It has been two years since the onslaught of COVID-19 started wreaking havoc worldwide. Our daily lives came to a halt with lockdowns imposed worldwide to curb the spread of this pandemic.
Retailers in all countries must recover from losses, lockdowns, and masks; they now have to come up with unique ideas to charm the customers again into brick and motor retail shops.
During the global lockdown, most consumers switched to online shopping to avoid going out. Retail shops are now looking to break that habit, bring customers back into their shops, and increase footfall.
8 Ways to Bring Back Customers to Your Retail Stores
If your new year’s resolution was to increase footfall in your brick-and-mortar stores, then here are ten tips to help you do that.
- Spruce Up Your Store:
Your store decor is the first thing customers see before the products, offers, and discounts. So, it would help if you spruced it up properly to create a beautiful first impression on your patrons. Transform your store aisles with the help of large format printings of eye-catching designs and graphics.
Brighten and liven up your store displays, signs, counters, and aisles to impress the customer from the first look. You can produce colourful prints and graphics for your storefront and interior decor. These creative display solutions have emerged in the market to create eye-popping visuals for an attractive store. Your creative branding and visuals will help in attracting customers to your shop.
- Keep Up with the Latest Trends:
Nothing drives away customers more than a dull and outdated retail shop stuck in the past time. To increase footfall, you must freshen up your in-store and window displays. Give people new things and reasons to check out your shop. You can put trendy art or graphics in your store to make it look chic and attractive.
You can use retail printing solutions to print these artworks in large formats and integrate them into your store layout. For example, you can take the winter season as inspiration and decorate the interior and exterior of the shop likewise.
- Market to Your Existing Customer Base:
Every business owner loves to get new customers walking through the doors. However, to bring in new customers, you must take the help of your older patrons first. Increasing footfall in your store is not just about getting new customers but also getting existing customers to come back.
Tell your current customers how much you miss and love them. You can set up an email marketing campaign just for this and include an offer or promotion along with the message. Ask them to drop in sometime and check out your products. Re-engaging existing customers will help create a good brand image and bring in new people.
- Offer Discounts and Promotions for New Customers:
Customers will always look for good deals online or from a retail store. Bring in new customers by offering discounts on the first buy. You can also hold promotions like buy two and get one free or 20% discount for the first purchase and 10% for the next two.
Deals and discounts like these help bring new customers who wanted to buy from you but needed a push. These bargains offer work as an incentive to attract customers. Also, please keep track of what these new customers buy or which offers they redeem so you can use them to target future marketing campaigns.
- Promote Services and Perks With Signage:
Do you offer free wifi to your customers? Do you have a popular product that is hard to find? Let your customers know of these perks through signage. A beautiful sign from Atlantic Sign Company Business Signs Cincinnati, in your shop window offering additional services will attract new customers.
- Make it an Instagram-friendly Shop:
One of the best, easiest, and most accessible ways to market your business is social media. Choose a beautiful backdrop, standees, and graphics that reflect your theme or inspiration and set it up against a shop wall or outside your store. This will be your “selfie wall”.
Give customers discounts and offers to post selfies on Instagram and Facebook and tag your store. It will not only add an element of fun but will also promote your store online for more people to know.
- Distribute Free Samples with Purchased Products:
Everyone likes to get gifts, and your potential customers might be no different. You can offer the same when a customer buys from your store. Offer them samples of other products to try. They might end up liking it or can purchase more from your store to get free samples. Either way, it will increase the footfall and revenue of your store.
- Start a Referral Program:
Lastly, you can start a referral program for new and old customers. Offer discounts to new customers for their first purchase. You can offer a similar deal or add member reward points to old customers for people they refer. When these new customers buy something from your store, ask how they got to know about your business.
If you want to bring customers to your retail shop, focus on creating a fantastic shopping experience for them. Make someone’s day, and they will make yours brighter.
