Dive Brief:

• Driving store traffic was significantly less expensive for brands in 2018 than the year before, according to details about Cuebiq’s Footfall Attribution Benchmarks report that were provided to Marketing Dive. In 2017, on average, brands spent $23.05 to induce one additional store visit, compared to $13.71 last year for a savings of $9.34 or 40.5%.
• The study, which looks at how different marketing channels impact store visits, also found the most powerful tool to get shoppers through doors in 2018 was out of home, with an average footfall traffic boost of 80% to 120%. Mobile-only was second, delivering a 10% to 89% uptick, followed by cross-device, that is web and mobile, which boosted traffic on average 6% to 39%.  Moreover, there were several shifts in dominant shopping windows. The prime time at big box retailers moved to 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m., at home improvement stores it moved to noon to 1 p.m. from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m., pet store peak traffic shifted to 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. and telecommunications retailers saw the most footfall from noon to 1 p.m. rather than 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.
• When assessing the cost per incremental visit (CPIV), Cuebiq’s study found several categories spent significantly above the $13.71 average. Auto paid the most per incremental visit at $291.02, home furniture spent $114.86 and grocery stores laid out $76.75. Auto and grocery also showed the biggest increases in spend versus 2017, when auto paid $36.64 and grocery $22.14 per incremental visit.

Dive Insight:

While cost per incremental visit (CPIV) was significantly less on average, which is a good thing for marketers, perhaps an equally striking finding is that the out of home channel helped motivate shoppers through doors more than any other vehicle.

That OOH is everywhere and essentially cannot be ignored, along with its likely proximity to a retailer, could be reasons for the powerful impact. Cuebiq researchers also pointed out that OOH has been benefitting from advancing technology and access to more data. Digital billboards are now providing dynamic messaging opportunities and more marketers are finding the channel appealing.

OOH ad revenue in the U.S. grew 4.5% to $8 billion in 2018, with fourth quarter spending up 7.2%, according to the Out of Home Advertising Association of America. OAAA also revealed that a handful of top advertisers, including Facebook, Pepsi and Uber, doubled their OOH spend last year. At the same time, the Magna Intelligence study forecasts OOH global spend will hit $33 billion by 2021.

Cuebiq’s Footfall Attribution Benchmarks report has been expanding its scope since first conducted three years ago. Tracking what motivates brick-and-mortar shoppers remains crucial for about 90% of shopping in the U.S. still occurs in the offline world. This year, Cuebiq added alcohol/beverages, apparel/fashion, beauty, fine dining, home furniture, jewelry and tourism. It found that the alcohol/beverages category emerged number one in terms of visit rate at 14.58%, followed by beauty at 13.56% and convenience stores at 7.24%.