Location-based targeting is a major new opportunity for shopping malls to improve shopper engagement and to drive both direct and ancillary revenue through the mobile channel. Engaging with shoppers in a relevant and contextual manner, using beacons, not only drives primary revenue sources, such as retail sales, food and beverage purchases but it also greatly enhances the shopping experience.
To start with, beacons enable a shopping mall to gain a greater insight into their customer preferences and habits. What sections of the mall attract the most footfall? How many app users shopped at certain outlets and how long did they stay in the mall? The mall can build up a rich customer profile based on unique shopper interactions and their offline behaviour. This data can be utilised to target shoppers with personalised product recommendations and encourage repeat visits. It also helps the brand make efficient data-driven decisions and adopt marketing strategies that promote sales and customer loyalty.
Malls can deliver personalised app engagement based on a user’s proximity to points of interest and their unique socio-demographic profile. They can send push and in-app messages to notify shoppers about new offers, discounts, store openings, and the latest movies at the cinema. Proximity-based engagment can also help shoppers locate specific shops, restaurants, and services in the centre.
The primary aim of location-based engagement is to add value to the customer shopping experience through the delivery of contextually relevant messaging. This is why it’s hugely important for retail marketers to focus on highly targeted user segmentation and tailored messaging. Frequency capping is vital, moreover, to ensure shoppers are not exposed to numerous notifications during their time in the mall.
Proximity marketing provides further additional revenue streams for the shopping mall. Existing retail tenants can rent the shopping mall’s beacon network to leverage beacon-based engagement opportunities with their in-store customers. The shopping mall retains full control of all proximity data gathered and they are in a prime position to resell this anonymous customer data to advertising networks at a premium. Advertiser brands can utilise proximity data to deliver highly focused retargeting campaigns to customers based on offline behavioural insights.
Beacons provide shopping malls with an unrivalled opportunity to modernise the shopper experience and increase customer loyalty. Location-based engagement drives customer traffic and improves service efficiencies, while providing value to the customer. It also opens up a host of new advertising revenue opportunities for retail development brands.