Despite the growing popularity of e-commerce, consumers continue to visit shops. Au cours du deuxième trimestre 2022, they were 71% to have made their purchases in physical shops. As with digital channels, point-of-sale marketing, and in particular the organisation of in-store competitions, is therefore an essential lever for attracting buyers, offering them a unique shopping experience and building loyalty.

If you’re thinking of organising an in-store competition, here’s everything you need to know to boost results and some ideas to inspire you.

A competition is a form of entertainment organised by a company or organisation. with the aim of attracting people’s attention to your products or services. We’ve already talked a lot about online competitions, which take place on digital communication channels. But interactive animation can also be adapted to retail and organised at physical points of sale.

Grab customers’ attention with an in-store competition

In an increasingly competitive environment and in the face of more demanding consumers, shops need to redouble their inventiveness to stand out from the crowd and win consumer loyalty.

When a chain sets up an in-store competition, it has a better chance of attracting customers and prospects, if only because consumers rarely say no to the chance to win a free gift or take advantage of discounts on their purchases. This is especially true in times of inflation, when buyers are more careful about what they spend.

Organising an in-store competition is also an excellent way to stand out from the crowd and create excitement in its points of sale. Passers-by who haven’t necessarily heard of the brand will be curious to find out what’s going on and will be more likely to push open the doors of the boutique.

Boosting buyer engagement and retention through point-of-sale marketing

There’s nothing more frustrating than a prospect walking into your shop, browsing the shelves and leaving without having bought anything. For salespeople, however it’s difficult to interact with consumers without falling into ineffective commercial tricks such as asking them if they need help or advice.

In-store competitions are a simple and effective way of creating positive interactions with customers. Shoppers do not feel that the brand’s staff are trying to make them consume, since the aim of a marketing game is to win them gifts or other rewards. The link that is created between the brand and the buyer is therefore not a transactional one, but one that establishes a more authentic and lasting relationship.

By using game-based mechanisms (such as collecting points with every purchase, searching for a mystery item in shop or discovering a surprise discount on their till receipt), retail competitions also encourage customers to return to the shop or to continue interacting with the brand on its digital channels.

The competition can be launched online (on social networks, for example), but participants can also be invited to visit the shop to claim their price. This marketing leverage enables you to consolidate your customers’ multi-channel purchasing journey and to strengthen the relationship between consumer and brand over the long term.

Getting to know your customers better

A brand’s growth and performance depend to a large extent on its ability to meet its customers’ expectations. And that means gathering first-party data on its core target in order to better understand its desires, consumer trends, budget, etc. In-store competitions are an excellent way of gathering this data.

Motivate your sales teams with an internal competition

In-store workplace competitions can also be part of a company’s internal strategy, helping to motivate its sales force. Some brands organise them for their employees in order to create healthy competition between their different sales outlets. The shop with the best sales figures, for example, will be rewarded with bonuses or gifts.

Depending on the brand universe, target audience and budget, companies wishing to organise an in-store competition can choose from a range of different approaches.

Here are some ideas for in-store competitions to inspire you.

Random drawing at the checkout or at the point of purchase

The best-known in-store competition is undoubtedly a random drawing in-store. The principle is simple. Once they have made an in-store purchase, the brand’s customers will automatically be entered into a random drawing and will find out if they have won directly on their till receipt.

The brand can also integrate a marketing game application (such as a wheel of fortune or a one-armed bandit) directly into its shopping terminals.

Not only is this mechanism very simple to put in place. It also naturally encourages consumers to return to the shop to maximise their chances of winning.

In-store interactive games

In-store interactive marketing is an even more effective way of engaging customers, as it directly invites them to take part in a game based around the brand’s products or services.

The conditions for participation are no longer limited to making a purchase in the shop, but rather to taking part in a contest (makeover, drawing, etc.), searching for a mystery item on the shelves or correctly answering the questions in a quiz on the history of the brand.

Omnichannel competitions

The whole point of the marketing game is that it makes it easy to build bridges between your different communication and distribution channels. It’s easy to attract your online community or e-commerce site customers to your shop with a competition.

The principle is simple: the brand shares the rules of its competition via a publication on social networks, but the conditions for taking part or collecting the prizes on offer are to visit the shop.

Conversely, an in-store interactive game (such as a photo competition using the brand’s products) can enable the company to grow its online audience and generate UGC. To do this, simply invite participants to share their photos on social networks using a hashtag created specifically for the occasion.

In-store competitions are an effective way of attracting, engaging and retaining shoppers. Discover all the Adictiz interactive formats that can be easily integrated into your in-store shopping experience!