The RoPo effect is a relatively recent concept that proves that consumers no longer hesitate to vary and mix research on the web and trips to the store before making a purchase. Consumer habits are changing, and are showing a growing interest in the digital world. Also, companies that are little or not involved in online marketing must be interested in their online presence to be stronger offline.
Definition of the RoPO effect
The RoPo effect follows the growth of e-commerce and the need for consumers to better compare and know products before buying in store.
RoPo: a simple definition
“RoPo” is the acronym for “Research Online, Purchase Offline.” Translated into French, this means “search online and buy offline.” The RoPo effect therefore relates to consumer behavior: the consumer does research on a website before buying a product in store. The RoPo effect follows the growth of e-commerce and the need for consumers to better compare and know products before buying in store. We also talk about Web to store. Brands must now implement a strategy to convert the online traffic of Internet users who do not want to order on the Internet by physical visits and purchases in stores.
Maximizing the RoPo Effect: A Practical Guide to Optimizing Your Customer Journey
First of all, it is appropriate to identify your offline sales (for example with loyalty cards or email requests made at the cash desk). Synchronize these sales with your attribution tool. You can send the reconciled sales later on the basis of a common ID (an email, a phone number) on defined dates.
After these first two steps, identify what the RoPO effect can have like impact on your business :
- Identify offline purchases;
- Identify those that correspond to a marketing history;
- Calculate the percentage of offline sales in RoPo;
- Calculate the percentage of global RoPo sales;
- Compare RoPO data with online.
You will then identify the products that benefit the most and the consumer profiles concerned.
All you have to do is locate the significant differences between online levers and RoPo levers in order to identify which ones convert the most. These elements will allow you to design your customer journey.
5 tools to boost the RoPo effect
To help you manage your RoPo effect properly, you can rely on several tools.
- Digital signage
To make a space even more appealing, video walls and information screens are one of the most effective ways of marketing. They create an atmosphere, present a business vision, an upcoming event or any other message considered relevant and important by the company in a pleasant and powerful way. Placed in a waiting area, digital signage in stores and points of sale makes the time seem shorter. Whatever the goals of your business, the tool adapts to your needs.
- The tablets
Tablets create a seamless connection between the online and offline experience. These tools allow customers to consult products, reviews, or additional information in-store. They thus promote harmonious multi-channel interaction, stimulating the consumer's buying journey.
- Digital indications
Printed posters are over! Now, digital signage is taking over. The benefits for you? It is easy to update and has a longer lifespan than print. By displaying interactive content, product information, or promotions in real time in-store, it attracts and guides consumers through the buying process, creating a link between the online experience and the in-store experience.
- Artificial intelligence
In order to better understand the needs of your customers, why not use artificial intelligence? You could offer personalized marketing services after, for example, identifying the personality of your customers. Recommendation and data analysis algorithms make it possible to offer consumers personalized offers, based on their online and in-store buying behaviors, thus stimulating both their online and offline commitments.
- Interactive terminals
Interactive terminals in stores create a stronger link between your customers and you, especially when you ask them for their opinion on a specific point in your business or your exchanges. They make it possible to create additional interaction between the customer and the brand. Through these terminals, customers can consult the product catalog, check stock availability or even place orders, which enhances their in-store shopping experience.
The benefits of RoPO for the customer experience
The RoPo effect offers numerous advantages to improve the customer experience.
- An initial identification of the products you are looking for
Internet users have access to a lot of information online. They can compare different products from different retailers to find the best deal before buying.
- Testing products in stores
Before buying the spotted product, more customers want to touch and test it first.
- Immediate use of the product after purchase
Unlike ordering on the Internet and the inherent delivery time, customers can use the product quickly.
The RoPo effect thus changes the traditional customer buying journey. By collecting information online before testing the product in a physical store and making a purchase, customers make more informed buying choices. Businesses capitalize on this effect to improve their transformation rate. We know that consumers with cross-channel behavior have a higher conversion rate than consumers who do not conduct research beforehand. Businesses facilitate access to information about their products and services online, increase interactivity, improve the customer experience and therefore increase the probability of purchase, and the conversion rate.
The limits of RoPO
- Quitting if the queue is important
We know that an excessively long checkout line in a store can discourage consumers and represent a real obstacle to buying. The longest acceptable wait is 10 minutes.
- An impossible application to all sales sectors
In the field of food, it is difficult to match online digital exposure and offline shopping. There are other practices that are more adapted to this type of purchase, such as Click & Collect.
Thus, the RoPo effect now requires companies that are still not very digitalized to review their habits and open up to new practices. If it also requires thinking about your target and the message you want to get across, complying with the requirements of the RoPO allows you to strengthen its online presence, and therefore to reach a wider target. Cenareo is thus positioned as a partner of choice to boost your communication. Son digital signage software allows simplified screen management. Intuitive, robust and flexible, this solution is combined with expertise and quality support that ensures ROI communication.
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