Who doesn’t love an expertly cooked, professionally prepared meal at a local restaurant? While dining at a restaurant is generally considered an enjoyable experience, 71 percent of Americans say they cook at home to save money. What’s more, 57 percent say that going to restaurants is a luxury. People need to eat. So, shopping for groceries is the next logical step.
For small businesses, this should be seen as a great opportunity to promote your brand to a local audience. Grocery store advertising enables owners to reap the benefits of large-scale, costly national campaigns at a fraction of the price. Between coupon advertising and cart advertising, business owners have two primary methods that can drive success—at a fraction of the price.
New to grocery store advertising? Wondering what’s best for your business? Let’s review the top techniques that help build your customer list.
Grocery Cart Advertising
Looking to produce beautiful, full-color ads that make an impression? Grocery store cart advertising is a great way to reach a targeted audience and increase long-term brand awareness and recognition. Advertising in grocery store carts enables companies to produce beautiful, full-color ads that make an impression among a targeted audience.
For brands looking to increase long-term brand awareness and recognition, the benefits of cart advertising may be for you. Let’s review.
Direct Interaction
Unlike direct mail and other print coupons—which consumers may inadvertently ignore or throw away—each trip to the grocery store is an opportunity for your brand to be seen by your consumers.
Cartvertising presents fewer variables and uncertainties as to whether or not ads are being seen by consumers. Because the average shopper visits local stores an average of 1.7 times per week and spends 43 minutes in the store per trip, it’s almost guaranteed that he or she is interacting with your ad. In fact, your ad is very close to your consumers’ eyes more than an hour per week and more than 80 times per year.
Complete Customization
Grocery cart ads can be full-color and custom-designed to showcase a business. Think of cart advertisements as miniature billboards. These customized ads make a splash by increasing brand awareness, recognition, and reach.
In addition to providing customization, grocery store cart advertising also enables hyperlocal personalization. The average household travels 3.79 miles to its primary grocery store. This means that business owners can rest easy, knowing exactly where they’re making an investment. And because the primary buyer of a household often shops for groceries, business owners can ensure that ads are being seen by decision-makers. In this regard, business owners can tailor marketing messaging around the age, gender, average household income, and other demographic specifics.
Receipt Advertising
Grocery store receipt advertising is the method in which businesses print ads on the back of receipts. Unlike direct mail methods, receipt coupons are literally handed to consumers. Looking for a short-term solution to drive traffic? Receipt coupons may be for you.
Personalization
Like grocery cart advertising, coupon advertising enables business owners to boost sales by targeting specific customers, products, or events. Receipt advertising can be personalized so that consumers visit your business, spend money, and boost your profits. Precise location targeting, combined with the possibilities of customization, enables businesses to distribute messaging to exactly the right audience.
Coupons not only reach a specific demographic, but they influence where consumers shop and how much money they spend. Nearly 90 percent of adult consumers said coupons impact the amount they spend and the items they purchase. What’s more, 78 percent of consumers said a coupon influenced them to buy a new brand. And 80 percent of shoppers said they would switch stores or brands when offered a compelling promotion.
Tracking ROI
Coupons drive specific customers to small businesses in their area and also tout a surprisingly striking return on investment (ROI). Because so many small businesses are on a tight budget, it’s essential for investments to be smart. While grocery cart advertising comes with many benefits, it’s ultimately tough to track true ROI. This isn’t the case with coupon advertising.
It’s simple to track coupon performance: A customer exchanges a coupon, and you gain a sale. This boosts the value of coupon advertising, as business owners know exactly how an offer, design, or location is performing.
So, what grocery store advertising technique is best for you?
Both grocery store cart advertising and coupon advertising can bring massive benefits to your business. While many industries benefit from grocery cart advertising, it’s worth noting that businesses that provide competition to grocery stores generally can’t use this technique. This includes restaurants, pharmacies, liquor stores, and tobacco shops.
Ultimately, however, it depends on what you’re looking for. Whereas receipt advertising boasts a strong, short-term impact, cart advertising can help brands boost their brand awareness. To learn more about these two techniques, click here.
By Eric Shafer
By Jennifer Walters