A Guide to Increasing Footfall to Your Retail Store

Last Updated: 

November 9, 2023

One of the biggest challenges a brick-and-mortar store faces is increasing foot traffic. As consumers will have many choices, you’ll need to find ways to attract your target audience and secure their custom.

Fortunately, you can introduce many tactics to encourage more people to visit your store and buy from your business. Read this helpful guide to increasing footfall to your retail store.

Key Takeaways on Increasing Footfall to Your Retail Store

  1. Effective Signage: Make your store easy to find with eye-catching signage and good visibility. Differentiate your brand and stand out from competitors.
  2. Online Promotion: Promote your physical store across various digital channels, including your website, social media, email newsletters, and online ads.
  3. Local Influencers: Collaborate with local influencers to boost your store's visibility and credibility in the community.
  4. Instagram-Worthy Opportunities: Create shareable photo opportunities in your store to increase word of mouth and attract a broader audience.
  5. Attention-Grabbing Window Displays: Use creative and engaging window displays to captivate passersby and entice them to explore your products.
  6. Google My Business Listing: Ensure your store's visibility by maintaining an updated Google My Business listing for easy location finding.
  7. In-Store Promotions: Utilise digital signage in windows to highlight promotions, new products, or popular items, enticing potential customers.

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Make It Easy to Find Your Store

Poor signage and marketing practices will prevent consumers from walking into your brick-and-mortar store. Guide foot traffic into your shop by introducing tried-and-tested tactics that almost guarantee more customers.

You can make your signage shine in retail parks by improving its visibility and using eye-catching lights and colours that’ll grab attention. For example, you must ensure that your signage is visible from a distance, and you could add signage totems at the entrance. Also, your signage should embody your brand but differentiate the business from its close competitors.

Don’t forget to add or update a Google My Business listing to help people to locate your brick-and-mortar store on their smartphone, tablet, or PC. It will ensure that a customer knows where to find your business and buy your products.

Promote Your Store on Your Digital Channels

It doesn’t matter if you sell products online or not; you must promote your physical store across your various digital channels, such as your:

  • Website
  • Social media channels
  • Email marketing newsletters
  • Online ads

Also, use the powerful platforms to promote in-store promotions, events, sales, or giveaways to drive more foot traffic to your retail shop.

Work with Local Influencers

Influencer marketing isn’t restricted to e-commerce. Find and approach local influencers who are happy to visit your store, receive product samples, and promote them on their various digital channels. Look for influencers with thousands of followers in your town or city. They could help spread a good word about your business and encourage people to visit your store to buy one or more items.

Provide Instagram-worthy Photo Opportunities

Boost word of mouth by creating fun Instagrammable photo opportunities at your retail store. For example, create an Instagram wall in a quiet corner to encourage customers to snap a photo in front of a fun neon light or floral display. Don’t forget to encourage customers to tag your company and use a specific hashtag. A cool image could grab the attention of their followers, who might venture into your store as a result. It’s a low-cost way to increase your brand awareness, footfall, and revenue.

Create Attention-Grabbing Window Displays

Many New York department stores have turned their window displays into an art form, which encourages people to browse their products and venture inside. Give people a reason to stop in their tracks by creating attention-grabbing displays that will compel passersby to come in and explore your items.

For example, you could install digital signage in your windows to display various messages and videos. This will force people to pause as they walk by, and it’s a clever way to promote in-store promotions, new products, or popular items.

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