With the rising glut of vacant store fronts and the seasonal enticement of consumer demand, pop-up stores offer a win-win for everyone. Store owners get much needed revenues from their spare inventory, retailers can leverage a cost-effective marketing opportunity, and shoppers have access to a time-sensitive and potentially niche product that is normally beyond their reach.

Add to this the technological advancements that developed beacons, and we have the makings of a match made in heaven!

We’re talking BIG BUCKS

If you’re in NYC, chances are you’ve either visited or heard friends talking about the Annual Holiday Market at Union Square or in Grand Central Station. To the unassuming eye, these pop-up stores are pandering to a colossal number of shoppers looking for bargains to fill their gift quota of Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa and everything in between. However, the results speak for themselves. Over the past few years, this phenomenon has been generating in the range of $45-$50 billion in annual revenues.

As retailers, these outlets represent the perfect accompaniment to your online efforts as consumers still crave the old school belief that “touch and feel is still King!” A vast number of mobile-savvy customers are embracing technology to review and research their items, and this same device can ultimately provide the perfect medium to drive them into your store. Proximity marketing is a proven and cost-effective resource allowing retailers to exploit technology to engage, interact and entice mobile shoppers into their physical facility.

Are you providing a seamless experience?

Whether you’re comparing clicks-to-bricks or evaluating your online to offline metrics, it is critical that retail stores bridge that gap effectively and ensure a seamless transition to complete the sales cycle. When spending marketing dollars, there is an ever-present need to be smarter and leverage digital activities to drive foot traffic in-store. Choosing the right scalability strategy can make the difference between a wasted opportunity and realizing incremental revenues from an extensive audience of retail shoppers.

The use of Apps has become “normalized” in the shopping experience and also paved the way for an increased expectation of discounts and deals, facilitated largely by in-store beacons which complement the mobile functionality. With today’s consumers often time-deprived for their retail excursions, the ability to receive an alert that is timely, relevant and location-friendly is personalized shopping at its finest. The continued climb in the number of smartphone owners means that it is imperative for retailers to optimize their mobile engagement efforts and ultimately beacon technology.

Devising your campaign strategy

Unlike other advances in technology, beacons are very affordable to acquire and implement. These relatively small and battery-powered, digital sensors can be secured to a wall, and are able to accurately identify and communicate with mobile shoppers carrying their smartphones. By preceding the delivery of such alerts with an SMS push notification request, consumers are much more likely to grant permission to receive offers from brands that they are genuinely interested in. These messages are welcomed, and less likely to be regarded as irritating and irrelevant.

By having direct access to the mobile shopper’s viewing behavior, retailers can deliver targeted and timely promotions to direct the consumer to the cash register. This value-added service (i.e. product information, physical location, reviews and discount coupon) will reflect the vendor in a positive light and add them to the shopper’s preferred list of solution providers. Obviously, it is also imperative to ensure that staff are updated on all promotional activities and are able to offer clarification for any apprehensive customers who enter your facility.

Beacons allow retailers to further build that personal relationship with their shoppers and guide them from the physical web to the actual store location, by providing unique insights to satisfy their individual needs.

Believe the hype!

According to a report by Juniper Research (Mobile & Online Coupons: Redemption, Loyalty & Consumer Engagement 2015-2020), the number of coupons delivered after being triggered by beacons is predicted to grow from 11 million in 2015 to a whopping 1.6 billion in 2020. The rationale for this projection is based on the following key benefits:

• Enhanced engagement with end-users
• Valuable data analytics
• Comprehensive campaign metrics
• Improve targeted and personalized, location-based promotions

So whether you’re a mature brand launching a new product line, or a newcomer bringing your brand to market for the first time, beacon technology should be considered as your new BFF. The very nature of a pop-up store is time-sensitive and therefore a lucrative opportunity for retailers to generate significant incremental revenues. Arming yourself with a partner who can develop a robust, proximity marketing campaign would be a valuable tool to help gain your slice of this ever-growing pie.

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