El Segundo, Calif. — Live in-store product demos and how-to clinics may go a long way to capturing customer loyalty and sales.
That’s one conclusion of an in-store survey of 1,232 shoppers conducted exclusively for TWICE by Campaigners, a full-service field and marketing firm based here.
Asked to choose the three most effective ways that retailers can make their stores and merchandise displays more engaging, interactive and informative, more than one out of five shoppers (21 percent) cited “live in-store demonstrations and clinics that show how best to use the product.” Similarly, another 19 percent said they would like to see “more working floor models” for customers to test drive.
Some consumers need more of an incentive to patronize stores: About 15 percent of respondents said they would like to be rewarded for their loyalty in the form of discounts, special promotions and/or personal shopping assistants. Thirteen percent were more independent-minded, preferring self-guided displays and signage and take-away brochures, while 10 percent would like to see more displays of cross-merchandised, end-to-end solutions.
The poll was conducted across the United States in national and regional CE chains during the first half of September.
Campaigners, founded in 1997 by former Hewlett-Packard marketer Melissa Orr, has driven an estimated $3 billion in retail sales through its in-store sales training, market intelligence, merchandising, special events and mystery shopping services for such clients as DirecTV, Fujifilm, JVC, Motorola, Roxio and Vonage. For more information, visit www.campaigners.com.
