The Hybrid Future of Retail Digital Marketing

Today’s consumers are tech-savvy, that goes without saying. Since the pandemic accelerated changes in customer experience and demands, local retail must face the new retail consumer: motivated primarily by convenience, before price or quality.

“Hybrid” retail consumers usually begin their road to purchasing with an online search: they pick up their smartphone, make a search, scan for reviews, chat with friends, check what other people are saying on social media, and make their decision fairly quickly. If you’re not found when consumers start searching, you may as well be invisible.

Omnichannel experiences drive retail marketing today, especially local retail. 74% of consumers prefer a mix of online and in-person marketing, with the global B2C eCommerce market on track for a valuation of nearly $6.5 trillion in 2023; plus an expected compound annual growth rate of 9.1% through 2026.

Customers want to use every available channel, both online and offline, to help them decide, so multi-location businesses need to make sure they can leverage messaging and opportunity in a seamless, consistent, and holistic way, regardless of location.

That said, it’s all about being found in the right sorts of ways. Today’s customers are far more skeptical about tactics like review manipulation or empty promises, and quickly turn to peers for verification and validation of their intentions. What else is happening in retail marketing as we step into 2024?

The Current Landscape of Retail Digital Marketing

It should come as no surprise that we’ve seen a seismic shift towards e-commerce. To retain and increase loyalty among existing customers in spite of ongoing global crises, multi-location businesses need to prepare to offer convenience balanced with cost-effectiveness. They need to not only position themselves where customers are—online, as well as on main street—but also get ready to engage with the customer when they are in decision-making mode.

The answer? Going hybrid!

A recent PWC survey across 25 countries found “a clear imperative for companies seeking a competitive advantage: empower your consumers by providing them with the necessary tools, information, technology and support for their decision-making.” That means embracing an online/offline hybrid approach.

Consider the “Click and Collect” phenomenon: where customers browse and buy online, but pick up in physical stores. While it’s typically classified as e-commerce by analysts, it’s neither a wholly digital nor wholly traditional retail purchase. The local brick-and-mortar store is still the linchpin of the transaction, especially for larger purchases, as they help to avoid shipping costs—an especially attractive factor for many potential customers weighing their options.

This phenomenon shows the value in taking a solid hybrid approach to your retail digital marketing, too. Multi-location businesses need to cover both online and offline bases if they want to attract hybrid customers.

Consider this: in 2023, smartphones accounted for more than 70% of all retail website visits worldwide. The emerging convergence of physical and digital retail is here to stay.

The Reality of Hybrid Retail Marketing: Changed Customer Behavior

Hybrid retail marketing means you need to keep your eye on more channels; which is a positive development because a mix of touchpoints can cultivate brand visibility, enhance reputation management, and boost consumer engagement. It’s the strategic combination of all three activities, with a unified approach, that really delivers on increasing both attraction and retention of customers. That synergy translates to improved ROI for retail digital marketing. Our Retail Revenue Impact report found a 71% increase in conversion rate among businesses who adopt this approach to retail digital solutions, which translated to about 16x for their ROI.

Reviews continue to deliver outsized impacts on reputation and customer attraction: an increase of just 0.1 in your star rating can create a 25% rise in foot traffic! Multi-location businesses need a streamlined way to keep track of reviews, though, if they want to keep their reputation steady.

This trend cuts across generations; PWC found Gen-Z turns first to search engines (55%), then directly to retailers (36% to Amazon; 34% to an individual retailer’s website), then to peers (32% to reviews; 30% to speaking with others), with 29% also looking at price comparison websites. Clearly, if your multi-location business does not put as much effort into online as well as offline channels, across listings and social and search and more, you miss out on potential sales.

Think it’s still possible to operate in a digital/physical silo? You may want to reconsider: nine out of 10 grocery shoppers use their smartphone while at the store, up from 67% in 2015. More than seven out of 10 shoppers use a grocery retailer’s app to place online orders, find products in store, participate in loyalty programs, or access digital coupons. These are only some of the growing number of reasons to consider adding digital to your in-store experience.

