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DRIVING REVENUE AND
INCREASED ENGAGEMENT
WITH ADVANCED PROMOTIONS
MANAGEMENT
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PRESENTED BY
RIS RETAIL
MATURITY LADDER
Maturity Ladder:
Promotions Management
The RIS News Retail IQ Report Maturity Ladder is
a diagnostic measurement tool for a retailer’s state
of technology advancement in a specific category.
There are four key phases: 1. Basic – minimal
capabilities, 2. Intermediate – mostly basic with
some advanced capabilities, 3. Advanced – mostly
advanced capabilities with some limitations, and
4. State-of-the-Art – comprehensive capabilities
are fully integrated and up to date. Note that it is
possible to be on more than one step of the ladder
simultaneously as specific technology components
and processes are upgraded in phases.
4. STATE-OF-THE-ART
• Promotions management software integrates and cross-references everything
involved in the promotions process — including promotions history —
across channels.
• Promotions management software centralizes and coordinates strategies
across multiple teams and departments, including print, advertising, pricing,
operations, plan-o-gramming, social media and visual merchandising. Each
department is now aware of the other’s timing and agenda.
• Analytic reports can be generated instantaneously to monitor a promotion’s
success.
• A single system of record manages vendor funds, rebates, deals, offer
management and best practices for promotion execution.
• The “coming together” of teams optimizes promotional performance,
regardless of channels. It also eliminates the duplication of efforts on the
part of different departments and ensures that everyone is working on a
unified promotional plan.
3. ADVANCED
• Use of internal and external data paints a complete picture of both existing and new target
consumers. Information also helps determine which type of promotion (coupons vs. flyers) and
promotional vehicle (paper vs. digital) work best.
• Predictive analytics factor in consumer data, timing, in-store placement, lift in demand and
expected profits. This helps define the likelihood of specific outcomes.
• Promotions can be varied by time, day and market for maximum effectiveness.
• Implementation of electronic shelf labels creates huge labor savings and ensures price changes
are enacted in a timely and accurate fashion. Pricing can easily be changed by time of day or if
the promotion is not generating expected results.
• Personalized promotions, such as beacon-enabled apps or mobile-enabled e-circulars, target
certain shoppers with specific products and promotions.
2. INTERMEDIATE
• POS, loyalty card and other customer data is used in developing promotions. While this is successful in attracting
existing shoppers, it does not draw enough new customers.
• Lack of sufficient outside data reduces knowledge and awareness of particular demographics in some trading areas.
• Promotions are all price driven.
• The activities of merchandising, advertising and marketing departments are not coordinated or in sync. Thus,
departments have conflicting agendas and do not have a deep understanding of the other’s role or priorities.
• Lack of a centralized system makes it difficult to coordinate promotions across categories or channels.
1. BASIC
• Dozens of basic spread sheets are used to plan and manage promotions.
• Growth of omnichannel, new markets and/or business units make manual management of promotions increasingly complex and difficult.
• Price change activity and advertising are not backed by consumer insights, demand forecasting and performance measurements. This
makes outcome control haphazard.
• While some promotions are successful, others eat into margins or attract “cherry pickers” who only shop sales.
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DRIVING REVENUE AND INCREASED ENGAGEMENT WITH ADVANCED PROMOTIONS MANAGEMENT
Promotions have been around forever. But in today’s highly competitive landscape, retailers must use them in creative ways to persuade shoppers to buy
merchandise without seriously eroding profits and margins. They must also
encourage repeat traffic and minimize the number of “cherry pickers” who
only shop sales.
Price is not the only consideration when staging promotions — successful promotions require the right timing, consumer target, mer-
In-Store Digital
Technologies
Used by U.S.
Retailers
• Mobile apps, 64%
chandising strategy and store location. Retailers also need the right
promotional vehicle. Historically, they were limited to print, radio,
in-store signage and TV. Growth of digital, and the subsequent fragmentation of media, have made delivery choices more numerous and
complex. At the same time, media has become more pinpointed, allowing retailers to target specific groups.
