Footfall has been labelled as “irrelevant” for retailers as more purchases are completed online, tradedoubler.com reports.
The regional director at marketer Tradedoubler, Dan Cohen, has claimed that footfall – which was once seen to be the variable that could make or break a retailer – is now totally irrelevant.
Cohen put this down to the rise of smartphone proliferation, which has drastically altered the ways in which people shop. Now, with the likes of vouchers and remote research, shoppers can ensure they’re getting the best deal wherever they happen to be. Furthermore, as shoppers turn to online stores for their purchases in order to snag a bargain, the geographical placement of physical stores may actually matter little.
Cohen’s stance could provide a wake-up call for retailers who do not currently have an online offering, or those who are in the process of considering their own digital approach. If shoppers are – as he claims – heading to their smartphones above the high street, then setting up a digital shopfront and utilising online credit card processing could be more of an issue than finding a location with high levels of footfall.
Adding to this, Cohen told thedrum.com how this is a “wake-up call” for marketers and high street retailers.
He said: “Retailers’ traditional metric – footfall – is now an irrelevant indicator of retail success and they need to embrace performance marketing strategies now that 51 per cent of mobile shoppers are searching for vouchers or discounts for products they have seen in-store and 44 per cent are using vouchers sent to their mobile,” he said.
“Retailers need defensive and offensive strategies to protect and grow their revenues and indeed, to even remain relevant in this intense multichannel world.”
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