And drive store traffic.

The location-based services market is valued at USD 20.53 billion (A$30.32 billion) and is expected to reach USD 133.08 billion (A$196.53) by 2023. It is here to stay and will continue to grow and evolve in Australia and around the world, according to Blis Australia and New Zealand managing director, Nick Ballard (pictured).

Blis specialises in understanding human behaviour by analysing mobile location data to provide businesses with what people actually do to improve consumer engagement and deliver measurable sales uplift.

So what exactly is location-based marketing? “It involves tactics designed to help businesses plan and implement marketing activities based on consumers’ geographic location. Leveraging real-time location data and using it as a proxy for behaviour to learn more about customers. By understanding where they go and when, marketers can create relevant, useful messaging that resonates with a brand’s audience,” Ballard told Appliance Retailer.

However, Blis’ recent study, ‘Real-world intelligence: Mapping human behaviour to effective mobile marketing’, found that there are sizeable knowledge gaps among senior marketing leaders across a range of small, medium and large retailers in Australia, particularly when it comes to measuring location data.

According to Ballard, there are many possible causes of these knowledge gaps, including the rapid rate of new technologies and digital trends. “This is exacerbated by marketers not prioritising upskilling or adequately resourcing themselves or their teams quickly enough,” he said.

“If these gaps aren’t addressed in the retail industry, it can start to have a major toll on digital marketing revenues and overall business growth. We need to go back to the drawing board and educate marketing leaders.

“By focusing on the established metrics in location-based marketing, the importance of setting new KPIs and using powerful digital tools to effectively quantify ROI, retailers of all sizes can stay ahead of the curve.”

Another recent survey conducted by Blis, The Real Retail Story, found that nearly 40% of Australians have visited a store to search for a product they’ve seen advertised online while outdoors. Of these store visitors, four-in-five ended up purchasing the product.

Supplied: Blis

“Technology and ecommerce have conditioned consumers with new habits and expectations.  They no longer see a delineation between online and offline shopping. Rather, the modern consumer journey fuses both worlds and it’s imperative that retailers reflect this by offering an omni-channel experience.

“Understanding consumer motivations, preferences and behaviours, and developing hyper-relevant content at the moments and locations that matter most to consumers is the key to engaging consumers. And this is what location-based marketing is best at.”

Ballard’s advice to retailers was simple – prioritise getting familiar with location-based marketing or risk falling behind.

“If a retailer wants to succeed in Australia’s changing retail landscape, they must appeal to today’s shopper using mobile as the bridge between digital and physical. For those looking to grow their business in a whole new way but are new to this space, it doesn’t have to be a difficult or timely process. Digital platforms like Blis specialise in understanding real, human behaviour by analysing vast quantities of mobile location data and can make this transition seamless.”

As for the future of location-based marketing: “Marketers will become more vigilant and strategic in their operations as the quality and management of data continues to improve. Digital platforms will become smarter and more efficient when analysing this data, changing display advertising almost instantly. And audience segmentation and targeting will become more streamlined.”

And on a final note: “Location data will continue to connect customers and retailers faster and with even greater accuracy. This will create more personalised shopping experiences, leading to higher conversion rates.”