Narrowcasting: super voor supermarkten? Onderzoek naar de effecten van narrowcasting op de winkelbeleving en het aankoopgedrag

Supermarkets try to attract customers to their stores in many different ways. They place ads, send out TV commercials and advertise through brochures and news papers. Once the customer is actually in the supermarket, they are still being influenced and persuaded to certain purchases. For this, supermarkets use various marketing tools. A relatively new in-store marketing tool is narrowcasting. Narrowcasting means sending promotional messages through audiovisual displays aimed at specific (groups of) customers (Dewan et al, 2002). The advantage of narrowcasting is the possibility to be up to date while the content on the screens can be controlled real-time. Narrowcasting uses moving images because the attention value of these images is higher then the attention value of static images like billboards (Reeves & Nass, 1996). Narrowcasting could be an interesting marketing tool to influence customers in the store. However, the actual effects of narrowcasting in supermarkets are unknown because little research has been performed. Therefore the question of this research is: What is the effect of narrowcasting in a supermarket on the purchase behaviour, the waiting time experience, the overall store image and the store experience of the customer? To answer this question a qualitatively pre-examination and a field investigation have been performed. The pre-examination exists of interviews with experts of narrowcasting to gain more knowledge about this medium. The effect of narrowcasting on store image, store experience, purchase behaviour and the waiting time experience has been examined through an experiment with narrowcasting in a supermarket. In the control condition narrowcasting was not applied. Both in the condition with and without narrowcasting a private label candy was promoted. The investigation was performed in a store of Poiesz Supermarkten B.V. in Sneek where customers were asked to answer a questionnaire after they finished their shopping. The results show that narrowcasting has influence on the buying intent and behaviour of customers. The effect on the purchase intent and purchase behaviour are higher when, at a prominent location in the store, a sales promotion is shown instead of store information. It makes no difference on the purchase intent and purchase behaviour whether, at the cash desk, store information is given or a sales promotion is being shown. Also narrowcasting proves to be the most effective when store information is being given at the cash desk and a sales promotion is being shown at a prominent location in the store. In this setting the greatest effect on purchase intention and purchase behaviour has been found. Sales figures also support this effect. The sales of the product concerned in this research were almost increased by 400%. The sales volume went up from € 68,68 in the first week (without narrowcasting) to € 268,49 in the second week (with narrowcasting). The conclusion that narrowcasting has influence on store image, store experience and waiting time experience can not be concluded from this research. When applying narrowcasting, the communication of store information as well as a sales promotion, is recommended. The store information can best be given at the cash desk and the sales promotion can best be given at a prominent location in the store. A requirement is to present the concerned product on the shelf next to the screen on which the promotion is being shown. This enables the customer to acquire the product easily and direct.