Innovating Retail Through Collaboration

People’s online behavior is largely determined by their desire for convenience. We conduct certain affairs over the web simply because it’s quicker and easier. With the rise of all kinds of online transactions—from payment services to shopping—there has definitely been a sizeable shift in the way we communicate and consume.

Filipinos being the heaviest Internet users worldwide, it is clear that industries constantly need to innovate to address the needs of their increasingly tech-savvy customers.

Rising Up To The Challenge

The retail industry needs to rise up to the digital challenge. With online shopping on the rise, more people are getting divided on whether they would shop in-store, via mobile, or desktop.

There are also more and more omnichannel consumers in the market inevitably shaping the industry’s trends. As e-commerce platforms continue to grow, these more traditional stores must bank on digitally driven solutions to future-proof their businesses.

From Online to Offline 

7-Eleven, the country’s leading convenience store chain, is no stranger to innovating as a means of adapting to consumer behavior. To engage with their clientele and, at the same time, build customer loyalty, the convenience store giant came up with CLiQQ, its very own e-commerce and loyalty rewards points program. With a rewards card and the CLiQQ app, which is downloadable on users’ mobile phones, 7-Eleven enhanced  customer experience. By giving 7-Eleven customers access to redeemable perks, prizes, and discounts, and opening them up to exclusive transactions and services, the CLiQQ program is a success story.

Going Further

For retail establishments, collaboration is a key ingredient in keeping up with the digital wave. Leading retailers such as 7-Eleven recognize that one of the best strategies for securing and furthering their business in the digital age is partnership. 

7-Eleven, in collaboration with Danone, launched a campaign to promote its new vitamin water product, B’lue. The campaign aimed to bridge the gap between online marketing and offline purchases. To achieve this, 7-Eleven and Danone tried Facebook’s Collaborative Ads format for the first time, with the aim of optimizing ad delivery and product sales. 

To promote the new vitamin water, ads for B’lue ran directly on 7-Eleven’s Facebook page, using a video in collection ad format. In this format, the product was displayed automatically, using the offline product catalogue that 7-Eleven previously uploaded. The ads also offered vouchers redeemable in 7-Eleven branches.It also included a call-to-action button that offered directions to the nearest  7-Eleven store where people could redeem the voucher using their loyalty card. 

The ads were shown to Custom Audiences consisting of members of the 7-Eleven loyalty program who had purchased B’lue, as well as to a lookalike audience based on them, and was targeted to 20- to 30-year-olds in the Philippines.

Bridging gaps

The campaign successfully drove both higher sales and foot traffic in stores wherein consumers had high intent to purchase the products. The campaign generated a 26% increase in sales from B’lue highlighted products as well as a 31% increase in sales for B’lue range of products, compared to the previous year. 

The campaign for B’lue, a partnership of 7-Eleven, Danone, and Facebook, highlights opportunities for retailers to drive sales and build customer loyalty. With the right elements working together, retailers can expect to achieve promising outcomes in the midst of an increasingly digital world.

Read more about this success story here.