Traditionally, retailers have used spread sheets to track promotions
• QR codes, 49%
and make calculations and decisions. But analytics software and oth-
• Digital screens, 47%
er tools are giving them better insights by cross-referencing historic,
• Beacons, 15%
demographic and other data from multiple sources.
• Electronic shelf
labeling, 13%
More chains are also using promotions management software. In
addition to integrating multiple functions across promotional stages,
they make sure merchandising, advertising and other departments are
Source: Forbes, “Closing the Loop, the Last 1,000
Feet of the Shopping Experience”
on the same page when it comes to communication, implementation
and strategic alignment.
The 4 P’s
In his classic 1960 book Basic Marketing: a Managerial Approach, E.
Jerome McCarthy’s describes the four elementary pillars — or “4 P’s”
— of successful marketing: product, price, placement and promotion.
The book goes on to discuss analysis, consumer behavior, market research, market segmentation and planning.
More than 50 years later, McCarthy’s 4 P’s are still the gold standard in marketing. What has changed is the retail landscape. In addition to the growth of mega retailers like Target and Walmart, today’s
retail world is omnichannel and, on the demographics end, omni-
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DRIVING REVENUE AND INCREASED ENGAGEMENT WITH ADVANCED PROMOTIONS MANAGEMENT
shopper in terms of lifestyles and ethnicities.
Analytics help retailers implement the 4 P’s by factoring in target
consumer data, timing, in-store placement, demand fluctuation and
expected profits. Conducting snow blower demos in July, for example,
probably would not work. “Predictive analytics help define the likelihood of specific outcomes,” said Omer Minkara, vice president/principal analyst, customer experience, Aberdeen.
Retailers are also benefitting from wider availability of better, more
Promotions
are the life blood
of retail. But
most manage
promotions in a
very manual way
through meetings
and spread
sheets rather
than tools.
affordable data. Five years ago, most data came from POS systems,
loyalty cards and expensive outside sources like Nielsen and IRI. Today, lower priced information can be collected online. Credit companies have also improved data services. This has lowered the barriers
to entry, allowing retailers large and small to make better promotional
decisions.
Honest Café, a new U.K.-based startup, wanted to learn more about
its customers. Its coffee houses use vending machines to dispense
natural and organic products in an upscale, Starbucks-style seating
environment. While it had harnessed a good deal of data, it did not
have an efficient way to study it.
Using a cloud-based analytics service, it is crunching vending machine data to get a better picture of its “invisible” patrons. Now, Hon-
DAVID NAUMAN, VICE PRESIDENT
OF MARKETING, BOSTON RETAIL
PARTNERS
est Café can understand which customers sit and linger, which buy
coffee and run, and how people pay during different parts of the day,
said Mark Summerill, head of product development.
Now, Honest Café can automatically offer relevant promotions and
products to individuals. “We don’t have dedicated people and data
is sometimes hard to pull together to form a picture,” he added. “As
a startup, it’s crucial we know what sells and what areas we should
push into.”
Half Off or Health Fair?
Analytics help retailers choose the most effective promotion type.
While price promotions are most common, other strategies work well
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MARK GARLAND
Executive Vice President Sales,
Marketing & Solutions, 4R
Winning retailers
are taking advantage
of analytics to figure
out the lift they will
get from a new
promotion. However,
few do a good job
calculating the
expected profitability
of those promotions.
INSIGHTS
Analytic-Powered Promotions
Q: What role does analytics play in promotion management today, and where
does it fit in the future?
MARK GARLAND: There are three ways analytics can be used in the promotion
management process:
1. Determining the lift in demand that a promotion will create
2. Calculating the profitability of a promotion
3. Measuring the effectiveness of a promotion after the fact
Today, winning retailers are taking advantage of analytics to figure out the lift they
will get from a new promotion. However, few retailers do a good job calculating the
expected profitability of those promotions, nor are they systematically evaluating the
results of their promotions after the fact. Now is the time for retailers to step up in these
areas if they want to understand the effectiveness of their promotion strategy.
