As the weather warms up, we are entering the busiest time for hundreds of beverage brands focused on making the long summer days more enjoyable for everyone. With this comes increased competition. Many of these brands will be looking for new channels and tactics to get their products into the hands of the *right* consumers at the *right* time.

Enter Aisle

Aisle is the leading retail marketing platform tailored for modern retail and CPG brands, enabling the creation of comprehensive retail activations to drive brand awareness, boost in-store velocity and foster long-term brand loyalty.

We compiled some quick insights highlighting the benefits of running an Aisle program this summer.

Reflecting on last summer

Beverage brands that ran Aisle programs between June and August 2023 saw an average 26% conversion rate. Brands with more aggressive promotions saw conversion rates upwards of 30%

* This data includes Aisle brands that fall into the water, functional, healthy, soda, energy, and alcoholic beverage categories.

The built-in reward system allows brands to choose from several reward configurations: cash-back, buy x get x free, percentage off, and one free unit… but you can get creative. Liquor and alcohol brands that face legal restrictions on price reductions have also had great success with broad cash-back rewards and unique offers like buy one, get one for $0.01.

For example, a beverage brand with both individual units and multi-packs available in-store achieved a 32% conversion rate with a $4 cash-back reward that enabled two things:

• Covered the cost of a single can/bottle/box or
• Provided $4 cash-back for consumers who purchased a multi-pack.

Ultimately, this brand was able to drive significant velocity across various product types from a single campaign.

With retention and referral automation tools built in, it’s easy to influence consumer behavior beyond initial purchase. Brands saw a 5 - 10% lift in repeat purchases by leveraging baked-in retention and referral programs that bolster pre-existing marketing efforts.

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Your next best customer is everywhere

Rebate platforms are designed to integrate with your existing marketing strategies. Whether you're increasing spend on  your ambassador and influencer programs, planning a presence at summer festivals, increasing your paid social spend, or crafting a seasonal cocktail menu, Aisle fits into your strategy and will meet your customers wherever they are:

• Giving out free samples? Use an Aisle-created QR code to identify these consumers and enable them to find your products at their local retailer.
• Running a summer-long influencer program? Have your influencers link to your Aisle offers across social media channels and track their performance.
• Ramping up your Meta or TikTok spend? Make Aisle your call to action.

Our tracking and analytics will allow you to see sign-ups and conversions across your marketing efforts. This will ensure your team can continue optimizing your spending and that marketing dollars don’t go to waste.

With geo-aware features like text-based location capabilities and Apple Pass, it’s *much easier* for your consumers to find *your* products.

Fight seasonality

Beverage brands should seize this surge in interest during the summer months by growing their retail marketing lists. Collecting consumer data (phone number, email, first and last name, retail purchase history) equips brands with the necessary resources to combat the slower months. With a new Klaviyo integration and more on the way, keeping your DTC and retail marketing lists up to date has never been easier.

Aisle’s text messaging capabilities allow brands to reactivate their existing consumers at any time. This means targeting existing retail shoppers across varying geographies and retailers, expanding reach and growth during periods of decreased demand — fall and winter.

At Aisle, we value first-party data—and believe you should, too. When running Aisle, you own all the data you collect. Beverage brands can expand their retail marketing lists during the summer months, and by acquiring this consumer data, brands can re-engage their existing customers at any time, broadening their reach and ability to convert new and existing consumers during periods of slowed demand in the fall and winter. Our integrations simplify the process of keeping your marketing lists in sync.

Drive down competition

Your competitors are likely leveraging many common price reduction tools, such as IRCs, coupons, and in-store promotions, to improve velocity during peak months.

Most of these methods have low conversion rates (1 - 5%) and require a heavy upfront investment of time and money. They don’t influence cart size, offer retention tools, or allow brands to own their scans.

Brands can easily set up Aisle rebates for wherever a consumer can get a receipt (including digital). If your competition is moving quickly, Aisle moves faster.  

PRO TIP: embed Aisle on your store locator page to convert organic on-site traffic.

Aisle also supports digital loyalty and “punchcard” programs, such as buying 10 products and getting the 11th free. For consumers who convert during the summer, this strategy can help foster customer loyalty and retain retail revenue growth beyond the summer months.

Tap into a thirsty community

Many brands also opt into Aisle’s rapidly growing community of brands. The community page allows you to increase exposure to your next best customers. Put your brand in front of thousands of new consumers at no additional cost.

If you're a beverage brand looking to beat the heat this summer, look no further than Aisle — join over 150+ active brands and sign up for a demo.