About Guest Insights Contributor
As a valued partner, this featured co-author collaborates with Adsquare to provide actionable insights and unique perspectives on data-driven advertising and location-based marketing strategies.
In-person shopping numbers are steadily climbing year after year, and retailers are paying attention. Alongside added investment in physical retail experiences comes the hurdle of how to measure footfall in a meaningful way.
eMarketer forecasts predict relatively slow growth for in-person shopping, with brick-and-mortar retail only growing around 2% from 2023 to 2027. Compared to its e-commerce counterpart, this growth is negligible. In the same retail forecast, e-commerce is predicted to grow from 15.6% of overall US retail sales to 20.5% by 2027.
However, these numbers don’t tell the whole story. Retailers are heavily investing in their brick-and-mortar locations. From improved customer experience to new real-estate purchases, retailers are keen to stay on top in the world of in-person shopping. So much so that the overall retail vacancy rate in the US was as low as 4.1% in Q3 of 2024.
Luxury brands are also investing in their in-person operations. One way they’re doing this is by opening new flagship stores that give customers a more high-end, high-touch experience. Tiffany & Co. is one of these companies. The brand opened The Landmark in 2023, re-inventing its iconic flagship store with 10 stories of custom artwork, never-before-seen jewelry, and a premium Blue Box Café.
Fast fashion has also caught on to the importance of in-person retail, with several retailers rethinking their approach to customer experience. H&M redesigned its flagship store on Regent Street in London, adding a beauty bar with nail and lash services. They also launched a rental section, adding to their existing sustainability initiatives.
Both high-budget and low-budget retailers are prioritising brick-and-mortar retail and investing in experiences to improve customer relationships. But how do retailers ensure these initiatives are a success?
The bigger picture is clear – brick-and-mortar isn’t just here to stay; it’s a major part of retail’s future – and perhaps exists in tandem with greater online initiatives. Here’s how retailers can measure their reach for optimised campaigns and customer experiences.
Footfall attribution makes growing in-person retail easy
Measurement is critical to the success of any campaign and in-person retail campaigns are no exception. Reach and engagement are especially important metrics to track. In the digital world, marketers can calculate reach more easily, tracking unique users to know precisely how many people have been exposed to a campaign and how many have clicked or commented. In-person retail campaigns may not seem as simple, but measuring their success is still incredibly important – and incredibly easy with the right tools.
Brands with a strong brick-and-mortar presence should benefit from a DSP (Demand-Side Platform) that seamlessly integrates footfall measurement within the user’s workflow. A smooth, user-friendly process lets businesses easily leverage footfall measurement for stronger digital and real-world advertising campaigns.
illumin incorporates footfall data into its journey advertising platform through its partnership with Adsquare. Together, we provide advertisers with a complete picture of their digital and in-person campaign performance. You can learn more by requesting a demo or speaking to your favorite sales representative.
Footfall measurement is crucial to understanding the reach and impact of in-store advertising. Advertisers need a comprehensive view of customer behavior; accurate footfall measurement (like illumin’s solution mentioned above) can help close the knowledge gap and give advertisers the same insight into in-person conversations they have for online engagement. Retailers can use this crucial information to make stronger decisions and more easily optimize their strategies for measurable results.
When connecting digital marketing campaigns with in-person interactions, footfall measurement is necessary. It lets brands evaluate their ROI and understand which online campaigns bring customers through their doors.
Final thoughts
Luxury brands and fast-fashion retailers are growing their brick-and-mortar operations, adding new customer experiences like Tiffany’s premium Blue Box Café and H&M’s beauty bar. This highlights the importance of understanding customer behaviour.
Footfall measurement is the only way to truly understand the impact of in-person campaigns. It is also the best way to understand how online campaigns translate into in-person shoppers. Brands looking to boost their in-person experiences should opt for a user-friendly DSP that seamlessly integrates footfall measurement for the best metrics and the greatest customer understanding.
Login to the illumin platform, reach out to your Account Manager or complete the form below to start optimising your in-store campaign performance with footfall attribution.
About Guest Insights Contributor
As a valued partner, this featured co-author collaborates with Adsquare to provide actionable insights and unique perspectives on data-driven advertising and location-based marketing strategies.