Q: What analytics are involved to create a new promotion?
GARLAND: When a retailer devises a new promotional vehicle, they first must predict
the impact it will have on the demand of the items involved. This requires the use of
machine learning techniques combined with knowledge of halo effects, cannibalization,
propensity for pulling demand forward, and other factors. The result is a “response
model” that can be used to predict the change in demand that will occur whenever the
promotion is offered. Retailers should then determine how profitable the promotion is
— just because the promotion lifts demand for a given item doesn’t mean that, when all
things are considered, it actually improves profitability.
Q: What analytics are needed to predict the profitability of a new promotion?
GARLAND: Once you have created a prediction model for a promotion, you can apply
analytics to determine the increase in profitability it will generate. For brick-and-mortar
promotions, this involves determining what store inventory levels will have to be to
support the predicted demand increase, how much overhang will need to be burned
off afterward, what other products may see a reduction or increase in demand, and
other factors. The most precise analysis would involve a store-level SKU-simulation
that compares the promotion scenario with a no-promotion scenario. The results of that
simulation will show whether this promotion makes sense given the business goals.
4R Systems is a leading provider
of advanced inventory and supply
chain services, which help retailers gain significantly increased
profits by optimizing their omniretail inventory and related supply chain decisions. Founded by
supply chain experts from The
Wharton School and Harvard
Business School, 4R provides capabilities that profit optimize the
matching of supply and demand.
www.4rsystems.com
Q: How can retailers measure promotion effectiveness?
GARLAND: After a promotion has occurred, you can look back to see:
1. The prediction of demand lift accuracy
2. Additional inventory to put into stores and DCs
3. The net increase in profitability
What you ultimately care about is the third item — profitability. At 4R, we recently
saw an example of a “perfect storm” that illustrates how a promotion might look
successful at first glance, but is actually a money-loser. An item was offered with a BuyOne-Get-One-Half-Off (BOGOHO) promotion, which is effectively a 25% discount on the
price. It achieved a 60% increase in revenue, but the reduced price meant that the total
margin dollars only increased about 6%. The retailer had to add inventory to support the
promotion, some of which was left over and had to burn off over time, leading to higher
carrying costs. To make matters worse, consumers that stocked up on the item during
the sale delayed their return to the store, resulting in lower full-margin sales for several
weeks post promotion. The net effect was fewer margin dollars and higher carrying
costs — hardly what the retailer was looking for.
Retailers no longer need to put profit at risk with each promotion. Both predictive
analytics and prescriptive analytics can help retailers discover these situations and
design more effective promotions that will reap more profit.
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DRIVING REVENUE AND INCREASED ENGAGEMENT WITH ADVANCED PROMOTIONS MANAGEMENT
with particular products, environments and target customers.
Retail pharmacies, for example, may conduct health fairs. Events can
offer free information on diseases like diabetes or provide free blood
pressure testing and screenings for other conditions. The goal is to attract more pharmacy customers, who usually shop other departments.
Home centers generate sales and traffic with “how to” clinics on topics like lawn care or basic plumbing. In other channels, athlete and
celebrity appearances can drive sales, as can in-store celebrations positioned around events like Black History Month. In mainstream specialty
1/3
Shoppers say they
spend more when
digital is part of the
shopping process.
Source: Deloitte, “Navigating the New Digital Divide”
stores, celebrity chef demos can draw big “foodie” crowds who will buy
almost any gadget or ingredient their “hero” recommends.
To be truly effective, though, non-price promotions must be conducted regularly so retailers have enough historic customer data to make
accurate measurements and predictions.
Price promotions are usually backed by plenty of historical data. Still,
retailers must come up with the right price, BOGO offer, etc. Pricing
optimization tools can help determine the right promotional price based
on projecting how much lift a promotion will provide (say, 300 items sold
versus the usual 100) and other relevant factors. The “right price” is the
one that will entice shoppers but not destroy margins.
