Costco, dollar stores see more visits, sales than other retailers

Dive Brief:

A new attribution-measurement system by mobile-location analytics company Placed is able to assess time and money spent at brick-and-mortar stores, Ad Age reports.
Recent research from Placed, for example, found that shoppers spend 149% more money at Costco than the “average retailer.” Dollar stores also enjoy a 30% higher likelihood of shoppers actually making a purchase during a visit.
Using opt-in activity from some 500,000 app users, Placed leverages GPS and WiFi data in an effort to bring the data collection powers of e-commerce to physical stores using mobile metrics.

Dive Insight:

Placed so far has used its attribution metrics to determine the effectiveness of mobile ads on store visits, and this extends to shoppers’ behavior while they are there.

The in-store experience is an especially personal one for shoppers. This kind of data could help retailers with all kinds of research about their customers’ behavior, desires, and motivations that in turn could help them with questions ranging from inventory to store layout.

Placed found that low price points and shopping areas selling both food and home products are some determinants that lead to spending. The metrics can also help advertisers outside of the stores when placing mobile ads.

"Over time we will be able to use the data to optimize our campaigns in real-time as well as aid when we are planning, to give us a new look at how consumers that are purchasing behave outside of the store," Sarah Bachman, VP of mobile strategy at Horizon Media, which uses the product, told Ad Age.