The rise of e-commerce has provided many opportunities for traditional retail business owners, such as increased accessibility and the option to reach a broader audience. However, it also brought with it the challenge of figuring out how to make the most of its tools and techniques in order to maintain a competitive edge.

In this article, we will look at the latest research on this topic, find solutions, and explore how booking software can play a part in driving foot traffic to retail stores.

So, if you’re looking for ways to improve customer experience and attract more visitors to your store, you have come to the right place.

If you own a retail firm, you understand how crucial foot traffic is as a metric. Monitoring your daily client traffic is especially important for a few reasons:

• It helps you organise your staff efficiently. For instance, if you know when your customers are most likely to visit your store, you can change working hours accordingly. You can also schedule a maintenance day if you discover it is the least profitable day of the week, or you can organise a community event to attract more clients;
• It equips you with the necessary information to analyse and optimise your marketing and management plans. In other words, foot traffic is real-time feedback on the products and customer experience you provide;
• Most significantly, foot traffic is usually correlated with sales – the more people who visit your shop, the more likely you are to sell your products and services.

Smaller companies, such as family enterprises, usually monitor traffic with tally counters and take notes throughout the day. Larger firms prefer to employ software that can determine traffic patterns by analysing location data — this is especially handy if they own multiple venues and want to compare them.

On that note, let’s look at what you can do to attract new customers and earn their loyalty.

Here are some tactics used by retailers to boost their exposure and appeal.

1. Offer a Unique Shopping Experience

Despite the rise of e-commerce, which promotes convenience and competitive pricing, brick-and-mortar retailers are not going away anytime soon. In fact, Amazon purchased Whole Foods Market for US$13.4 billion in 2017, creating a striking physical presence for itself.

The truth is, traditional stores can never be replaced by their online counterparts because of the social aspect that customers crave — for example, offering a new and fresh environment where people can interact.

However, there are always new things to try in order to improve your clients' purchasing experiences. Many retailers, for example, include dining spaces and coffee shops to create rapport with their customers and encourage them to spend more time at the location.

Another approach to engage with your customers is to host special events. Many large stores or malls, for example, organise concerts and book fairs, which are both excellent ways to bring people of various ages and backgrounds together.

Alternatively, you can offer classes related to your business industry. Sephora, for example, organises skincare and makeup workshops in-store.

Another method we have discussed extensively in previous articles is incorporating a buy online, pick-up in-store (BOPIS) plan, which allows customers to visit your store to pick up orders they've placed online.

2. Form Strategic Partnerships that Address Customer Needs

One such collaboration is that between Target and ThredUp, a second-hand clothing store, to sell affordable and sustainable fashion items.

As consumers grow more conscious of their purchasing habits, several fashion firms are adapting to this shift in behaviour. In fact, according to estimates, the resale market will overtake fast fashion by 2028.

3. Generate Virtual Foot Traffic by Joining the Metaverse

According to surveys, one-third of Gen Z representatives want brands to build virtual stores where they can buy virtual clothes for their online characters or avatars.

If you're not a ‘zoomer’, this discovery may seem out of this world. However, gaming and virtual socialising places, like sports or arts, provide a means of self-expression.

Take into account that fashion labels like Forever21, Estée Lauder, and Tommy Hilfiger have already jumped on the Metaverse bandwagon. Nike, for example, has had tremendous success with their Nikeland showroom, which has over 7 million virtual clients.

Booking software may help you in that regard, no matter the size of your company.

1. Improve Customer Experience with an Online Booking System

With online booking software, you can:

• You can spread traffic throughout the day and avoid crowds with bookings software solutions, ensuring that each customer receives the attention they require upon arrival. Your employees will profit as well because they will be less stressed and overburdened with work;
• By requesting relevant information at the time of booking, you can provide a personalised experience for each consumer. That way, if you have a larger crew, you may assign the right employee to each customer, or they will have time to prepare appropriate products, offers, or discounts;
• You can incorporate a click-and-collect or BOPIS option in your appointment scheduling platform.

2. Booking Software Can Help You Make Well-Informed Business Decisions

As part of your omnichannel business strategy, an online booking system can also help you:

• Gather information about client behaviour and preferences through post-purchase surveys. If you can also measure some elements separately in-store, such as the average time your clients spend at the location, this can complement the data acquired from the booking software. It's also worth mentioning that changes in customer behaviour are strongly tied to changes in foot traffic. Spotting those changes in good time will help you implement the healthiest approach for your company.
• Determine the types of consumers that form your audience – this can be extremely useful in analysing or adjusting your advertising campaigns;
• Keep track of purchases that correlate to the customers who scheduled the appointments; this will allow you to plan your inventory based on demand.

3. Avoid Missing Out on Sales by Integrating an Appointment Scheduling System across All Platforms

You have probably noticed that many shops and salons have almost no online presence; perhaps you even have a favourite little boutique that few people know about. Well, the bad news is that most clients will look up your business on Google, and if they don’t find information like a phone number, business hours, or an address, they will likely go somewhere else.

Not meeting your clients where they are is a missed opportunity for new sales — and that little boutique won’t be able to keep up for long.

Source: Local Consumer Review Survey 2022 | BrightLocal.com

There is no doubt that you must provide a means for clients to contact you online. Furthermore, adding your booking platform can help to make your shop even more accessible. It is easier for customers to determine where to shop if they can arrange an appointment at the press of a button. Essentially, the more smoothly a client interaction goes, the better.

Traditional businesses most likely need to make an extra effort to encourage foot traffic in retail stores these days. In that regard, we have presented a few tried-and-true tactics that we hope may be useful to you as well.

If you are looking for an online booking system to complement your efforts, Storeplay IQ could be the answer. Get in touch with us, and we will gladly respond to any questions regarding our appointment scheduling platform and help you set up the bookings software.