Earlier this year, arts and crafts retailer Michaels implemented
an actionable analytics solution to improve pricing, promotions and
markdown functions and avoid margin-gouging sales in stores and
online. Chris Abell, vice president of pricing and promotion analytics,
said software manages the entire process from analysis and planning
through execution and measurement, which “can help implement
more customer-centric campaigns across all channels.”
Choosing the Right Promotional Vehicle
Historically, there have been three basic choices to distribute promotions: print, TV and radio. Today, there are also many popular digital
options. In fact, almost one in three shoppers say they spend more
when digital is part of the shopping process, according to Deloitte’s
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DAN PAHOMI
Vice President of New Business
Initiatives, JustEnough
A centralized
system built
specifically to
address the complex
requirements of
promotions is key,
as well as a new
process. Automation
without a better
process will only
allow retailers to be
inefficient faster.
JustEnough is a leading provider of omni-channel Demand
Management solutions for retail,
wholesale and direct-to-consumer businesses and is serving the
planning needs of many of the
world’s leading brands. Available
OnSite and OnCloud, JustEnough’s innovative solutions help
companies to forecast customer
demand; plan assortments, allocations and inventory; shape
demand with markdowns and
promotions; turn customer data
into actionable insights and then
execute on those plans. To learn
more, visit www.justenough.com
or email [email protected].
INSIGHTS
Centralized Promotions
Management
Q: How does a centralized promotional management system work and what
are the biggest advantages to retailers in terms of cost, customer reach, time
and other factors?
DAN PAHOMI: Traditionally, promotions were planned by different teams depending
on the channel. A retailer may have separate teams for stores, online, broadcast, mobile
and social media. This can often lead to conflicting messages for the consumer and
less than optimal results from the promotional campaign. As retailers have adapted to
the changing landscape, they have discovered the need to centralize these activities to
provide a consistent message. This can be across channels, geographies and internal
departments. The foundation of this new process is having a centralized promotion
planning and execution system, or a system of record for promotions. Many are trying
to accomplish this thru existing systems such as the merchandising, ERP, or the pricing
systems, but most still use Excel. These methods lack the sophisticated tools to be able
to capture the detail needed for promotions.
A centralized system built specifically to address the complex requirements of promotions
is key, as well as a new process. Automation without a better process will only allow retailers
to be inefficient faster. This new process needs to remove as many barriers as possible
while enabling a much faster timeline from planning to execution. This allows retailers to
get to market much faster, while reducing costs and errors. After they make it to market
retailers can start producing more relevant and better targeted promotions, and have more
accurate data to digest and analyze. Good analysis is very difficult to achieve from disparate
data sources — having a centralized system is a crucial step.
Q: Some retailers have moved away from loyalty cards as a means of consumer
data collection in favor of other tools. What are some of the most successful
tools and what is their role?
PAHOMI: As loyalty programs expanded, their use has become less effective and
lost their benefit as a differentiator between competing retailers. While some retailers
have moved away from traditional loyalty cards, most have migrated to other ways of
collecting data to better understand their customers.
Besides traditional loyalty programs, there are multiple ways of collecting the
necessary data to be able to analyze it. Most retailers employ more than one method.
The most common is a virtual loyalty card. Credit bureaus (Experian, Acxiom, Epsilon)
can do an “Append” to create a virtual loyalty card using credit-card data. This has a
fairly high hit rate, but even rates as low as 20% can provide significant benefits. Other
methods include e-mail sign-up, installing a mobile app, and social media. For example,
when consumers follow a retailer on Facebook, that retailer can mine significant data
about its followers, which contains rich attributes not found in other channels.
Q: Over the past few years retailers have gotten very excited about reaching
consumers through social media. Have results meet expectations?
