Digital media and the shopping centre
Romain Greze, managing director, Limited Space Media, looks at how advertisers can use digital media to enhance the shopping centre space and target consumers effectively.
Digital developments are dramatically influencing almost every area of modern life, but arguably in no industry is this more apparent than in the retail environment. The requirement to match online experiences to the physical space and understand how the interaction between the two prompts purchase is transforming retail locations.
Shopping centres, in particular, where consumers seek inspiration as well as make purchases, are being transformed into the nexus point where digital meets physical. While m- and e-commerce are both on the rise, £1 in every £3 is spent in malls, which account for 27 per cent of all UK retail sales. Given this ongoing relevance in the hearts of the modern shopper, the mall space is seeing considerable investment into technology intended to align mobile, online and physical purchase experiences.
With WiFi availability and prompts for social media engagement increasingly on offer and encouraged through a combination of mobile technology and digital screen installations, there is now a complex web of interaction points between devices and brand engagement formats being built within the shopping centre space.
The potential for this media technology lies in its ubiquity and ability to reach consumers where other media simply don’t go. When coupled with screen technology such as interactive touch displays, Near Field Communication, and a host of other advanced technologies like geo-targeting and augmented reality, advertisers and brands can interact and enhance the retail experience to create genuine, two-way brand relationships.
This contact promises a positive influence on other media disciplines as well. Out-of-home already drives better online search uplift than TV in some sectors, showing a 5.5 per cent increase in travel search terms versus 3.5 per cent for TV and a 3 per cent uplift for insurance keywords compared with TV’s 0.6 per cent, according to The Outdoor Media Centre.
However, with malls vying for footfall, it’s the quality and combination of this technology and the content on offer that is helping to attract the attention of a large number of shoppers. The shopping centre space is actively sought out by consumers. Some 86 per cent of shoppers would rather visit shopping centres than the high street, thanks to the leisure facilities they offer to enhance the experience.
This is no longer a quick ‘pop to the shops’ but a trip to a destination centre. As the space becomes more populated by consumers as an all-encompassing leisure destination, standout becomes key. To get the most from the space available, retailers and brands have to capitalise on the range of platforms while also considering their brand proposition and the media consumption patterns of their target audiences.
A recent campaign for Nivea at The Birmingham Bullring, which utilised the full range of brand-able space on offer within the shopping centre, found that 24 per cent of shoppers recalled seeing the campaign in situ. Furthermore, 30 per cent of shopping centre shoppers said that the campaign communicated a message of younger looking skin – a key take-out for the brand .
Digital screen technology is increasing the capability of brands to target consumers through engaging all the senses. Cinema-quality, interactive digital showcase screens along with full screen surround wraps and the latest sound technology all combine to capture the attention of shoppers with eye-catching and engaging content.
Brands are implementing interactive, moving, attention-grabbing content while also targeting customers at a time when they are already in the right frame of mind to buy, receptive to brand engagement. Furthermore, forward thinking brands have begun mapping social media channels into their mall space activity to encourage interaction.
A recent campaign for clothing brand Cotton Jelly increased overall traffic to the brand website by 13.7 per cent while mobile traffic increased by 39.83 per cent – simply by encouraging their target young adult audiences to involve and influence the social media elements built into their digital display campaign.
There’s no doubt that the growing requirements of interconnectivity between digital out-of-home systems and customers via mobile have brought a panoply of augmented reality, interactivity and multi-sensory technologies to the table. And as digital outdoor behaves in the same way as the connected consumer, it instantly becomes more relevant to the individual and to brands who need to interact with them.
Location-linked social platforms such as Foursquare have already begun letting customers check into advertising displays to receive specific benefits. This allows for different deals to be distributed at different locations, which relates back to effective use of targeting. Imagine social media contests and check-ins combined with displays in shopping plazas where brands can directly boost spend. This cross-platform marketing would generate previously unattainable levels of customer interaction and conversion for companies.
So while mobile purchase and online shopping grow, shopping centres remain crucial and relevant for consumers, as a focal point of media potential and technological developments – as well as the final point of influence for brands before the consumer reaches the physical till.
Shopping centre operators are already exceptionally adept at creating an engaging retail space that generates revenue and a high level of customer engagement. However, they can still exploit this continuing change from retail to leisure space to maximise ROI and the potential of the relationship between the consumer and their retail space