Thirty-nine per cent of offline sales are influenced by online browsing, case studies showcased at a recent fashion event have showed.
Multichannel marketing firm, Solocal Group UK, revealed the top trends in digital strategy being leveraged by major fashion and luxury retailers to convert online researchers to in-store customers. http://www.solocalgroup.com/en>
Showcasing presentations and case studies from L’Oréal, Fendi, Clarks and Tag Heuer, the recent Solocal UK event demonstrated the current gap between online and offline purchasers. It also highlighted the power that digital strategies, including SEO, online store locators, data capture and social media have to influence in-store purchases, and the success that Solocal’s solutions have achieved for clients.
Former chief digital officer at L’Oréal and current chief strategy officer at QuantStreams, Georges-Edouard Dias highlighted that only 7% of total sales are made online, while 39% of offline sales are influenced by online browsing: “On and offline sales must complement each other. E-Commerce needs and fuels traditional commerce, while social and mobile channels are building a demand-based neighbourhood commerce community.
“Customers are now in control of the retailer relationship – they are the creator, producer and consumer of products and services. It is therefore not a matter of online sales taking over from physical shops, but of retailers reinventing their business mindset and format in order to connect, collaborate and collectively deliver in a way that suits the consumer’s new approach.”
Benoît Delporte, international e-commerce and digital marketing manager for L’Oréal brand Kérastase and Solocal Group customer, revealed that 70% of customers use search engines to locate their nearest store; 25% more than those going straight to the brand website. Highlighting the importance of effective SEO to capture customers, he also demonstrated how crucial store locator integration into websites was. The assimilation of social media and mobile channels to ensure seamless consumer journeys also featured highly in Kérastase’s strategy to convert online interest into in-salon custom, together with online contact forms and customer acquisition tools such as coupons and vouchers.
“We have benefited enormously from the integration of Solocal’s solutions into our digital strategy,” said Delporte. “Our web-to-store visits have increased by nearly four times in the 11 months since using the Leadformance store locator solution and we will shortly be implementing the Timendo real-time appointment booking facility to provide customers with a personalised online experience; booking the right service and hairdresser at the most convenient salon whenever they need to. This will continue to ensure our online traffic is being effectively converted into salon use.”
Solocal Group UK country manager, Bruno Berthezene, said: “While the Internet has made brand and retailer information globally available, one in four Google searches and one in three mobile searches are actually for local information. The key focus of our brands is therefore on helping retailers harness the benefits that digital media influence has on in-store sales, closing the gap between what consumers are expecting and what brand websites are offering and allowing retailers to transform online traffic to offline results.”
The event gathered more than 20 guests from brands such as Bell & Ross, Diesel, Net à Porter and Stella McCartney. The presentations can be found here.