PAHOMI: As social media has matured as an interaction medium, retailers have also
matured in how they use it. Initially, the prospect of targeting promotions on Facebook
down to the individual consumer, created a lot of excitement. However, in practice,
this proved to be too much work and not a lot of ROI. The consumers are not as
responsive as previously thought. These efforts have also been challenging due to the
prevalent introduction of ad blockers. Facebook is great as a delivery mechanism to
a large audience and for brand awareness, but not extremely effective for individual
promotional campaigns.
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DRIVING REVENUE AND INCREASED ENGAGEMENT WITH ADVANCED PROMOTIONS MANAGEMENT
“Navigating the New Digital Divide” report that surveyed 3,000 U.S.
consumers.
Digital promotions range from social media tie-ins and e-mail campaigns to personalized strategies targeting individuals or small groups. The
challenge is finding the vehicle and promotional medium that best reaches
the target customer.
Mobile apps are among the most popular vehicles, with 64% of retailers
using them, said a Forbes study titled, “Closing the Loop, the Last 1,000
Feet of the Shopping Experience.” They are followed by e-commerce sites
430%
Redemption rate
Lowes Foods
has enjoyed since
launching mobileenabled e-circulars
in April 2016.
(60%), QR codes (49%) and digital screen messaging (47%).
Towards the bottom of the Forbes list (13%) is a comparatively new
technology called electronic shelf labels (ESL). ESL’s let retailers change
prices as often as desired with little effort, eliminating gummy tape and the
need (and cost) of paper and labor. Given that large stores average 5,000
to 6,000 price changes monthly, the time savings can be monumental,
said a Bloomberg.com article titled, “Amazon Showrooming Forces Stores
to Go Digital on Price Displays.” ESLs can integrate directly into POS
systems and other data sources. Advanced systems give visibility to stored
data that only associates can access, such as inventory levels.
However, the cost is steep. Displays cost just $5 each. But most big box
chains carry thousands of SKUs, putting total cost per store in the six digits. But according to the Bloomberg article, suppliers contend that ESL’s
recoup costs in 12 to 18 months.
Among U.S. retailers, Kohl’s is probably been the most prolific and
highest profile user of ESL’s. It began implementing them in 2012, and
over the past four years they have been added to all 1,164 U.S. locations.
Kohl’s is on the record saying the labor savings has reduced payroll costs
and increased margins.
Getting Personal with Promotions
Across all digital platforms, personalized promotions are growing.
These can include e-mail or mobile offers along with promotions tied
to social media sites or retailers’ e-commerce platforms. Thirty-nine
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percent of shoppers report spending more when receiving a personalized coupon, promotion or recommendation, according to Deloitte’s
“Navigating the New Digital Divide.”
Lindt Chocolate is conducting personalized, seasonal promotions
around holidays via a cloud-based web store. Using micro sites, holiday promotions and campaigns distribute various targeted offerings. “We
move quickly between holidays, so we must respond with seasonal promotions just as rapidly and deliver a premium experience,” said Thomas
Linemayr, president and CEO, Lindt & Sprungli USA. “The site allows
39%
us to engage with customers in meaningful, thoughtful ways and understand behavior.”
Within a few months of implementation, Lindt had more than doubled
conversion rates and tripled revenue on mobile devices. “We performed
beyond expectations,” said Linemayr. “Conversions were up, traffic and
Shoppers report
spending more
when they receive
a personalized
coupon, promotion or
recommendation.
Source: Deloitte, “Navigating the New Digital Divide”
basket sizes were higher.”
Lowes Foods launched mobile-enabled e-circulars in April 2016, and
in November, it reported coupon redemption rates had increased 430%.
E-circulars provide shopper-specific marketing based on individual preferences. The one-to-one omnichannel e-circular is integrated with Lowes’ loyalty program, and displays the most relevant deals according to
individual purchase history.
The solution tracks conversions from online views to in-store purchases,
allowing true measurement of the e-circular for the first time. Traditional
online circulars do not have these capabilities. The e-circular also allows
shoppers to see how much they will save as they build shopping lists.
