Customers increasingly expect seamless and personalized experiences at every touchpoint they have with a brand. Whether they’re making a purchase, seeing an ad, or reading an email, customers are more engaged when communications recognize their entire customer journey—in store and online.
Retailers can meet this expectation and delight local customers with retail customer segments in Shopify. When you sell in store with Shopify Point of Sale (POS) and online with Shopify, you can unify customer data and create audience segments that not only recognize what a customer has purchased, but also where.
Customer segments in Shopify give retailers ways to group customers based on specific attributes or buying behaviors. Customer data captured from both Shopify POS and the online store can be used to create segments that power personalized marketing campaigns, special offers, and much more.
Now, with the addition of two new location-based filters, in-person retailers on Shopify can use customer segments to target audiences based on their proximity to a location or order history at a certain retail location. Whether you’re announcing an in-store exclusive collection to local customers or driving nearby online shoppers to your retail store, unifying your sales and customer data in Shopify allows you to create campaigns with increased relevance and personalization.
In this article, you'll learn how Shopify’s customer segments work for retail and how you can use them to increase engagement with your marketing campaigns and drive more customers to your retail stores.
What are customer segments?
Customer segments are sophisticated targeting tools in Shopify that allow businesses to analyze and categorize their customers based on specific criteria—such as location. With the introduction of two new location-based filters, brick-and-mortar businesses can now get more out of this tooling with the ability to identify and engage nearby customers more effectively.
The two location-aware filters are:
- customer_within_distance: This filter allows you to identify customers who are located within a defined proximity to a specific retail location, city, or whatever location you choose. This filter can be used to drive nearby online shoppers to retail stores, pop-ups, or events.
- orders_placed: This filter allows you to identify customers who were acquired or shopped at a specific retail location. This filter can be used to re-engage in-store shoppers to purchase online or visit the store again.
Learn more about these filters in the Help Center.
4 ways to use customer segments
1. Drive online customers in store
Target online customers who are close to a retail location but have not yet shopped there yet. Use the customer_within_distance filter to identify customers with an address within a defined radius of your retail location and the orders_placed filter to view customers who have only ever shopped online.
With this audience, you can drive online customers to shop in your retail stores for the first time, to increase engagement with your brand and view products in real life. Customer segments like these allow you to create omnichannel customers, improving brand loyalty and keeping customers engaged.
2. Promote store-exclusive events
Target customers who are close to your retail store and have previously shopped at your retail store by creating an audience of local customers. Use the customer_within_distance filter to identify customers with a nearby address and the orders_placed filter to view customers who have shopped at that retail store before.
With this audience, you can increase attendance at store events or workshops by sending invites to customers in your base that are nearby. This strategy encourages engagement with your stores and products, while also building a local community around your brand.
3. Use omnichannel data to close the sale
Target customers who are close to a retail location who have abandoned items in their online cart. Use the customer_within_distance filter to create a segment of local shoppers, then create an automation using Shopify Flows to trigger an email whenever a customer within your segment abandons their cart.
With this audience, you can move a customer from consideration to conversion by driving them in store to view a product in person and have any questions answered by staff. Unifying customer data and shopping behaviors allows you to maximize every sales channel to make the sale.
4. Find your next best location
Planning to expand to new locations or set up pop-up stores? The customer_within_distance filter can be instrumental for uncovering the density of your customer base in potential new locations. Using a data-driven approach ensures that your expansion efforts are strategically sound and backed by demonstrated interest and a built-in customer base, so you can confidently open up that next store or pop-up.
SEE A DEMO: Dive into customer segments for retail in this guided walk-through. Check out the interactive demo
Get started with customer segments on Shopify
Getting started with customer segmentation on Shopify is simple. From the Shopify admin, go to Customers > Segments. Here, you can create new segments using the customer_within_distance and orders_placed filters. You can combine these filters with customer metafields for even more tailored marketing efforts.
If you’re not sure where to start, try using a pre-made template and then add location-based filters to target your segment to retail customers only. For example, you can use the template for “Customers with birthdays in the next 30 days” and add the customer_within_distance filter to target nearby customers with upcoming birthdays.
Unlocking new possibilities for retail
Integrating location-based customer segmentation on Shopify is a game-changer for the way retailers can interact with and support their customers. By effectively adopting these tools, you can enhance your marketing efforts, creating more personalized, engaging, and successful customer experiences.
Whether it's driving more traffic to physical stores, personalizing marketing campaigns, or expanding to new locations, Shopify's latest functionality supports retailers with navigating the ever-evolving landscape of modern retail.
Read more
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- How To Create a Retail Strategy (+ 9 Examples)
- Digitizing The Customer Experience: 10 Best Strategies
- Customer Data: Strategies for Sales and Marketing Teams
- 7 Ideas for How To Attract Customers To Your Store
- Retail Content Marketing Strategy: 5 Steps To Grow Your Audience
- Email Marketing in Retail: A Guide for Your Store
