The Doppler Quarterly Summer 2017 | Page 51

IT’S CRUCIAL FOR RETAILERS TO EMBRACE THE LATEST TRENDS AND ENGAGE WITH SHOPPERS IN NEW WAYS. were still operating and marketing separately, even as more than 50% of their sales in the patio category were coming through Target.com. The company looked at it from its customers’ point of view. Guests might search on smartphones for patio furniture, then see completely different merchandise when they came into their local store. So Target merged its online and offline marketing and mer- chandising teams into a single unified patio team that was mobile-first. It decided what products and sig- nage to feature in-store based on digital demand. Target also ran Google local inventory ads to show customers on mobile the exact patio furniture that was available in the store nearest them. As a result, patio revenues in the stores in which Target made this change have been dramatically outpacing the stores in which the change has yet to be made. In addition to understanding intent and context, it’s crucial for retailers to embrace the latest trends and engage with shoppers in new ways. This article originally appeared on the Think with Google Blog. SUMMER 2017 | THE DOPPLER | 49