Translating Follows to Footfall: Making Social Work in the Real World

A decade ago, the rise of ecommerce sparked predictions that physical stores would soon become relics of the past. Yet here we are in 2024, and in-store shopping is not only surviving but thriving - especially among younger generations.

Gen Z and gen alpha are leading the charge back into stores, with 69% of these digital natives saying they prefer shopping in person. Why? Because for them, it’s about more than just buying - it’s an experience, a chance to get respite from the digital fatigue that has plagued them since the dark days of lockdown. 

This resurgence of in-store shopping presents an opportunity for brands. But it also brings a challenge: how to use digital and social campaigns to turn online buzz into real-world footfall. After all, when your metrics aren’t tied to ecommerce clicks and conversions, how do you measure success?

Clicks to bricks: Gen Z and Gen Alpha return to stores 

Forget the stereotype of gen Z glued to their phones, mindlessly scrolling through TikTok. Yes, they’re online, but they’re also hitting the stores in droves. In fact, according to You Gov, 34% of Britons aged 18-24 shop online and offline evenly. And brands are starting to capitalise on this trend.

Take the recent Sol de Janeiro pop-up in New York. The Instagrammable experience drew 18,000 attendees in 10 days, with people waiting for hours just to get inside. The key takeaway? After years of virtual experiences, this generation craves the tactile, the social, the immersive. They want to touch, try and take home. They want to feel connected to the world around them.

The real feat of Sol de Janeiro’s pop-up is how they leveraged social media to build hype before, during and after the event. 

• The pop-up was teased across social media, with influencers stirring excitement
• They drove urgency by sharing sneak peeks of limited-edition product launches
• They maximised social engagement by offering Instagrammable moments like photo booths, personalised merchandise and free samples
• Influencers were on-site, sharing live updates and encouraging attendees to post

Post-pop-up, Sol de Janeiro maintained momentum by showcasing user-generated content (UGC) from visitors, reposting videos and highlighting key moments from the event across their social media channels.

This integrated approach kept the brand top-of-mind and turned online engagement into real-world participation. But as more brands tap into this offline potential, many are getting stumped by the same question: How can they measure the success of such a campaign?

Why measuring success is no longer about clicks

For ecommerce retailers, success metrics are easy: clicks, conversions and sales. For brick-and-mortar stores, it’s more complex. You can’t slap a UTM code on a physical store visit. But that doesn’t mean you can’t measure success; it just requires a shift in thinking.

Consider Gymshark, the UK-born fitness brand. It built its empire online, but now it is opening physical stores to provide the Gymshark community with a hands-on experience. But how does it measure success without the direct online conversion? 

• Footfall data: How many people walked through the door as a result of the campaign
• Foot traffic patterns: How people navigated the store, which areas were most popular. AI-powered video analytics, Bluetooth beacons and Wi-Fi tracking help here
• Social engagement: How many people talk about the store visit online and what they were saying about it. Check hashtags, mentions and shares 
• Purchase behaviour: Are customers who engaged with the online content more likely to buy when they visit the store?
• Post-event sales spikes: Did the experience drive more purchases in the days following the event?

The focus needs to shift from revenue-driven KPIs to engagement, sentiment and brand loyalty. These softer metrics provide a clearer picture of how successful a digital campaign is in bridging the gap between URL and IRL.

The rise of hyper-personalisation and localisation

One-size-fits-all marketing is dead, and nowhere is this more apparent than in retail. Today’s consumers want to feel seen, heard and catered to. That’s why brands are leaning into hyper-personalised, localised content, whether online or offline.

Take M&S Romford’s TikTok page, which has outperformed the national brand account by miles. How? By focusing on localised, humanised content. It shows the staff having fun, creating a sense of community and, crucially, engaging with M&S’s specific audience in a relatable way. And then - bam! Online engagement turns into real-world loyalty.

For brick-and-mortar brands looking to drive in-store footfall, localised digital campaigns are essential. To check their performance, you can use location-specific social data and sentiment analysis to track how many local users are engaging with your content, and how they’re reacting to it - both online and offline.

The democratisation of influence: Why it matters

Influence used to be reserved for celebrities, fashion editors and industry gatekeepers. Not anymore. Social media has levelled the playing field. Today, anyone with a smartphone can become a trendsetter.

For retailers, this means two things: 1) Don’t snub micro-influencers, and 2) Your customers are your best advocates.

Primark is an excellent example of this. Its affordable, trendy fashion lends itself perfectly to user-generated content (UGC). Shoppers love posting their outfits, tagging the brand and joining conversations. All of this translates into more foot traffic - hence why Primark has more in-store visits than any other brand in Britain, with 37% of Britons shopping there, per YouGov.

It doesn’t matter that Primark doesn’t have an ecommerce store beyond click-and-collect; the online, user-generated hype around its products is enough to drive people to the high street. 

Here’s how retailers can leverage this new wave of influence:

• UGC campaigns: Encourage customers to share their in-store experiences, making sure to conduct a sentiment analysis of these posts
• Micro-influencer partnerships: Use local influencers to promote store visits and events, and tracking the engagement rates of these posts. Also keep a close eye on store visits to see if the campaign led to an uptick
• Engage with customer content: Share, comment and amplify posts from your community

Go beyond the sale - create an experience

If social media is the new form of entertainment, then retail brands need to start thinking like entertainers. It’s not enough to post product shots on Instagram. You need to create stories, build anticipation and turn shopping into an event.

This is what Sol de Janeiro did so well. The pop-up offered a variety of activities, including giveaways, free beverages and even lymphatic drainage protocol. So when it came to marketing the event, it wasn’t product pushing - it was experiential. And thousands of people queued for hours just to be a part of that real life experience. 

This kind of co-creation, where brands build their image together with their customers, is what sets successful digital campaigns apart from others. Consumers today, especially gen Z and gen alpha, expect more than just a transactional relationship with their favourite brands. They want a partnership that offers value, entertainment and experience.

The message is clear: retail is no longer just about selling a product. It’s about creating a memorable, shareable experience that keeps customers coming back.

Success that transcends the click

Ultimately, the success of a digital campaign for brick-and-mortar retailers can’t be measured by clicks or conversions alone. In a world where in-person shopping is making a comeback, retailers must focus on engagement, community-building and localised content to drive footfall.

Of course, digital and social platforms are still essential for building brand awareness and influencing purchasing decisions. But the final transaction often happens in-store. By shifting the focus from clicks to experience and sentiment, retailers can bridge the gap from URL to IRL, and turn online visibility into offline success.