In a recent study, retailers reported that more than half of their product catalogs were replenishable goods, yet 43% were not running any type of product replenishment campaign. In the age of new features like the Amazon Dash Button, retailers are being challenged to bring the same type of instant gratification and personalization that data giants, like Amazon, are able to provide to their customer base.

Here’s the good news: Retailers who sell or have consumable products as part of their catalog are in a unique position to get in front of customers on a regular basis with product re-order reminders. But be warned, timing is everything. If you send a replenishment email too soon, before a customer is running low, the message won’t resonate. If you send a replenishment email too late, after the customer has run out, chances are that customer found a replacement product on their way home from work or on their last trip to the grocery store.

The most efficient way to enable replenishment campaigns that actual demonstrate lift is to trigger campaigns to customers based on their individual buying patterns. For example, I know that Rob, one of our fabulous database architects, drinks a lot of Dr. Pepper. I also know that Brad, our VP of Sales, does not. So if Rob and Brad both buy a 12 pack of Dr. Pepper, Rob will run out way before Brad does. Meaning, if I just pick a static date of 30 days to send an order reminder, Rob will have found more Dr. Pepper elsewhere and I will have lost a heavy repeat customer, while Brad might not see the need to repurchase just yet.

Moving Beyond Email

We’ve been talking about predictive replenishment email campaigns for quite a while at Windsor Circle, so we’re extremely excited to announce that retailers can now incorporate replenishment campaigns into their omnichannel strategy. Retailers can now go beyond email and retarget shoppers with ad campaigns across platforms, specifically in social and display. Here’s how this works:

Note: If you’re an existing Windsor Circle client, you can read through the below options to set up cateogry specific replenishment ads or skip to the bottom for instructions on how to create a custom audience from your Replenishment Automator.

Scenario 1:

Let’s say that I’m an eCommerce retailer who sells eco-friendly, sustainable gourmet coffee and I want to retarget customers on Facebook who will need to reorder within the next 30 days (Who wants to run out of coffee? No one.)

Step 1: In Windsor Circle, create a new segment using advanced segment builder (see image below):

• Predicted Replenishment Date is within the next 30 days
• Filter these products by…
• Product Category is one of Food & Beverage Gourmet Coffee, etc.

Step 2: Once you’ve built the segment, simply push “Sync to Facebook” and your Custom Audience will show up in Facebook Ads Manager in 15-30 minutes. This Custom Audience will update nightly. 

Note: If you’re not using Windsor Circle, you will need to go and re-download the segment on a weekly or bi-weekly basis to ensure customers who have made a purchase are not being served ads and customers who now fall within the replenishment window are added to the campaign

Scenario 2:

Keeping with the same theme, I’m still a retailer who sells eco-friendly, sustainable gourmet coffee. However, I want to take my brand new retargeting campaign one step further. I want to target customers who haven’t made a purchase in the last 45 days (I know my average store latency is 55 days) and should be running low on one of two types of coffee in the coming days – the Pollyanna Blonde Roast and Jesse & Me French Roast (two of my highest margin products). My hypothesis is that these customers not only need to be brought back to the fold, but also need more coffee. And we’ve already established no one wants to run out of coffee.

Step 1: Create a new segment using Windsor Circle’s Advanced Segment Builder (see image below:)

• Predicted Replenishment Date is within the next 10 days
• Filter these products by…
• Product Category is one of Food & Beverage –  Pollyanna Blonde Roast, Food & Beverage – Me & Jesse French Roast
• AND
• Most recent order date is not with the last 45 days

Step 2: Select “Sync to Facebook” and your Custom Audience will show up within 15-30 minutes and update on a nightly basis.

Step 3: Create your ad creative and copy

Step 4: Turn your new predictive, retargeting ad on.

Note: Just as with the first scenario, if you’re not using Windsor Circle, you’ll want to re-export and re-upload the .csv on a fairly regular basis to ensure consistency and a personalized experience for your customer base.

Even if you’re a retailer who does not sell consumable products, you can still hop on the train by creating omnichannel cross-sell and upsell opportunities. To learn more about using all of your data across platforms, read this article.

Creating a Custom Audience from an Existing Automator

For retailers running a replenishment automator with Windsor Circle, creating a replenishment campaign on Facebook and Instagram can be even easier. You  have the ability to automatically create a Custom Audience from your Automator segment. Simply login to the Windsor Circle App, edit your your existing Replenishment Automator and select “Sync to Facebook” under the “Review and Activate Page.” In fact, you can do this for any automator you currently have running.