If you’ve been keeping up with TAKU blogs we assume you are already offering Buy Online, Pick Up In-Store (BOPIS). If you aren’t, check out how TAKU can help you to easily offer BOPIS with 0 headaches! 85% of shoppers interviewed in this study have admitted to making extra in-store purchases when visiting to pick up their orders. It’s essential to be thinking about how retailers can get shoppers to add more to their store pick up orders since this is the best way to get the most out of your BOPIS offerings.
Let’s go over some strategies YOU can start using today to get more impulse purchases through in-store pick ups.
Start on the online front
Your first opportunity at getting customers to add more to their purchase during a BOPIS order is on the online front. Your customers are already ready to make a purchase when they go onto your website to make an order – this is the perfect time to strike! CNBC mentions that “once you’ve mentally committed to buying an item online, you know you’ll have to go through the required steps such as entering your information… so you may be more open to tossing additional stuff into your cart.” Here are two tactics you can use to upsell online.
The fear of missing out (FOMO) is a very real thing. Finder.com reported that more than half of consumers said they made an impulse purchase because of FOMO. Timed discounts are a perfect way to use this attitude to make more sales. When a consumer is making a pick up order on your website, you can upsell another item to them at a discount. Make sure this discount has a timer on it, so they have to make the decision quick or miss out on the offer forever.
Item recommendations
Lush uses a product recommendation feed at checkout to upsell to customers (Source)
You can upsell products on the checkout screen of your website with ease. You can recommend products that pair well with whatever the customer is buying and have them be easy to add to the customer’s cart right from the checkout screen.
Real-time stock quantities
Showing real-time stock levels for items on your website is a great way to get shoppers to add more to their store pick up order. Shoppers whose purchases are driven by stock availability would be excited to add more to their cart if they know those items are available and can be picked up all at once, in one visit.
On top of that, you can still appeal to a customer’s FOMO with this tactic. If the customer sees that an additional item only has 1 unit left in stock, they will be more likely to reserve the item online so that they do not miss out. Adding a tool such as TAKU’s built-in integration to Google to your own online store makes it easy for you to effortlessly showcase your available store products online.
Amazon’s use of stock quantity to leverage FOMO (Source)
In-store strategy to upsell
Another opportunity to increase additional sales of a pick up order is within the store itself. As BOPIS’ name suggests, your customers will have to come in-store to pick up their products. This provides another avenue to promote extra purchases. Here are some tactics that will get shoppers to add more to their pick up orders.
Transaction building with expert employees
An Apple store employee providing expertise to customers (Source)
A transaction building strategy will motivate consumers to add more to orders. For example let’s pretend you are an hardware store. If a customer comes into buy a bath tub for a washroom renovation they may realize there are some other products they will need. These can include things like caulking, shower heads, and maybe even a shower curtain rod. You can train your employees to bring these subjects up when the customer comes into pick up their order, this will ideally lead to more additions to their purchase. Having well-informed employees is a huge advantage for this strategy. Think about a time where an employee’s expertise in a store has helped you make the right purchase.
Another simple way to get shoppers to add more to their store pick up order is to offer discounts based on their transaction price. Let’s say a customer is coming in to pick up a $180.00 order. You could tell them that if they make a $200.00 purchase they will get an additional 10% off. This will get them to look around your store for a $20 item so that they can get the discount. The urgency of the in-store offer is often enough to get them to purchase an extra item or two.
If the customer has already made the pick up without adding anything to their purchase, you can make a last ditch effort through receipt marketing. You can leave messages on the receipts of transactions which communicate in-store promotions and discounts. This way the customer knows that next time they can take advantage of in-store promotions and add to their basket. Companies like Fobi offer products which can help you make the most out of receipt marketing.
Who doesn’t enjoy a good game? Using the reward system that games use can help your customers feel more enticed to make additional purchases. At the pick up center of your store you could add a spin-to-win wheel that will give customers special promotions with the purchase of an additional item. You could also try to upsell a specific item which will enter the customer into a raffle to win something exciting.
Don’t sleep on food
Canadian Tire sells bags of candy right next to their checkouts
Have you ever been to a hardware store and saw their displays near the cash registers and wondered why? You know, those displays showcasing snacks like chips, candy and nuts. Well there’s a reason to include those items there. Even if you are not in an industry usually related to food, you can easily offer food items as small last minute purchases. When someone is coming in quickly to pick up an item, sometimes the convenience of having a drink or snack be easily grabbable is just what they need. Why would the customer drive to a gas station to buy a water bottle when they can easily grab one right at your store as they are picking up their order?
