Facebook ads 'boost retail visits'

To many they are simply an irritant, but it seems Facebook news feed ads are a powerful tool in boosting instore footfall for retailers, according to a new study.
The research, carried out by Vizeum and iProspect with Facebook and EE, anonymously matched Facebook usage and EE data to measure the uplift in store traffic from those who had seen targeted Ikea ads on the social network.
EE analysed device activity within a geofenced area around the Ikea store – removing staff, people who lived in the area, and passers-by.
The results showed an 11% increase in store visits among more than 172,000 people that were served ads, compared to an otherwise identical and equally-sized group that were not targeted. Ikea saw the strongest growth in visitors in the 22- to 25-year-old and 26- to 35-year-old age groups with uplifts of 31% and 11%, respectively.
These additional visitors delivered an ROI of 6:1 against the media spend with Facebook during the geotargeted campaign, which ran in Cardiff during December 2013 and January 2014 and served 1.4 million impressions overall. The ads were created by Dentsu Aegis Network agency Isobar, Ikea’s social lead agency.
Vizeum managing director Richard Morris said: “Social media now plays a vital role in the advertising strategy for brands, and this study clearly demonstrates the impact that ads on Facebook have on bricks-and-mortar foot traffic for retailers.
“Strategies that combine mobile, local and social media for our clients are the future of digital marketing. The methodology is brilliantly executed and the results show clearly, empirically, that Facebook ads have driven real-world footfall.”
Last summer, Facebook’s news feed ads came under fire in a study by Adblock Plus, which claimed only 3% of the site’s users like the ads they see.

Facebook ads ‘boost retail visits’

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