After a year like 2020, analytics for retail has become of paramount importance. When every aspect of customer traffic counts, retailers need a way to make sure that the data they are collecting is accurate and actionable. What if retailers, instead of only seeing the numbers ticking by, could get a visual on who is shopping and when?

What difference would that make for businesses who need data to know what to market, what to stock, and when? Location intelligence may hold the key that marketers are looking for to analyze retail customer traffic in a way that makes sense in a post-COVID world.

Every marketer dreams of knowing exactly what their potential customers want to see if only to create targeted ads that generate results. By using location intelligence, you are given visibility into who your customers are and in turn, what they want. For example, let’s say that you are a shoe retailer that sells limited release sneakers. Having a brick-and-mortar shop differentiates you from the competition and offers your customers a more personalized shopping experience. Lately, you’ve noticed that your in-store traffic isn’t converting at the rate that it did in the last two years.

You decide to use location intelligence to figure out why. It doesn’t take long for you to get the answers that you need. You find out that your visitors have been going to the nearby Starbucks, the Apple Store, and the Ikea down the street. This tells you that your target audiences are more than likely Millennials and Gen Zers and that you will need to update your in-store sales tactics to suit a more digital shopping experience and appeal to them.

The example above reflects our next point perfectly: Location intelligence helps retail brands build out detailed customer personas and gives marketers information to determine what their customers really want. If we use our exclusive shoe store as an example, a lot could be determined about their customers simply by looking at the places that they visit the most. 

Clearly, their audience is interested in a digital shopping experience with a hands-on and swift customer experience (Ikea). They may also be looking for unique and customizable designs that fit them as individuals (Starbucks). It’s very likely that they fit into a younger demographic that values appearance and functionality over cost (Apple).

Now that you know who your audience is and what they want from you, what is the best way to reach them? With location intelligence, you would be able to determine what time(s) your audience shops the most and send out personalized ads at the right time. Your ads now officially have a home at the places your audience is most likely to be.

Let’s say that your customers primarily shop in the evenings, around the same time that Ikea begins to die down and Starbucks revs up, you can send your ads to only those customers who filtered into Starbucks at the allocated time. This can increase your odds of foot traffic generating revenue and increase the chance that your target audience walks through your doors. 

Location intelligence connects all of the dots between the customers who cross your threshold and those that actually convert. By analyzing your retail customer traffic, you gain direct visibility into who your customers are and what they want from you as a brand. Become your customers’ favorite brand, contact us to speak with a location intelligence expert today.