From supermarkets hosting cooking classes to retailers offering product try-outs in augmented reality, businesses across India are using innovative omnichannel marketing strategies to win over a new generation of digital consumers. And for good reason.
Recent research in India shows that 77% of shoppers prefer buying from an omnichannel brand. Another survey found that as many as 85% of shoppers in India use smartphones while in store to look up reviews and compare prices.
To help your business engage effectively with shoppers in India, we look at three omnichannel strategies you can implement to successfully unlock new online-offline retail experiences and achieve business results.
1. Share inventory information online to fuel engagement
Market surveys reveal two insights about India’s shoppers. First, 96% of them research products online before completing a purchase, whether online or offline. Second, 46% of them verify inventory online before heading to the store.1
So to effectively engage India’s shoppers, it’s important to show them information about your products and the items’ availability in stores across all customer touchpoints, including sales channels.
The Google Merchant Center is a platform that lets omnichannel retailers synchronise and share inventory information across their Google channels. The information added to the Merchant Center appears organically, as it is relevant, when customers use Google Search, Maps, and YouTube.
Additionally, you can help shoppers discover your business and other related information, such as store locations and hours, by creating a Google Business Profile.
That’s what the consumer electronics retailer Croma did to create a seamless omnichannel experience for customers.
Initially, Croma’s setup on the Merchant Center only reflected store-based inventory, and that tended to be for small appliances. Its large appliances were fulfilled through its warehouses.
Because store-based information was lacking for Croma’s large appliances, customers were unable to verify online if those products were available in store. That meant they likely passed over a chance to view those items on their visits, and Croma missed out on opportunities to boost the customer experience and sales.
To fix that, Croma partnered with Google to build additional logics for mapping its warehouse inventory to its Merchant Center.
Within a month of Croma’s full inventory being activated on the Merchant Center, impressions for its local listings grew by 70%, and views of its Google Business Profile jumped 14%. Its in-store footfall also enjoyed an increase.
2. Embrace omnichannel ads solutions to boost offline growth
Despite growing demand among Indian consumers for omnichannel brands, a recent Deloitte report observed that for certain high-ticket categories, such as home furnishing and jewellery, people still prefer to shop offline.
Yet online research continues to play an important part in the decision-making process for shoppers, before they make their purchases offline. So for businesses in those categories, using omnichannel ads solutions can help with delivering relevant messages to shoppers online while they’re in their decision-making phase.
You can supercharge your online ad campaigns with Google's omnichannel ads tools such as local inventory ads, Performance Max for store goals, and Smart Bidding for store visits and store sales. These solutions connect users with the stores nearest to them and help you optimise offline purchase and sales.
A case in point is Tanishq — a leading brand in India’s jewellery industry, which makes most of its sales offline.
Tanishq knew its customer buying journey starts in a digital environment and ends in a physical store. So it designed its omnichannel advertising strategy to extend across its website and app, Search, and social media. It also used YouTube ads solutions to enhance its brand awareness, and Performance Max for store goals to drive footfall and in-store purchases.
To further fine-tune its marketing strategy, optimise budgets, and maximise sales impact, Tanishq analysed the impact of its online campaigns using Google's store sales measurement solution. It discovered that 26% of store sales had a Google touchpoint and this grew its confidence in making further investments in Performance Max.
As a result, footfall to its stores increased and this significantly reduced its cost of acquisition by 38%.
3. Combine organic listings and paid strategies to maximise impact
The importance of an omnichannel ad strategy cannot be overstated, since 60% of shoppers take six or more actions to research a purchase online, on apps, or in stores before deciding to buy a brand or product that’s new to them.2
One way to do that is to have organic listings of your products, with up-to-date information that customers seek, such as price, reviews, shipping, and return policies. Then amplify those listings with paid ads to drive customer engagement online, store visits offline, and purchases all around.
That’s how electronics retailer Reliance Digital increased its sales and in-store visits.
The brand had previously relied on traditional print media and out-of-home spending to drive store visits. But it had difficulty quantifying the impact of its ad spend, so it decided to invest in a digital-first approach instead.
It uploaded its store-level and product inventory information onto Merchant Center and its Google Business Profile using the free local inventory feature. It also included in those listings useful information for customers, such as its shipping cost and duration, and return policies.
Those efforts organically improved its online presence and visibility. And with more of its products showing up in local search results, customers found Reliance Digital more easily, online and offline.
Additionally, it complemented its organic listings with a paid, full-funnel campaign to maximise sales during the festive period of Durga Puja.
It used skippable in-stream ads and Display campaigns to create awareness about its festive sale, and Performance Max for store goals and local inventory ads to drive footfall. It also ran Search campaigns with “near me” keywords to engage shoppers with the intent to buy offline. The result: 35% higher sales year-over-year.
Indeed, to reach your customers wherever they are, online and offline, an omnichannel approach is the way to go. By investing in omnichannel ads solutions and strategies, you’ll be able to deliver seamless customer experiences that boost retail sales in stores.
Contributors: Ankur Gupta, Account Executive; Jui Shinde, Senior Account Manager; Kaushik A, Account Executive; Pooja Sharma, Senior Account Manager; Poorva Bhatikar, Account Executive; Vishesh Govil, Product Marketing Manager
