Facebook introduces Dynamics Ads for retail to drive in-store sales

Facebook is working with a handful of brands to modify the existence of 'stores that have a social media presence' to a 'social media store that happens to have a physical presence too!'

Well, beginning with targeted ads, Facebook offers, and Dynamic Ads, the social media giant is extending dynamic ads for retail stores with the added capability of customizing availability, pricing, and promotions of products based on a user’s location and the nearest store.

Facebook is also throwing in a few more features that will potentially help retail stores make the most of their dynamic ads option.

Establishing the first and foremost feature; ads for and by local retail stores nearest to a user’s location, if and when a product runs out of stock, the ad will automatically adjust, saving users the inconvenience of schlepping all the way to the store to find the product is not available anymore.

Product Summaries, that will disclose additional information about the product without having to leave  Facebook ecosystem, and additional buttons such as contact the store, make a purchase online or simply save the product if you need it in future (yes exactly like online shopping).

An online Walmart like experience (DMart for us actually) for users to browse through similar products with ease so that all they have to do is go to the store, pick up their product, pay of course and save your time and the store’s space. Genius right?

Brands with a chain of retail stores such as Abercrombie and Fitch, Macy’s, Argos, Pottery Barn, and Target are working with Facebook to test the new features, that will become available to all in a few weeks; and the stores are optimistic about the new possibilities that it will open up.

“Dynamic ads for retail allows us to take our product assortment and not only personalize it based on a customer’s online shopping behaviors, but localize the assortment in real time. Facebook is helping us build a solid foundation to understand the impact digital marketing has on store traffic and sales by taking the results and tying them back to our customers who were not only exposed to a dynamic ads for retail campaign, but took further action and crossed our lease line. This is another step in putting our customer first by providing them with a seamless experience, which is at the core of our marketing strategy at Abercrombie & Fitch." — Billy May, SVP - Marketing, Direct-to-Consumer, & Corporate Development, Abercrombie & Fitch

Also providing some respite to stores that wish to have a prosperous physical presence, Facebook is providing Geo Targeting and Store Visit Optimization, allowing advertisers the ability to advertise to people who are most likely to visit their store by defining a targeting radius based on population density and desired reach.

Explaining further, Facebook stated, “Dynamic ads for retail leverage the Shop Visits objective to take advantage of this new optimization model and more powerful geo-targeting features. Shop Visits reporting is an estimated metric based on information from people with location services enabled on their phone.”

The eligibility for Store Visit Optimization and Geo Targeting depends upon store size and location and it will be made available to advertisers next month.