As the UK and the rest of Europe sets its sight on an easing of COVID-19 rules, shoppers are bouncing back to the high street; the latest in-store sales figures^[1] in June across the EMEA region jumped by 76% compared to just before the first lockdown in February 2020.

According to global technology company Criteo (NASDAQ: CRTO) which provides the world’s leading Commerce Media Platform, there is a clear consumer desire to return to shops and department stores based on data taken from 22 million consumer transactions.

Following a slow start to the year and further imposed restrictions across Europe, omnichannel retailers – those that sell both online and offline – saw a 280% increase of in-store sales, while online sales declined by over a third (39%) on June 21^st, compared to January 2021.

What’s more, the top three reasons for visiting stores are “availability of in-store offers” (44%), “better ways to try products” (41%) and service respectively “knowledgeable salespeople” (39%), according to the Criteo Shopper Story 2020, Europe.

How Criteo’s Store Sales solution works

To that end, Criteo has introduced its Store Sales solution to help marketers match in-store transaction data with over 2.5 billion unique user IDs via the company’s Shopper Graph, to create a complete view of consumers shopping journey.

A key product in the company’s suite of omnichannel solutions, Criteo Store Sales maximises retailers’ first-party customer and sales data to reach and engage consumers based on their online and offline shopping history. In turn, enabling marketers to deliver a personalised experience that drives omnichannel outcomes, grows customer lifetime value and increases total revenue.

Alongside Criteo, retailers can deliver personalised ads with store-specific messaging and product recommendations based on customer intent and past purchase behaviour. Conversions are measured and used as feedback for the Store Engine, a part of Criteo’s renowned AI Engine, to learn in near real-time, and continuously optimise campaigns across all channels.

Alexander Goesswein, VP, key accounts, EMEA at Criteo said: “Although there’s little doubt that consumers will continue their purchases online following the pandemic, we’re clearly seeing the value and benefits of high-street shopping as sales pick up once again across much of the EMEA region. For brands and retailers, this presents a great opportunity to reach their audiences across all channels – and one that combines the best of physical and digital with data at its core. The ‘great reopening’ of brick-and-mortar stores is very much happening and we want to make sure we’re arming marketers with the right tools to help them leverage their data along the funnel and to succeed once more.”

Alexandra Fayolle, head of traffic acquisition at Galeries Lafayette added: “Stores account for the majority of our business. But we lacked the ability to apply in-store activity online, which kept us from properly engaging store customers in digital channels and driving more sales in-store. With Criteo’s strong identity graph and high match rates, we’re able to execute a holistic audience strategy using customer and sales data from our stores, reach customers based on their true value to our business, and personalise product recommendations for every customer based on their individual purchase history.”

^[1] Source: Criteo analysis of 22 million transaction data of omnichannel retailers in Europe between May 19^th – June 30^th 2021 compared to February 2020.