In-store brand promotion is on rise in India. Stores and their suppliers are using a variety of marketing vehicles to promote brands, including shelf-edge talkers, gondola end-cards, in-store coupons, messages on the floor and TV monitors. Sixty per cent of all in-store purchases are unplanned; these impulse purchases are likely to be motivated by a variety of in-store marketing communications: coupons, sampling, end-of-aisle displays, etc. In-store advertising also complements today’s hectic consumer lifestyle. Consumers simply don’t have time to ‘study’ ad messages. They want relevant brand information when and where it is convenient for them.
“Designers need to keep the communication simple and minimal and talk to the customer directly, without confusing them. They must try to highlight the USP of the product/ brand which help to convert into sales”, says Brajesh Rawat, Vice-President, Manthan Systems. There are surveys indicating that in-store promotions have been useful in persuading consumers to buy targeted brands. However, there are limitations in terms of scope and manners, especially when a store begins to appear much more like a street market, and when these tools are not managed properly.
“In India, it is a standard practice to make advance preparation six to seven months before advent of the new season to ensure freshness in the collection in all sub categories. Approximately, 30 to 40 per cent of the designs are brought in as new arrivals. The line building is done keeping in mind the customer profile of each location and its categorisation. The new arrivals are further supported by visual aids, highlighting USPs of the product. The freebies like umbrellas are offered to the customers in monsoon season to connect with the relevant season and create an ambience to create an urge to go for the line that has been developed for the purpose,” says Ramesh Sadhu, CEO, Liberty Retail Revolutions.
Undertaking promotion
Promotions are successful only if they are done with following elements: SKUs should be focused on exclusive offers (where customer gets value for their spending), focus on the theme and create store ambience in sync with the promotion; if theme is seasonal, it should be highlighted by display through gondola/wall units. Gondola should be filled with sufficient promo stocks and there should be safety stock available in the store. Focus should be on in-store communications (leaflets/danglers/banners, etc) to highlight the promo and attract footfalls. Display units should be placed in high traffic area where the footfalls are generally high. Visual merchandisers should be well aware of the theme, SKUs, price advantages to customers, etc as they contribute maximum for increasing the promo category sales. There should not be any two competing SKUs under one single section in the same period. Store should have sufficient stocks, GWPs (Gift with any Purchase)so that no customer is disappointed as and when promo sales are generated. Promo SKUs should be priced very attractively and the overall volume/gross margin generated out of promo SKU should be higher than the normal quantity sales.
Other factors
Pricing is as important a part of promotion as the store design is. It is decided keeping in mind the needs and utility of the customer. In-store music is also relevant to set the mood of the promotion. All this is just to ensure that once customer is in the store he can be the part of promotion. During the sale season, there is a change in the uniform of the staff. There should be attractive POPs which will push the customer to make a purchasing decision. Apart from the hangouts and cut outs in and outside the store and at the display windows, there should be continuous flow of communication through print ads in the regional print editions.
It is estimated that $300 billion of traditional advertising will migrate to in-store media and promotional events in the next few years. This sea of change makes it even more important to measure the effectiveness of in-store promotions, events and media.
In order to keep the customer under your brand, retailers must have discount corner in the store and the same should be highlighted in their leaflet, danglers, promo posters and media communication. Basic idea is to keep the product or messages at key level so that costumers can easily see the same. Ideal place is to keep it in high traffic area like near the cash desk, trial room, or at the store entrance.
In-store promotion via visual merchandising
Speaking on the importance of visual merchandising as a key component of in-store promotion, Sukanya Dutta Roy, Director-Consumer Goods Business, Swarovski India, comments, “Visual merchandise can play a huge role in the promotional activities of a company because it can greatly help a customer to navigate their way around the store or draw their attention to any special offers that are available. One of the ways to engage customers is by bringing in the concept of open displays, for instance the recently introduced ring table by the Swarovski-Crystal Forest, which gives the customers the liberty to touch and feel the product as well as try it out to see how it looks on them. At Swarovski, the best sellers are located in different parts of the store to encourage full movement around the shop and the layout is imparted to customers. The layout is appropriately altered during special promotions to give out the right flavour of that season. It is very essential to have a modular and flexible layout to keep pace with the dynamic retail environment and Swarovski has been doing this effectively for decades now.”
Geographic differences
The components differ when we talk for the placements of product panels. While a store in southern region will have a mass volume display of products, the density per square foot is more and there would be display of more products in a little space. In a store in any metropolitan city, the density of display per square foot is less and there has to be a breathing space between each product that is displayed on the panels. Also, in-store promotions put a lot of emphasis on lifestyle product grouping. It creates an urge in the mind of the customer and ends in additional sale.
Right way
In today’s time, in-store promotion is becoming very cost effective. It facilitates direct reach to target consumers (applicable for high traffic stores). The success mantra is keeping the communication simple and minimal, talking to customers straight without confusing them. In-store promotion highlights the USP of the product or brand enabling fast sale conversion.
In-store promotions or events include a variety of promotional vehicles and executions:
g On-pack promotions g In-store demonstrations g Special displays g End-caps g Shelf talkers g Floor graphics g In-store media including radio, television, etc.
Push v/s Pull strategies for in-store promotions
Push Pull
Point of sale display Coupon
Special display Refunds/rebates
Premium gifts POP Advt.
Events Sampling
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