“We implemented this experience as part of ongoing efforts to provide the best possible customer experience and are thrilled guests are
embracing this so quickly,” said Klaus Werner, SVP and CIO of Alex Lee,
Lowes’ parent company. “It’s clear this was a missing piece and we’re
thrilled to be the first grocer to offer this capability.” Lowes operates 100
locations in Virginia and the Carolinas.
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Location-Based Promotions
Another key technology retailers are using to manage their promotions is
beacons, which were introduced just over two years ago. A shopper who
has opted-in to the service and enters a store or approaches a particular
display can receive relevant push notifications and promotions sent directly to their mobile device. Beacons can tell the customer what prod-
400
MILLION
Beacons expected to
be deployed by 2020.
Source: ABI Research
ucts to find in specific areas. Or, if the shopper enters a particular section, the technology can send out a coupon or offer for a specific brand.
Despite the obvious benefits of the technology, just 13% of retailers
are currently using beacons, according to Forbes’ “Closing the Loop, the
Last 1,000 Feet of the Shopping Experience” report. Yet, ABI Research
predicts that 400 million beacons will be deployed by 2020.
Many of the retailers currently using beacons are outside the U.S.
In fact, just 10 of the 25 retailers cited in beaconstac.com’s “Retailers
Nailing it with their Proximity Marketing Campaigns” article are U.S.based. They include Rite Aid, Target, Urban Outfitters, American Eagle
Outfitters, Lord & Taylor, Neiman Marcus, Best Buy, Walmart, Kenneth
Cole and Nordstrom.
One of the more interesting beacon deployments comes from Nordstrom, which is using beacons to enhance the omnichannel experience.
A beacon-enabled app notifies shoppers if any products in their digital
shopping cart are in stock as they pass a location which has a beacon
installed by the door.
Another bricks/clicks beacon application involves digital food brand Allrecipes and Ohio-based Marc’s grocery stores. Using the Allrecipes Dinner
Spinner app, Allrecipes provides shoppers with personalized meal recommendations. Hyper-local, beacon-triggered notifications are delivered to
app users on their smartphones upon entering a Marc’s stores. Heightened
relevancy to shoppers is further dictated by weather and season.
“This collaborative effort brings together meal solutions, the grocery experience, and digital to the forefront of customers’ experience,” said Day Armelli, marketing director for the 58-store chain.
“This will open up additional doors that allow us to deliver greater
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value to customers by helping them make the most out of their shopping experience.”
Putting Promotions Management Software to Work
Cutting-edge retailers are implementing next-gen promotions management software to improve both operations and sales. The technology
integrates and cross-references pretty much everything involved in
the promotions process including promotions history across channels.
And, it centralizes and coordinates strategies across multiple teams
and departments, including print, advertising, pricing, operations,
plan-o-gramming, social media and visual merchandising. It can also
encompass promotion and price optimization tools. “There’s greater
96%
emphasis on integration, with best-in-class retailers integrating all
Consumers that
use coupons. tracked and monitored across channels, regions, departments or in-
systems,” said Aberdeen’s Minkara.
Information pertaining to visual layouts, content, history and other
factors can be quickly reused. Simultaneous promotions can be run,
dividual stores. This is not the case with ERP systems, which handle
a limited number of promotions — with the rest processed manually.
Source: RetailMeNot, “The State of Coupons and the
Role of Mobile”
U.K.-based drug chain Holland & Barrett runs multiple promotions
on its 3,000 SKUs, including short-term online events, flash sales
and in-store penny sales. It also offers discount coupons in its Healthy
magazine. Since stores are in four European countries, promotions are
uniform, and managing them all required 45 spreadsheets.
In October 2015, H&B installed a promotions management system
that, in addition to saving time, can instantly create analytical reports
to evaluate promotional success. A forecasting function takes into account in-store product availability and the sales history of previous,
similar promotions.
“Promotions are the lifeblood of Holland & Barrett’s and 60% of
sales come from these campaigns,” said Ray Aldis, director of projects. “We’ve been impressed by the solution’s ability to help us decide
which product should be promoted, where they should be displayed
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and how to optimize signage and advertising.”
