OnTrak Offers Steady Stream of In-Store Marketing Effectiveness Data

Upcoming POPAI Study Likely to Reinforce the Huge Impact that Point-of-Sale Marketing Materials have on Sales

Last week, POPAI, the global association for marketing at retail, announced plans for a Shopper Engagement Study that it said was aimed at determining in-store decision rates and marketing effectiveness. It’s the group’s first related research since its 1995 “Consumer Buying Habits Study” concluded that 70 percent of purchase decisions are made in the store.

To say the least, this new study, organized by a highly respectable association, is quite an eyebrow raiser for us here at OnTrak Software. It’s not because we’re eager to hear any new statistics. We already know that in-store marketing clearly can make a difference between mediocre and stellar sales. After all, our software solutions provide marketing effectiveness data to beverage distributors (and their suppliers) on a daily basis — not every 10 to 15 years. In fact, our fast-growing list of customers turn to OnTrak in order to see what works and what doesn’t for their in-store marketing materials.

So this upcoming study will serve as an important high-level reinforcement that our customers nationwide see the overall value in maximizing the effectiveness of their in-store marketing dollars. Lots of people may be interested in hearing the study’s updated statistics, but OnTrak takes this very high-level estimate and turns it into hardcore facts and figures down at the specific product level.  Now, that’s HELPFUL. 

Indeed, our software links beverage sales to the signage, menus, samples or marketing materials used — and the numbers speak for themselves. That’s the beauty of OnTrak. Distributors see the sales numbers in black and white and then see the marketing materials associated with that particular product. Forget that OnTrak also dramatically streamlines the signage and material ordering process. Just the sales and marketing tracking capability alone is enough to make some distributors sign up for OnTrak. And remember, OnTrak doesn’t just work with custom signage. OnTrak also tracks, manages and measures displays, menus and samples since customers consider them just as critical to their point-of-sale marketing strategies.

The fact that a large, international trade association is investing significant time in determining an average rate of consumer in-store decision making, underscores the notion that people buy with their eyes — not just their grocery list, or by sticking with their favorite products. OnTrak’s steady stream of marketing effectiveness data offers beverage distributors and suppliers obvious value. Heck, OnTrak solutions could likely make a POPAI study even more reliable if research could ever be linked to actual sales numbers. But that’s not likely to happen in the near term. OnTrak will simply keep providing its customers with the constant flow of data they need to enhance and grow their business.

Marketing materials should always have the data collection behind them to justify their cost and use — and that’s what OnTrak can tell a distributor on any day, at any hour. And no portable electroencephalography eye-tracking equipment is required. ;-) To read the article about the upcoming POPAI Shopper Engagement Study, click here.

- Denis Clark

For more information on our products go to www.ontraksoftware.com/products or call 800.513.9194.