UK retailer Pandora studies impact of search with Google and Epiphany

Retailer Pandora has teamed up with Google and search agency Epiphany in a UK project to assess the impact of search activity on in-store footfall. So far, they claim search - particularly mobile search - does impact in-store visits, according to Helen Harris, head of digital marketing and eCommerce at Pandora UK. There is also a reportedly significant effect before major holidays, with search boosting traffic around seasonal events. "The project has raised an interesting challenge for the future – how do we optimise our search campaigns for both driving footfall in-store and online sales?" Harris added.

Multinational jewellery manufacturer and retailer Pandora has partnered Google and Jaywing’s search agency Epiphany in a UK first-of-its-kind project to track the impact of search activity on in-store footfall.

Helen Harris, head of digital marketing and eCommerce at Pandora UK, believes that the project, which covers 90 per cent of Pandora’s 210 stores in the UK, will be key to understanding the customer journey.

Harris said: “We’re still a predominantly store-based business. We’ve only been selling online for four years, but online sales already account for over 10 per cent of overall sales. We had a hunch that search was driving in-store footfall and sales but we didn’t know for sure. This new tracking project has given us the ability to confirm just how much store footfall online activity is driving, so the initial results have been really interesting and informative.

“We’ve found out that search does impact in-store visits. So far from initial tracking we’ve found that mobile in particular is driving in-store traffic, and that it’s very local based. We also know that there’s a big impact before major holidays, so search drives more in-store traffic around seasonal events. This initial stage is about collecting the tracking data; the next stage will be about how we use this to our advantage to implement testing and optimise our digital marketing activities.”

She continued: “Ultimately, I’d like the wider business to understand the role and importance of search and digital marketing within the total media mix. Eventually, I would like to see more budget shift from print and traditional media into digital and search. The project has raised an interesting challenge for the future – how do we optimise our search campaigns for both driving footfall in-store and online sales?”

Christel Hansen, industry manager at Google, said of the project: “The very strong collaborative relationship between the three of us – Pandora, Epiphany and Google – made this project possible. The modern consumer is always connected and seeking inspiration on various platforms and devices both online and in stores before a purchase. To improve our understanding of this path to purchase we were excited to initiate this project with Pandora.

“Omnichannel is one of the toughest areas for retailers to measure, making it difficult for companies to leverage on the new opportunities created in a connected world. Embracing the omnichannel reality is key to future success, so it’s important that companies like Pandora are willing to keep testing and learning to become closer to the customer of today. Google store visits reporting is now getting us one step closer to understanding the full value of digital and omnichannel.”

Tom Salmon, managing director of Epiphany, said: “We know that marketers are using data to optimise their marketing and business strategies in ever more sophisticated ways. Understanding the relationship between search and store visits brings huge benefits and we're extremely proud to be working with Pandora and Google on this UK-first project.”