Upmarket jewellery retailer Pandora – which specialises in those charm bracelets so many seem to crave – has partnered with Google and Jaywing’s search agency Epiphany to track the impact of search activity on instore footfall.
Claimed to be a UK first, the project covers 90% of the company’s 210 UK stores and is designed to enable the company to better understand the customer journey.
The company is still predominantly a store-based business but four years after launcing its online business, web sales already account for over 10% of overall sales.
Epiphany has already been able to demonstrate that online search does have a positive impact on in-store visits. From the initial tracking so far, the agency has found that mobile in particular is a key driver.
Pandora UK head of digital marketing and ecommerce Helen Harris said: “We had a hunch that search was driving in-store footfall and sales but we didn’t know for sure. This new tracking project has given us the ability to confirm just how much store footfall online activity is driving, so the initial results have been really interesting and informative.
“We know that there’s a big impact before major holidays, so search drives more in-store traffic around seasonal events. This initial stage is about collecting the tracking data; the next stage will be about how we use this to our advantage to implement testing and optimise our digital marketing activities.”
Google industry manager Christel Hansen said that only the strong collaborative relationship between the three parties – Pandora, Epiphany and Google – made the project possible. She added: “The modern consumer is always connected and seeking inspiration on various platforms and devices both online and in stores before a purchase. To improve our understanding of this path to purchase we were excited to initiate this project with Pandora.
“Omnichannel is one of the toughest areas for retailers to measure, making it difficult for companies to leverage on the new opportunities created in a connected world. Embracing the omnichannel reality is key to future success, so it’s important that companies like Pandora are willing to keep testing and learning to become closer to the customer of today. Google store visits reporting is now getting us one step closer to understanding the full value of digital and omnichannel.”
The move comes as Euro Car Parts, the UK’s number one distributor of car parts with over 200 branches nationwide, has hired Epiphany to handle its SEO, PPC and display advertising activity. The agency has been charged with raising brand awareness and reaching new audiences through online activity, ultimately boosting revenue growth and market share for the UK company.
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