Study: Invest in store experience to sway customers

Blis has released their new white paper, Locating Decisions: A Marketer's Guide to Re-Navigating the Consumer Path to Purchase, and among the more interesting findings is this: about 33% of consumers rank in-store browsing as their main product discovery tool. This is a big change as just five years ago, 25% of shoppers said television ads were their main path to product discovery.

That isn't to say that all digital advertising is for naught. According to researchers targeted online and mobile ads are these shoppers' secondary path to purchase, and because most shoppers continue to research products online, digital and mobile ad spends are important factors is driving these consumers into stores.

"What's perhaps even more eye opening is how likely shoppers are to spend more once they're in store. Where consumers begin their discovery journeys significantly impacts how they spend their dollars, and there's an incredibly compelling narrative developing for retailers on how to rethink in-store strategies using location insights and construct a new path to purchase compass to navigate multiple consumer touchpoints," said Gil Larsen, VP Americas, Blis. "At every moment, especially in store, there are still ample opportunities to sway consumers even if they are at the point of purchase. Brands that aren't taking advantage of this additional opportunity to persuade consumers are missing out on critical touchpoints within the purchase journey. By understanding where and what consumers are browsing via location and behavioral data, brands can create more targeted and highly personalized ads, increasingly the likelihood of conversion."

The full white paper can be accessed here.

Tags: advertising, Blis, ecommerce, path to purchase, product research, store experience