Study: Targeted online incentives drive new and lapsed customers to brick-and-mortar

Analysis shows the power to transform online to offline marketing from an “exposure-based, buy and hope” ROI strategy to a “direct to revenue, guaranteed ROI” strategy

Chicago, Ill. — Retailers that use targeted online incentives not only can drive shoppers to a brick-and-mortar store, but also can reactivate lapsed customers, increase the average transaction amount and turn average spenders into top spenders, according to a newly released study conducted by Spring, a leading marketing and technology platform. The analysis was conducted to determine whether an online incentive could influence shopper behavior, drive offline sales and provide clear attribution back to the digital marketing investment.

“Retailers finally have the tools and technology to use digital marketing as a ‘virtual marketplace’ that serves as the ‘front door’ to the ‘physical marketplace,’ allowing marketing teams to execute an omnichannel engagement strategy,” the report states.

The study targeted shoppers with mobile offers from large retail brands that consumers connected to their existing debit or credit card and could only be redeemed at brick-and-mortar locations. Shopper behavior was analyzed in the following categories, both prior to and during the campaign:

• Top 25% of Spenders
• Average Spenders
• Bottom 25% of Spenders
• No Spend Prior to Offer

Key findings include:

• 65% of those that redeemed the offer had not previously spent in the mall
• This segment (No Spend Prior to Offer) also had the highest average transaction size ($130.25). The next highest segment came from the Top 25% spenders segment at $78.12
• The average transaction size across all segments increased from $63.02 to $98.91 (57% increase); with the Average Spender segment increasing 114% ($22.33 to $47.76)
• The average program spend per day increased from $6.07 to $21.03 (246% increase)
• The average number of transactions per day increased from 0.10 to 0.21 (120% increase)

“This is a tipping point moment for the brick-and-mortar retailer,” the study concluded. “For the first time they are able to see the exact day, time, location and spend amount resulting from their online to offline marketing initiatives, providing the same rigor in measurement that they’ve grown accustomed to in online to online marketing.”

To read the full study, follow this link.