How METRO grew footfall with geotargeted advertising

In 2015 METRO set out to change the way it talked to its shoppers. Together with the iplace team it built a digital service that replaced printed catalogues, made advertising personal and lifted the return on its marketing considerably.

A METRO shop floor in the chain's blue and yellow

Project information

Client: METRO
Services: Performance MarketingGeotargetingMediaAnalytics
Category: Retail
Duration: 3 months

The challenge

We had to shift how shoppers behave

METRO printed large catalogues of promotions on a regular basis. It cost a great deal to print and distribute, and it no longer matched the way people actually shop.

The main challenges:

the cost of printing catalogues;
the need for a digital transformation;
reaching a younger audience online;
making marketing communication personal.

1.5×Advertising investment paid back one and a half times faster than it did through offline channels.
+148%The digital strategy grew the number of new customers by 148% a year.
40%Of new customers came from digital. Online became one of the main ways new shoppers arrive.
24/7Access to the online catalogue and card sign-up at any hour

A stack of printed METRO catalogues beside a laptop and a phone showing the online catalogue

The solution

From printed catalogues to a digital service

The iplace team proposed dropping paper catalogues altogether and moving customer contact online.

What we built:

an electronic catalogue of retail promotions;
a quick way to get a METRO card online;
a shift of the advertising budget from print to digital campaigns.

Results

148% more new customers came to the chain in a year

Going digital let METRO not only spend its marketing budget better but also bring customers in far more efficiently.

Personal communication and the use of CRM meant the company could read shopper behaviour properly and put relevant offers in front of them.

Dropping printed catalogues freed up budget for digital marketing, and the business figures followed. The project became a solid example of a retail chain going digital.