Europe's leading Apple service provider wanted to increase in-store visits, so it turned to local inventory ads (LIA) to drive online shoppers to its brick-and-mortar locations. The campaign saw an increase in CTR of 81% on desktop and 99% on mobile when LIA were served instead of shopping ads.
Goals
Reach potential customers on mobile with locally targeted ads
Improve sales at brick-and-mortar locations
Connect with omnichannel shoppers via holistic strategy
Approach
Launched local inventory ads (LIA) campaign that mirrored existing product listing ads (PLA) campaign structure
Used location targeting and ad scheduling to make campaigns locally relevant
Results
CTR increased by 81% on desktop and 99% on mobile devices when LIA were served instead of shopping ads
LIA accounts for approximately 50% of all shopping campaign clicks on desktop and 72% on mobile
Founded in 1986 as a mail order company for Apple products, GRAVIS opened its first brick-and-mortar retail locations in Berlin and Hamburg three years later. Today, GRAVIS has 43 stores across Germany, making it the largest Apple retailer in the country (and largest Apple service provider in Europe).
As Apple began attracting mass-market appeal in the '90s, GRAVIS became the go-to authority for German fans of the brand. Its customer base transitioned from a bunch of "Apple nerds" to the digital mainstream, and they look to the brand for expert tech advice and product suggestions. GRAVIS noticed that its customers sought in-person tech advice, but they also accessed product information online and interacted with the brand on social platforms. Like many other online shoppers, they were using their mobile phones to research and purchase products.
These omnichannel shoppers presented GRAVIS with a challenge: Its marketing activities could no longer be separated for online and offline customers, so the brand needed to reevaluate its marketing approach.
According to Henrik Voss, head of e-commerce and marketing, customers were "put into boxes." They were either buying online or in-store. "It was very rare for our marketing investment to be aimed at targeting customers in a 'cross-channel' way. But that has completely changed. There's no longer one definitive marketing channel and medium by which we reach customers—we now embrace several simultaneously."
GRAVIS looked to local inventory ads (LIA) to bridge the brand's online and offline consumer experiences by leading online shoppers to purchase at nearby brick-and-mortar locations.
"There's no longer one definitive marketing channel and medium by which we reach customers—we now embrace several simultaneously."
Connecting with omnichannel shoppers
GRAVIS' product listing ads (PLA) were garnering success, but the brand wanted to find ways to connect with omnichannel shoppers, particularly those on mobile.
"Effective mobile marketing is hugely important when customers are deciding whether a product is the right one for them," said Voss. "Customers often consult the latest product information, the price, and other offers so that they can make a final decision."
As mobile searching increases, retailers can also take advantage of consumer search behavior by driving consumers who are searching online to nearby brick-and-mortar locations. That's where LIA comes in, connecting online consumers with offline points of purchase. When potential customers search for items on their mobile devices, Google search will show them one of GRAVIS' 43 stores where the product is in stock, in addition to showing the price of the item and how far the store is from their locations. GRAVIS defines within which radius they want to target users with LIA and the brand even aligns search with the opening hours of the stores. GRAVIS' LIA approach mirrored the brand’s existing PLA campaign structure, which enhanced the user experience and helped improve campaign measurability.
Using LIA helped GRAVIS attract more customers to its stores and by doing so, highlighted the excellent in-store experience the brand takes prides in. By bringing customers to its brick-and-mortar locations, GRAVIS was able to show them the personalized services it offers around its carefully curated selection of products.
Increased CTR with LIA
Since implementing LIA in March 2015, CTR has increased by 81% on desktop and 99% on mobile devices when LIA were served instead of shopping ads. As it stands, LIA now accounts for approximately 50% of all shopping campaign clicks on desktop and 72% of all shopping campaign clicks on mobile for the brand. Furthermore, GRAVIS saw an interaction rate of 17% with local details on the GRAVIS landing page, indicating LIA helped connect online shoppers to actual brick-and-mortar locations.
The world of retail continues to change, but consumers aren't abandoning traditional retail experiences—they just expect more from them. The ease and convenience of online shopping means more consumers are going online to buy their favorite gadgets, but they still want to be able to turn to real-life experts during their moments of need. Brands like GRAVIS that focus on enhancing both the online and offline consumer experience will appeal to both the savviest online shoppers and brick-and-mortar traditionalists.
