How to increase retail footfall and sales with Out of Home advertising

With so many options available to customers these days, how and where you do your shopping very much depends on your preferences as an individual - and for the majority of retail shoppers, this means hitting the shops. Even with the rise of online shopping, our figures show that 60% of retail spend was carried out offline in 2022, showing that there are plenty of people who prefer to put the leg work in when making a purchase.

While digital marketing is becoming the priority for many retailers, Out of Home (OOH) advertising remains an invaluable force in retail marketing. If you’re wondering how to increase footfall in retail stores and you’re yet to consider OOH, we might be about to blow your mind.

OOH advertising and its relevance in retail marketing.

OOH advertising refers to any visual advertising media found outside of the home. This form of advertising is highly relevant for retail marketing due to its ability to reach your audience in the space where buying decisions are actually made.

Benefits of OOH Advertising for Retail

Enhanced Visibility and Brand Awareness

You can’t scroll past a billboard. One of the primary advantages of OOH advertising is its ability to enhance visibility and brand awareness. Posters, billboards and digital screens become a presence in people’s day-to-day lives, keeping your brand at the forefront of their minds.

Targeted Reach and Audience Engagement

OOH advertising allows for precise targeting based on location, demographics, and behaviour. In marketing, making sure your message finds the people it’s intended for is half the struggle - but location-based OOH advertising takes away some of the guesswork. This targeted reach not only increases the likelihood of driving footfall but also enhances audience engagement. For example, advertising a store that sells sports equipment within close proximity to a leisure centre is bound to draw the attention of people with active lifestyles.

Strategies to Increase Footfall and Sales

Footfall and sales go hand in hand (or hand in wallet), so if you’re wondering how to increase footfall in retail stores you’re probably also interested in increasing sales. To maximise the effectiveness of OOH advertising in increasing footfall and sales, retailers should employ strategic approaches in design, placement, and timing.

Integrating OOH with Digital Marketing Efforts

Cross-Channel Promotion and Consistency

Cross-channel promotion involves leveraging both OOH and digital channels to reinforce the marketing message and engage consumers at various touchpoints. Consistency in branding, messaging, and visuals across all channels is crucial to creating a unified and impactful campaign - and will increase trust and familiarity with your brand. This integrated approach ensures that consumers get to enjoy a consistent brand experience, whether they see the ad on a billboard or on their socials.

Tracking and Measuring Success

Retailers can measure key metrics such as foot traffic, sales lift, and customer engagement to gauge the impact of their marketing campaigns - and there are ways to see if OOH has been a part of the success. Advances in technology have made it possible to track OOH performance using methods such as mobile location data, geofencing, and QR codes. Gathering this data provides you with a pool of insight into what’s working well with your campaign and what needs tweaking.

Tomorrow’s forecast

Heavy footfall

The challenge of how to increase footfall in retail stores is always ongoing; often having to do battle against unpredictable outside influences such as the Covid 19 pandemic and the cost of living crisis. Retail is inherently competitive, and increasing footfall and sales are critical for rising above your competitors. By employing eye-catching designs, strategic placement, and integrating OOH with digital marketing efforts, retailers can create impactful campaigns that resonate with consumers and drive tangible results.

If you want people lining up outside to get a foot through your store’s doorway, we can help you take your OOH marketing to the next level. Get in touch with us today and find out how to get started.

Different OOH advertising formats and their effectiveness for retail footfall and sales.

Here are some of the most effective formats of OOH marketing:

• Billboards: Impactful due to their size and visibility, billboards are able to make a big impression at a glance.

• Transit Ads: Designed to catch the eye of commuters at bus stops, train stations, and on public transport routes, these ads may tempt people to add a stop to your shop on their way home.

• Digital Screens: When strategically placed in high-traffic areas such as shopping centres and high streets, digital screens offer a platform for engaging animated and video content.

Each of these formats can be tailored to specific campaign targets, and if increasing footfall is your goal there are a variety of ways you can cater your ads to that purpose.

Eye-Catching Design and Messaging

The design and messaging of OOH ads are crucial in capturing attention. The average person sees hundreds of advertisements a day - and if you want to encourage people to veer from their well-trodden paths, you’ll need to do something exceptional to stand out from the crowd. Ads should be visually striking, with bold colours, clear typography, and compelling images that resonate with the target audience. The messaging should be concise, not just to fit into the space on your ads, but to fit into the space in people’s minds.

Strategic Placement and Timing

Strategic placement and timing of OOH ads are essential for maximising their impact. Retailers should identify high-traffic areas and locations near their stores to place their ads. Additionally, the timing of the campaign should align with key shopping periods, such as weekends, holidays, and sales events, to capitalise on increased consumer activity. This is a great way to create a sense of time urgency and encourage shoppers to act on impulse.