5 Ways Emails Can Help Drive In-Store Traffic

There’s no denying the explosion of online shopping. It goes beyond eCommerce. Retailers also rely on their online stores to drive customer engagement and conversions.

In a world of omnichannel marketing, the in-store and online experiences tie together. And having the opportunity to shop seamlessly from either is something consumers want. 

But that doesn’t mean you don’t want customers to only shop online. The in-store experience is still vital for consumers. And increased foot traffic can help drive revenue. 

Email can do more than point your customers to your online store. It can help get customers back to your shop. Here’s how.

Offer reservations for special events

One way to get customers to your stores is to invite them. Having special events, even if they are small, can help boost traffic to your store. Use a dynamic personalized email that includes a Smart Banner™ to drive more reservations.

Is the big game this weekend? Let your VIP customers snag reserved seating ahead of time, so they don’t have to wait at the door. Retailers can do the same. Send emails with times for customers to set appointments for special in-store events.

Feature exclusive in-store promotions

Another area to focus on is your best customers, loyalty program members, and other VIPs. Look at your data and find your most frequent customers. 

Send them a flash sale or exclusive in-store promotion email and let them know it is only for your best customers. People love to get treated like VIPs. It can be just enough to get them to your store. Another approach is to have a sale or promotion and offer a special gift or discount for those who buy in-store.

Celebrate customer milestones

Most brands collect some data on customers. But even if you aren’t actively doing it, you should be able to get at least two key pieces of information: when your customers first became customers and the local stores where they shop. If you have more data, personalize emails by highlighting when they’ve hit milestones like the number of items purchased or membership savings.

Using that data, creating a happy anniversary campaign to head to their local store and get a coupon, gift, or deal is easy. With location data, you can do a lot with Smart Banners™ and Smart Blocks™ to drive traffic to the customer’s nearest store.

Offer in-store pickup

Over the last few years, buying online and picking up items in stores has gained a lot of steam. There’s no reason not to take advantage of this practice and keep it going into the future since some people do keep buying once they are in-store.

Another approach is to use it during the tail ends of popular holidays and shopping seasons. As it gets closer to the holidays, let customers know they can avoid the mad rush or high shipping costs by coming to their local retailer and grabbing what they need.

Highlight the nearest store

Let’s face it; sometimes, buying something online is easier. But that’s not always the case. Your customers may love your eCommerce shop but not realize they have a brick-and-mortar location nearby. So, let them know they can in every email you send. 

From the moment your customers first sign up for your list, make sure they know about their opportunities to shop online and in person. Use a Smart Block™ that pulls in geolocation data to showcase a map of each customer’s nearest store in their emails.

How Zembula can help

Email is a critical part of any marketing strategy, and we can help you make it easier than ever to connect with your customers on a personal level. That can help improve your customer experience scores, build trust, and generate more revenue. 

If you want to see Smart Banners™ in action and how they’ve helped brands just like yours, check out our latest guide. In it, you’ll learn tips and tricks for getting the most out of Smart Banners™. 

Click here to get your copy of The Email Marketer’s Guide to Smart Banners™.