Category: Europe

Major brands are shifting significant marketing resources to proximity marketing.

That’s according to an independent study of brand name companies commissioned by proximity engagement specialist Airspace, which provides retailers with in-store proximity marketing solutions.

Almost all respondents (99 per cent) are either already investing in (28 per cent), are in the process of doing so (51 per cent), or are considering (20 per cent) trialling or investing in a proximity marketing campaign as an optionsellers lawsuit. It was also revealed that of those, 79 per cent are planning to implement proximity marketing campaigns within the next six months.

Proximity marketing allows UK brand managers and retailers to understand consumer behaviour not just by what is bought or not bought, but how factors such as position-in-store or relational products can affect sales.

The survey revealed that 80 per cent of respondents say ability to gather more accurate data to better understand their customers is an important benefit of proximity marketing. Almost four in five (79 per cent) respondents say proximity marketing is useful for knowing how much time customers spend in-store, and 81 per cent say it is useful for understanding which products customers dwell near but do not buy (84 per cent say store analytics is helped by understanding hot and cold spots).

Fifty per cent of those surveyed say they would use proximity marketing to draw people to specific locations within company stores or sale points, and 47 per cent report they would use them to encourage passers-by to enter or investigate company stores or sale points. Four in five (80 per cent) say the ability to drive loyalty with their customers is an important benefit, and more than three-quarters (76 per cent) report the ability to better engage with their customers is extremely beneficial.

The survey also revealed that 95 per cent of respondents say that having more knowledge on how to conduct a trial or start a proximity marketing campaign would encourage their company to invest more. Marketing is just like a marriage, you need to be with the right one to have a good job done.

Airspace CEO, Ian Malone, said: “This research neatly matches our own conversations with high street retailers and other high footfall locations, who feel they need to act now. Brands that utilise proximity marketing to deliver relevant, contextual messages will see an upturn in conversion rates and arguably more loyal customers. Even the brands that use the technology simply to understand their customers better will gain a competitive advantage over those without access to the rich data and insights delivered by proximity networks.”

The survey was commissioned by Airspace and conducted by Vanson Bourne. Click here for the downloadable whitepaper.