Retail marketing can be a tough nut to crack. Finding what your customers buy frequently, or don’t prefer as much can be tricky at first, but it is worthwhile.
There’s a lot you can do to get your products noticed. From attractive offers like BOGO, to implementing free delivery and festive campaigns, promotions are helpful in generating more sales, hence resulting in increased revenue.
But what methods are actually most effective in selling out products faster? Of course, you can try every method one by one and see for yourself (if it were that easy). To get the most out of them, you must analyse the types of promotions you can give and how to carry them out.
To get a better understanding of retail promotions, here’s a guide to navigate you through different types of promotions, and how to implement them.
Types Of Retail Promotions
Retail promotions are marketing strategies designed to attract customers to make purchases in stores. These promotions aim to increase sales, customer loyalty, and awareness of a brand or product. There are various types of retail promotions that retailers use to drive customer traffic and sales. In this article, we will discuss some of the most common types of retail promotions.
- Discounts and Coupons:
Discounts and coupons are one of the most common types of retail promotions. They offer customers a price reduction on a product or service, which can be either a percentage or a fixed amount off the regular price. Retailers can use discounts and coupons to incentivize customers to purchase products, move inventory, or to reward loyal customers.
Coupons can be distributed through various channels, including direct mail, email, social media, or in-store. Some retailers also offer digital coupons, which customers can access through a retailer’s mobile app or website.
Pro Tip: Discounts are a great way to get rid of slow-moving inventory or dead stock. Announcing such offers can also reduce
- Buy-One-Get-One (BOGO) Offers:
BOGO offers are promotions where customers can purchase one item and receive another item for free or at a discounted price. This type of promotion is popular among retailers who want to move inventory quickly, particularly for products that have a short shelf life.
BOGO offers can be used to drive customer traffic, increase sales, and encourage customers to try new products.
- Seasonal Promotions:
Seasonal promotions are retail promotions that are specific to a particular holiday or season. For example, many promotions are rolled out during the holiday season, such as Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Christmas sales. These promotions are aimed at prompting customers to purchase wholesale products and services for gift-giving purposes.
Seasonal promotions can also be used to increase sales during slower seasons. For example, some retailers offer summer promotions to drive sales during the slower months of the year.
- Loyalty Programs:
Loyalty programs are promotions designed to reward customers for their loyalty to a brand or store. These programs typically offer customers rewards, such as discounts, exclusive access to sales, or free products or services.
Loyalty programs are a great way for retailers to build customer loyalty, increase customer retention, and encourage repeat purchases.
- Contests and Giveaways:
Contests and giveaways are promotions that offer customers the chance to win a prize or receive a free product or service. These promotions can be used to increase customer engagement, build brand awareness, and drive traffic to a store or website.
Contests and giveaways can be run through various channels, including social media, email, or in-store promotions.
Giveaways are also a smart way to get rid of excess inventory. You could do this for grocery products like jack links jerky, pretzels, Musashi protein bars or others.
- Free Samples:
Free samples are a promotional tool used to allow customers to try a product or service before they buy it. You can distribute free samples through in-store promotions, direct mail, or digital channels.
Free samples are a great way for retailers to introduce new products to customers, encourage trial, and increase sales. With products like Musashi Energy, bulk gummy lollies or any other confectionery products, this technique will work wonders for your sales.
How To Choose The Right Promotions
1. Define your goals
A promotion’s success is determined by the underlying goal for which it was conceived in the first place. So, when it comes to promotions, you shouldn’t start by asking “What kind of promotion should I offer?” Instead, the question should be, “What do I want to achieve with that promotion?”
To begin, decide what your goals are. Do you want to increase foot-traffic? Amplify your revenue? Are you attempting to make space for new stock? You may choose the best promotion with the aid of the response.
An alluring deal, for instance, might be the best method to entice customers to your shop. On the other hand, you should consider BOGO or multi-buy deals if your objective is to move inventory.
2. Test repeatedly
Another method to decide which promotion is the best? Try various varieties to see which is most effective for your store.
See if you can implement any of these limits if it would be beneficial for your promotion. Please keep in mind that individuals are less inclined to make a purchase the more hoops they must jump through.
How to make your sales campaigns function better
It is necessary to, well, promote promotions. Here are some suggestions for persuading customers to buy:
FOMO Marketing
FOMO means fear of missing out, and you can use this promotion technique to skyrocket your sales. But remember to set promotions with a deadline; otherwise, people will procrastinate. Implementing time-limited deals is the best way to motivate buyers to act quickly.
This is one of the factors that make flash sales so successful. FOMO creates a sense of urgency and makes customers take prompt action upon realising that the deal won’t last long.
Countdowns that indicate how much (or how little) time is left for individuals to take advantage of your offer should be added for the greatest outcomes. See what Habitat accomplished in its shop below. To increase the sense of urgency, they had “1 day left” signage in addition to the regular “Sale” placards.
Use the customer’s past shopping browsing activity
Use the information you get about your customers’ browsing and purchase habits to your advantage when running promotions. Customers receive notifications when an item they were interested in goes on sale from retailers like Target, for instance.
Choose a theme
Develop your offers based on a certain theme. People will understand and remember your marketing more easily if you do this.
Piggybacking on vacations is a simple technique to do this. There are always holiday themes available, such as Mother’s Day, Memorial Day, Labor Day, and others. Moreover, think about taking advantage of “unofficial” holidays.
Check to see if you can make your marketing comparable. Pick a holiday that pertains to your industry, even if it’s not a recognised one, and use it to attract customers.
Mixed promotions
Consider mixing several promos if you’re feeling generous (or if you really need to clear out inventory). You can grab your shoppers’ eyeballs with promotions like “Get additional 20% off on previously purchased products.” For example, confectionery retailers can apply this offer on whittakers wholesale products, cadbury chocolate or other best-selling items.
You could also experiment with discount or BOGO offers together with free delivery to observe how their customers react.
Apply customised promotions
It’s better to direct your marketing efforts at particular client demographics. Think about dividing your clientele into groups based on their gender, age, or purchasing preferences.
If you want to conduct a sale for a certain brand or designer, for instance, you might make a list of clients who have previously bought that brand and then run a promotion just for them. Another option is to form a group only for your VIPs or biggest spenders. Why not make them a unique offer in the mail?
Implement your promos using a reliable retail platform
You need to be able to quickly deploy your offers while easily managing your transactions and inventories since promotions may result in a significant wave of sales.
If you’re utilising a manual or laborious system, you cannot do that well. So, equip your business with a retail management system that makes it simple for you to run promotions.
Make sure the platform makes it simple to implement discounts and that the backend tracking of your stock levels and sales is simple.
Offer flexible Payment Options
Even with fantastic sales, your customers can still be hesitant to buy, especially if you’re offering products of higher value. Find strategies to make shopping at your store more “budget-friendly” in these situations. See how you can get your customers to buy more bulk cleaning products or any other category.
By doing this, you encourage your consumers to make larger purchases in addition to increasing conversions. Solutions like Afterpay, according to our research, may increase basket size by up to 20%.
Conclusion
Regarding promotions, there is no rule of thumb. The “correct” one will vary depending on your products, target audience, and price range.
The trick is to create an offer with a high perceived value without eating up all your revenues. It’s a difficult balance to strike, but when you do, your bottom line will benefit.