6 Retail Marketing Trends And Industry Pioneers

Mastering the latest trends in digital marketing is key to staying ahead in a competitive landscape. Meanwhile, the fusion of technology and consumer behavior continues to redefine strategies for retailers. So let’s delve into cutting-edge trends supported by real-world best practices to guide you toward success.

#1 Personalization Precision

The era of hyper-personalization has arrived and one standout example for transforming shopping experiences into tailored journeys is the retail giant Amazon.

Amazon has set the gold standard for personalized shopping experiences with a staggering 35% of its sales attributed to personalized product recommendations (Source: McKinsey). If you want to replicate this success, you should invest in data analytics to understand customer preferences, enhancing both engagement and conversions.

#2 Social Commerce Mastery

Social media is no longer just a space for connection; it's a thriving marketplace that Shopify has leveraged to great effect.

By seamlessly integrating with social media platforms, Shopify enables businesses to sell directly on Instagram, Facebook, and other channels. As of 2023, Shopify merchants have experienced a 60% increase in sales through social commerce. Retailers can follow suit by leveraging social commerce features to create a frictionless buying experience for customers on their preferred platforms.

#3 Augmented Reality Brilliance

Augmented Reality (AR) is reshaping the online shopping landscape and Warby Parker exceeded all known applications with its virtual try-on feature using Augmented Reality.

Warby Parker reports a remarkable 75% increase in customer engagement and a 22% decrease in return rates for AR-enabled products. Take a page from Warby Parker's playbook by integrating AR experiences to enhance product interaction and build customer confidence in purchasing decisions.

#4 Voice Search Wisdom

Optimizing for voice search is no longer a choice but a necessity; and Starbucks has embraced it by optimizing its mobile app for voice-activated ordering.

Starbucks reached a 20% increase in mobile orders placed through voice commands (Source: Starbucks). As a retailer, you should prioritize conversational keywords and phrases, ensuring your products are easily discoverable through voice search.

#5 Sustainability Spotlight

Sustainability has transitioned from a buzzword to a consumer demand, and no other retailer stands out more for its commitment than Patagonia.

Patagonia’s marketing campaigns have not only attracted environmentally conscious consumers but also resulted in a 30% increase in online sales. Make sure you authentically communicate your sustainability initiatives to resonate with conscious consumers and align with the growing demand for eco-friendly products.

#6 Mobile-First Excellence

With mobile devices becoming extensions of ourselves, a mobile-first strategy is non-negotiable—and Airbnb demonstrates the ultimate power of a mobile-first strategy.

With over 90% of their users accessing the platform through mobile devices, Airbnb has seen a 68% increase in mobile bookings (Source: Airbnb). As a retailer, you should optimize websites, emails, and ads for mobile devices, ensuring a seamless and responsive experience to capture the attention of the ever-growing mobile audience.

Harness retail digital marketing technologies

With all of these trends pushing multi-location businesses towards a hybrid approach to retail digital marketing, Forrester found that 70% of organizations nevertheless continue to lack confidence in their ability to deliver seamless hybrid experiences for consumers.

Much of this uncertainty comes from fragmented approaches to technology, siloing teams and missing marks. Siloed people, processes, technology, and data all result in fragmented customer experiences, which end up impacting their decisions to purchase from your business.

Retail digital marketing technologies today are about more than listings management, though SEO absolutely plays a strong and lasting role for local retail. 55% of consumers rank search as their top source for pre-purchase information. Retail marketing solutions today oversee more than your listings management, by adding dynamic data, appointment scheduling, inventory management, and much more, alongside capabilities for optimizing your Google Business Profile and take your best shot at getting in the all-important 3-Pack.

Local search visibility remains key to attracting customers, especially those customers who are looking “near me” right now. And remember, 46% of all Google searches are looking for local information. That’s why multi-location businesses now need to provide relevant contextualized information, and an easy path to purchase, if they want to stay ahead of their online-only competition.

That same Forrester report mentioned earlier found that 72% of companies believe a unified platform and approach will play a pivotal role in creating more effective hybrid customer experiences. Manage your multi-location retail business through a single source, empowered by AI, to help your brand show up and stand out when nearby customers search.