Make it easy to add more
In order to get the best results with any of these tips, you go to make it easy for the customer and employee. No one is going to want to add to their order if it is made a hassle. Your employees should be easily able to add additional items to the customer’s order with quickness. POS systems like TAKU make this as easy as possible.
TAKU can help your store manage BOPIS and curbside fulfillments efficiently. In addition to running all your in-store and online sales in one system, TAKU’s built-in free Google listings allow you to easily advertise your real stock availability to current customers. Want to get started? Click the button below for a free demo.
As Spring is finally here, people are going to be heading outside much more often, especially after the last several years. With increased foot traffic outdoors, retailers should be looking for ways to bring some of that foot traffic into their own stores. If you are a retailer, you may be wondering: “How can I attract more local shoppers?” Well, in this article, we’ll go through how brick & mortar businesses can attract more shoppers.
Exciting in-store experiences to attract more shoppers in store
In-store experiences have definitely become more common. People today are always looking to participate in new experiences. Here are some ideas for interesting experiences you can curate for your consumers:
1. Photo ops
Set aside a small space in your store (or even outside your store) where customers can take photos and share their visit on social media. This space should get customers excited. Some ideas include: a chalkboard with some unique art related to your business, a custom neon sign, or even an installation of some beautiful plants along with some decoration. Get creative here, and allow your brand to shine through. Don’t forget to put up photos of other shots for ideas.
Chatime has installed neon signs with their signature “time to par-tea” catchphrase where people can take images of their drink and share it online (source)
The pictures your customers take will end up advertising your store for free through the customers’ social media posts. It also creates a positive association between your brand and the consumer.
Reminder: Offer a small incentive to get shoppers to tag you in their posts. Tagging is important to increase visitors to your social media accounts.
2. In-store events
Another way brick & mortar shops can attract more shoppers is through exciting events in store. By events, we don’t mean things like sales and promotions. Although those can be effective, we recommend running events such as: lessons/classes in something related to your business, having an expert in your industry come in and host a seminar, or the reveal of a new product line.
Loblaws offers PC cooking lessons for customers to take and learn new recipes (source)
Make sure that the event you are hosting provides value to your business. The event should be related to the industry your business is in, but not something you already offer in some way.
For example, a vacuum shop could host a seminar on how to go about spring cleaning. The vacuum store doesn’t offer spring cleaning services, but people who are planning their spring cleaning will most definitely be using vacuum cleaners. So offering them a guide on how to effectively go about the cleaning will give them an added benefit and encourage the purchase of a new vacuum.
Dyson letting in store customers test out their products against eight types of debris (source)
Even if they don’t end up purchasing a vacuum, this event will still bring them into the store, but more importantly the event will allow the customer to perceive your brand as the expert on cleaning. Now they will be more likely to think of your store when considering their next vacuum purchase.
3. Partner with others to host pop-in shops
Another way to increase foot traffic in your store is to host pop-in shops for other businesses. This works best when the other businesses are related but not directly competitive to yours. Simply designate a spot in your store to host another small business’s pop-up stop to offer items that help sell your own products. For example, a bakery shop could host a pop-up shop for a small artisan jelly business or a coffee shop could host a pop-up donuts business.
Attract more customers in store through low cost merchandising tactics
Retail merchandising is key to creating a positive customer experience. A strong merchandising strategy brings the products to your customer rather than the other way around. Here are some modern merchandising tactics your business can use to engage your customers.
1. Storefront Window Display QR codes
A cost efficient way to attract more customers in your store is to use QR codes in your window display. This allows them to be accessible to everyone passing by. These QR codes allow anyone with a mobile device to easily learn more about your products, even when your store is closed.
A way to modernize your store merchandising strategy is to use signs to cross-sell other products. Most in-store signs today take up space but only promote one specific product. Add cross-selling signs allows you to use the same amount of space but promote multiple products at once. Simply merchandise products together that are known to be bought together and create a sign that presents that to your customers.
This liquor store pairs to ideal products together with the help of a simple sign (source)
Adding signs that say “Buy this if you like this” or “This goes great with this” is simple, but it’s enough to draw attention to other products.
3. Highlight your Google profile & Google Reviews
Another way brick & mortar shops can attract more local shoppers is to highlight popularity and your Google reviews. Google prioritizes local businesses when nearby shoppers search online. Make sure that your Google store listing has accurate information including your address, store hours, etc. A good omnichannel system will be able to easily manage this information for you.
