3 Creative, Effective In-Store Marketing Campaigns for Grocery Stores

So much of today’s marketing focus is on social media and getting people to visit your retail location that the in-store marketing gets overlooked. However, if you own a grocery store, you’re almost guaranteed a regular stream of customers. While advertizing sales and getting your store’s name out there is important, you're in-store marketing when it comes to a grocery store is perhaps more essential to your business’ success. When your customers visit your store, most of them have a clear idea of what they want to buy. Your job is to tempt them to go "off-list" and pick up more of your products before they leave.

Attractive sales are just the first part of the equation. How you direct shoppers to these sales or to featured products is the next step. There’s a fine line between an in-store campaign being in-your-face and off-putting and a campaign being noticeable but also just subtle enough to be effective. If you can make the shopper think that adding that product to her cart was her idea, you’re more likely to succeed and encourage her to return to your store in the future. Encourage more creativity in your in-store marketing campaigns and you’ll draw positive attention to your products.

Shelf-Edge Tags

Draw the shopper’s eye to the shelf with a shelf-edge tag. The shopper’s brain naturally tunes out the majority of products on a shelf if there’s nothing that stands out. A shelf-edge tag spaced every few feet zeroes the shopper’s attention in to one product. Use in-store marketing software to design your tags and make them stand out. Simply posting a sale price isn’t enough. Why should the shopper buy this item? How is the price a big savings? Use images, bright colors, humorous messages and bold designs to make a shopper stop and pay attention to your wares.

Graphically Impressive Coupons

Every grocery store offers coupons. Yours can stand out and make the shopper more likely to buy the product if you use software to make them pleasing to the eye. Design a coupon with images of the product on sale or images of people enjoying the product. Use bold colors and funky designs and visual effects to make the coupon look like something out of a magazine. If you design coupons that are appealing enough, you can stick them on the shelf and make people stop and take a look instead of just leaving them by the door. Consider having an employee hand them out as shoppers arrive, too, so you’re sure they notice them.

Shelf Scavenger Hunt

Not every hurried shopper will be up for the challenge, but you can make shopping an enjoyable experience for those so inclined and give the usually bored children of shoppers something to do. Create a store-wide scavenger hunt, where every clue leads to a product on a shelf – and change it up at least once a month, if not once a week. With your in-store marketing software, you can make a big sign for the entryway, flyers for hints along the way and shelf-edge tags for the products for which your shoppers search. Reward those who complete the challenge or every every item on the list with extra savings.

While grocery stores have products that will always be in demand, not every product will sell as well as the staples of bread, milk and the like. If you need to move stock, you need to come up with a creative way of drawing attention to a product. Spend more time thinking about your in-store marketing, and your profits will reflect your efforts.

About the Author: Janet Huestis is an owner of a small grocery store in New York. She recommends Pangea to other retailers looking for effective in-store marketing.