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

You’ve done flyers, social media and ads on TV, radio and in the paper. Now all of your advertizing efforts have paid off. You have a steady stream of customers walking through your grocery store door. But instead of raking in profit, you’re still just breaking even. If your shoppers are good at sticking to the shopping list they had with them before they stepped inside, you’re not focusing on your in-store marketing efforts enough. Get shoppers to give in to impulse buys by making the products you want to push seem like must-have items without which your shoppers can’t leave the store.

Creativity in your in-store marketing efforts will make your store stand out. Try engaging their senses with more colorful and meaningful displays. Boring signs that simply communicate a sale price are so commonplace, the typical shopper hardly pays them any mind. Eye-catching designs are the way to go, and interactive activities that engage the shopper will make your efforts even more effective. Make grocery shopping a more fun experience and your shoppers will reward you with repeat business. Watch the products to which you choose to devote your marketing efforts fly off the shelves simply by investing in in-store marketing software and thinking creatively.

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.