Highly engaged reviews are important for new customers that have never visited your store. A sign at the front of your store stating “ Google best seller” or a good quote from a Google review would attract new customers into your store. Some ideas include:
Printing out users’ reviews and placing them near the product
Placing a sign at the front of your store with the products that are gaining the most recognition on Google
Putting up a sign that offers an incentive for shoppers to leave reviews
Check Google reviews of a product in-store to showcase it to customers (source)
Omnichannel to attract more shoppers
Retail stores that sell in-store and online use omnichannel software to easily turn online visits into bigger in-store sales. Omnichannel software is what allows retailers to offer real-time inventory and BOPIS (Buy Online, Pickup In-Store or what is sometimes called Click & Collect) to customers without any manual work. With the right system, customers can place orders online and pick up in stores when the same system notifies them that the products are ready.
1. Real-time stock availability
Showing real-time store stock levels online allows customers to see real time stock availability so they won’t be disappointed when they get to the store. A positive shopping experience encourages returning customers. Using a tool such as TAKU’s built-in integration to Google or to your own online store lets you easily showcase your available store products online without any effort.
Customers love to shop online but don’t love the shipping costs or the amount of packing materials used to send products out. By allowing them to pick up their order in store it solves their problem while also creating an opportunity for your business to upsell, lower merchant processing fees and reduce return rates.
Scout, a gift shop in Toronto, offering curbside pickup for their online orders (source)
BOPIS reduces the friction between your online store and your in store experience for happier shoppers. And using the right all-in-one technology will increase sales while reducing the operational costs of fulfilling from the store.
Attract more customers by offering In-Store Exclusives
In-store exclusives are a great way to attract more nearby shoppers. Local customers are willing to shop in person instead of online if there’s a strong value-add. You can give your customers this reason by offering in-store only exclusives. Here are a few in-store exclusives you can offer:
In-store only promotions/deals
You can create an exclusive feeling for your in-store shoppers by implementing promotions and discounts offered only with an in-store purchase. This is where your store can offer any promotion or deals worth sharing. Some examples include:
Offering some products only in store
Grouping bundles of your products and selling them as a combo
Giving coupons that can only be redeemed in your retail locations
Michael’s 4$ Grab Bag is a in store only deal that lets customer buy a box with various holiday or seasonal items and puts a single price of $4 on them (source)
Creating a seamless shopping experience for your store has never been easier with TAKU. Besides running all of your in-store and online sales in one system, our built-in free Google listings allow you to easily advertise your real stock availability to nearby customers. TAKU Retail can also help you easily integrate BOPIS into your business. If you want to learn more about it, click the button below for a free demo.
Generation Z is an important customer base for retailers. Gen Z is the generation after millennials and includes anyone born after 1997. There are several ways in which Gen Z is different from previous generations.
Generation Z is more racially and ethnically diverse than previous generations. They are also on track to be the most well-educated generation so far. One of the biggest reasons that Gen Z is unique is because they are digital natives. This means that they have no memory of the world before the existence of smartphones.
As such, Gen Z prefers on-demand communication and entertainment. Members of Gen Z are heavy users of social media. They connect across multiple devices, such as phones, tablets, and laptops. Statistics show that 58% of Gen Z have bought something they found through social media.
It’s not just social media that’s important to Gen Z. Social commerce – the process of selling products on social media – is too. According to a Forrester report, 29% percent of people under 25 said they complete a purchase on a social network without leaving the mobile site or app at least once a week. Compare this with only 12% of people ages 45-54.
They also experience brands across multiple channels. A Pew Research report shows that 85% use YouTube, 72% use Instagram, and 69% use Snapchat. TikTok has become increasingly popular among Gen Z. A recent survey showed almost 40% of Gen Z say they’re influenced by products they see on TikTok.
Unlike other generations, those in Gen Z exist in an “always-on” technological environment. This means they are also “always-on” purchasers. A typical path for a Gen Z shopper might be like this:
They shop online, whether they are at school or home.
They see something they like but they don’t buy it yet.
They visit a brick-and-mortar store because they want the experience of browsing in the store.
Gen Z means big business for retailers. According to Forbes, Gen Z represents an estimated $143 billion in annual spending power. Gen Z also makes up more than 40% of all US consumers. The digital-first world of Gen Z is a big influence on other consumers. This means that the digital-first world of Gen Z will become the new standard.