Promotions management software also benefits retailers selling
across multiple channels, which can include more than just store
locations and digital. U.K.-based pet specialty retailer Pets at Home
operates grooming and veterinary channels. By replacing manual
functions with promotions management software, it can manage promotions across the enterprise, said Dan Harvey, the retailer’s SAP
program director. And, it provides a single system of record and manages vendor funds, rebates, deals, offers and promotions execution
best practices.
Despite promotions management software’s benefits, only 35% of
60%
Sales derived from
promotions at
Holland & Barrett.
retailers use it, stated a 2016 report from Martex titled, “State of
the Retail Supply Chain.” Consequently, they spend an average of 79
minutes preparing a standard report and 110 minutes preparing an
ad hoc report. Sixty-four percent of retailers cite promotions management as a major challenge.
“Promotions are the life blood of retail,” said David Nauman, vice
president of marketing at Boston Retail Partners. “But most manage
promotions in a very manual way through meetings and spread sheets
rather than tools.”
Using promotions management tools requires tight inventory management. “You have to plan and execute demand,” said Aberdeen’s
Minkara. “If you don’t, you may be promoting products you don’t
have. There’s nothing more frustrating to consumers than to learn
products aren’t there.”
While there are tools to manage inventory, they only truly work if a
retailer has end-to-end supply chain visibility across channels, which
many do not. “You must understand what items are in stores in different regions and track them,” said Minkara. “As they’re sold, they’re
deducted from inventory on a real-time basis. There’s more opportunity for retailers, but only for those that integrate systems. With new
[digital] channels, many retailers are struggling with integration.”
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Conclusion
Many retailers are not meticulously calculating expected outcomes
when staging promotions, instead relying on spread sheets and other
manual tools. The emergence of mega chains and digital channels,
along with diversifying demographics, has highlighted the need for
more sophisticated monitoring and execution.
35%
Retailers that have
deployed promotions
management software.
Through logistics and the availability of cheaper, more abundant
data, retailers can successfully choose the timing, type and preferred
media vehicle for a promotion. Depending on product and audience,
the latter can include everything from personalized smartphone promotions to celebrity cooking demos.
About a third of retailers have installed advanced promotions management systems that automate planning, execution and analysis. By
linking all departments, activities and channels, these best-in-class
companies can increase productivity and collaboration and maintain
their competitive edge in today’s rapidly evolving retail universe.
Source: Martex, “State of the Retail Supply Chain”
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RIS INFOGRAPHIC
PROMOTIONS MANAGEMENT
In-Store Digital
Technologies
Used by U.S.
Retailers
• Mobile apps, 64%
• QR codes, 49%
1/3
Shoppers say they
spend more when
digital is part of the
shopping process.
• Digital screens, 47%
• Beacons, 15%
• Electronic shelf
labeling, 13%
Source: Forbes, “Closing the Loop, the Last 1,000
Feet of the Shopping Experience”
400
MILLION
Beacons expected to
be deployed by 2020.
Source: Deloitte, “Navigating the New Digital Divide”
Promotions
are the life blood
of retail. But
most manage
promotions in a
very manual way
through meetings
and spread
sheets rather
than tools.
Source: ABI Research
DAVID NAUMAN, VICE PRESIDENT
OF MARKETING, BOSTON RETAIL
PARTNERS
60%
Sales derived from
promotions at
Holland & Barrett.
35%
Retailers that have
deployed promotions
management software.
Source: Martex, “State of the Retail Supply Chain”
39%
Shoppers report
spending more
when they receive
a personalized
coupon, promotion or
recommendation.
Source: Deloitte, “Navigating the New Digital Divide”
96%
Consumers that
use coupons. Source: RetailMeNot, “The State of Coupons and the
Role of Mobile”
430%
Redemption rate
Lowes Foods
has enjoyed since
launching mobile-enabled
e-circulars in April 2016.