Digital marketing is the future when it comes to attracting shoppers to retail locations.
That’s the vision of Alastair Lockhart, a UK-based marketing expert.
“Smartphones and tablets have become a ubiquitous part of people’s lives, with shoppers now instinctively turning to their phones throughout the day for a multitude of reasons,” says Lockhart, according to RetailWeek. “Shoppers are increasingly looking to them to carry out a much wider range of tasks. For retailers, this provides exciting opportunities to directly interact with the shopper.”
Lockhart believes shoppers are increasingly happy to receive offers via their smartphones.
“Our research has shown that the appeal of digital shopper marketing initiatives has grown exponentially in the past two years,” Lockhart explains. “Now 65 percent of UK shoppers are open to the idea of receiving targeted coupons direct to their smartphones.”
But Lockhart’s message doesn’t come sans an insightful word of warning.
“These types of marketing activities must be well thought out, personalized, relevant, and timely to inspire purchases, otherwise they risk eroding shopper trust,” he adds.