Five ways retailers can attract Gen Z consumers
1. Flexible financial payment options
Offering Buy Now Pay Later options is an important way to attract Gen Z consumers. According to NerdWallet, one in five 2021 holiday shoppers used Buy Now Pay Later. Twenty-two percent of those shoppers were members of Gen Z.
Buy Now Pay Later appeals to Gen Z’s desire to purchase trendy items with easy-to-understand, no interest fee installments. It also appeals to Gen Z’s impulse to get those items immediately while they’re still “cool.” Giving Gen Z those options makes good business sense. In a PayPal and Netfluential study, 42% of merchants said that “buy now pay later” options reduce shopping cart abandonment.
Consider adding PayPal Credit which offers Buy Now Pay Later
2. Personalized experiences
Gen Z wants to feel “known,” not only seen and heard. This is why personalized product recommendations will attract Gen Z consumers. According to an international study, 75% are more likely to buy a product if they can customize it.
Care/of‘s personalized daily vitamin packets customized for individual customers (source)
Forty-one percent of Gen Z will provide their data to businesses if they receive a personalized experience in return. This is an excellent way for retailers to gather customer data. It also helps businesses target their online sales and marketing tactics to Gen Z consumers. If retailers don’t make sure to capture the Gen Z audience they risk losing that customer base. Forty-one percent of Gen Z consumers will leave a website if it doesn’t predict what they like, want, or need.
3. Entertainment and engagement
The digital natives of Gen Z spend a lot of time on the internet, with 65% seeking entertainment there. Social media apps are one place where Gen Z finds entertainment. According to studies, 20% of Gen Z spends more than 5 hours a day on TikTok. Since Gen Z also loves personalized content, it makes sense that they will look for organic content while they are scrolling online.
Kylie Cosmetics’ TikTok page with a built in catalog (source)
This desire for instant gratification means they want an easy, enjoyable shopping experience. Gen Z uses multiple channels for both entertainment and shopping. They also want their shopping experience to be frictionless across all of these channels. Gen Z loves to create so retailers should take advantage of this providing them with customizable content they can create and share.
4. Social responsibility
Gen Z is more invested in social responsibility than previous generations. Their interest in social responsibility shows in their shopping habits. Seventy-two percent of Gen Z are more likely to buy from a company that contributes to social causes. Gen Z will also pay more for products they think are socially responsible. Sixty-four percent of Gen Z consumers are willing to pay a premium for grocery products that have sustainable packaging.
There are many ways that retailers can make their businesses more sustainable. They can recycle old goods and source sustainable brands and products. Going paperless is a great way for businesses to reduce waste. Brick-and-mortar retailers can recycle old goods or even use refurbished or recycled materials for in-store displays and decor. Upcycling or donating unsold stock or samples are other ways that businesses can invest in sustainability.
Retailers can find ways to reduce their carbon footprint in shipping and logistics. They can also give customers the option to choose carbon-neutral shipping options. Above all, retailers should set sustainability goals and stick to them. They should be transparent with their customers about their processes.
For Gen Z, authenticity is more than a buzzword, it’s a way of life. Gen Z wants a quality product with positive online ratings and reviews and good customer service. They also want to feel like they can trust retailers’ advertising practices. Eighty-two percent of Gen Z trusts a company more if the images they use in their ads are of actual customers. You can entice Gen Z customers by emphasizing that your brand stands for something beyond making a profit and seeks to improve the world in some way. Retailers who are transparent and share information about their business processes and how they operate will be able to attract Gen Z customers.
TAKU Retail can help you attract Gen Z customers by providing a seamless shopping experience. You can market your products on social media and meet Gen Z customers where they live without any extra effort – simply use your existing POS data automatically! Our customizable in-store and built-in e-commerce options will offer Gen Z the flexible omnichannel shopping experiences they want. TAKU Retail also offers live chat so that Gen Z can enjoy a more personalized shopping experience.
After several years of restrictions, shoppers are increasingly looking for opportunities to celebrate their lives. While many retailers make a significant portion of their sales at the end of the year, there are a lot of other seasonal holidays that can help to spread out sales throughout the year.
If you’re looking for merchandising ideas and sales opportunities, consider adding some of the following celebrations this year to your retail holiday marketing calendar.
Note that this holiday follows a lunisolar calendar. Therefore the timing of the holiday changes every year and can start any time from the end of January to mid-February. It is usually a 3 week festive period with the first day being celebrated as the New Year day. For the New Year day in the Gregorian calendar until 2031, you can refer to this website.
