This is certainly the “E” era.
From booking doctor appointments, to banking, to signing in for yoga class to following your child’s progress at school; we can do almost everything on-line with both speed and convenience. This also includes e-commerce – the latest and greatest way to shop – or is it?
According to POPAI, 76% of purchasing decisions are made in-store. According to Cisco, a staggering 93% of all products sold are sold in a bricks and mortar store. So what does this mean? Is there a case to be made for POP visual marketing in the E era? Yes!
According to those statistics, many people are still looking for the in-store experience – the visual appeal of the actual product, the opportunity for the tactile effect of handling the product and last but not least; the chance for human interaction. It is true – people buy from other people. Your employees can build a relationship between the customer and the product more effectively than one created on a website. A physical store enhances that interpersonal connection, creating an effect and building brand loyalty. A large part of that is through visual influence. Personally, I shop at a specific pet food store because of the compelling large format puppy and kitten murals that hang over the products!
As well, luxury and upper middle range brand retailers quickly realized that e-commerce can diminish exclusivity and “cheapen” a product by making it too easy to obtain. Exclusivity builds excitement and market tension. Of course that can be done on line but it is often more easily and successfully done in person. Buying that $3000 designer bag in your pyjamas at home is convenient but not as much fun as drinking a glass of champagne while viewing the full product line in a swanky store. And there is no question as to which experience builds more brand loyalty.
On line a product is “out of stock”. In person there is an opportunity to expand that to “not currently available because it is so fabulously exclusive, here is why and can I put you on our waiting list?” as opposed to your e customer moving on to the next website.
Certainly it seems that we have definitely not seen the death of the bricks and mortar shopping experience.
This brings us to our original point – POP in the age of E.
Based on this information, point of purchase visual marketing is just as important as ever. Since it seems that many people are still shopping in-store, it is likely as important now as a decade or two ago. And getting people to your store is only half the battle, selling them what they originally came for and something more is the rest. A well – conceived POP program will create a visual connection to your product and the chance to cross sell and upsell.
People continue to shop in store and that is a good thing. Visual marketing enhances the experience for the customer and increases sales for the retailer – another good thing. Whether it’s an actual cookie shaped business card for your cookie business or a life-sized hockey player selling snacks at the grocery store, we live in a visual world and visual marketing still sells product period.
Smartlink Canada, a visual marketing company based in Toronto, will help you conceive, design, produce and install your POP campaign. Our team of industry veterans have years of retail experience and are ready to guide and advise from inception to completion.
To find out more about how SmartLink can assist you with your visual marketing materials:
Please contact Tony at 647-292-6616 or email tj@smartlinkus.com
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