbers and only give them out to those they think worthy of them. So anyone who has opted into your SMS messaging has indeed invited you into their personal world.
7 Tips for a Successful SMS Marketing Campaign
SMS marketing is still one of the most effective marketing channels available to businesses but is often overlooked in the pursuit of newer, more digitised technologies. When you include SMS marketing as part of the marketing mix, you're in a far greater position to increase engagement with your campaign, helping you generate a greater return on your investment. As with all channels, there are certain ways you can ensure your campaign is more effective, by following these simple steps.