For retail brands, attracting customers to physical stores remains an important part of generating sales. Whether opening a new branch, promoting seasonal offers or increasing visits to an existing location, reaching shoppers in the right places can influence where they choose to shop.
Billboard advertising can help drive retail footfall by reaching potential customers near stores, shopping destinations and routes leading towards them. A well placed billboard can introduce an offer, build awareness of a nearby branch and give people a reason to visit.
The effectiveness of a retail billboard campaign depends on its location, message, timing and how closely it aligns with customers’ shopping journeys.
1. Advertise Near Retail Stores and Shopping Destinations
One of the most practical ways to use billboard advertising for retail footfall is to select locations close to the store being promoted.
Billboards near shopping centres, retail parks, high streets and supermarket corridors can reach people who are already travelling towards commercial destinations.
For example, a furniture retailer could advertise on a roadside billboard approaching a retail park. The creative might promote a weekend sale alongside the store name and a clear directional message.
Retailers planning billboard advertising campaigns should consider the distance between each advertising site and the nearest branch.
A billboard located five minutes from a store may be relevant if it reaches customers travelling in the right direction. A closer billboard could be less useful if it faces traffic moving away from the shopping area.
2. Choose Billboard Locations Based on Customer Travel Patterns
The busiest road is not always the best advertising location for a retail campaign.
Advertisers need to understand where their customers are travelling, which routes lead towards the store and when people are most likely to visit.
For example:
- Supermarkets: Roads connecting residential neighbourhoods with local shopping areas.
- Fashion retailers: High streets, shopping centres and busy city centre approaches.
- Furniture and homeware stores: Main roads leading towards retail parks and out of town shopping destinations.
- Electronics retailers: Commercial corridors serving major retail centres.
- Car dealerships: Roads near automotive retail clusters and surrounding residential catchments.
Traffic direction also matters. A billboard facing customers before they reach a shopping destination may have greater practical relevance than one positioned after the turn off.
3. Use the Right Billboard Formats for Retail Campaigns
Different billboard advertising formats suit different retail environments.
48-Sheet Roadside Billboards
The traditional 48-sheet billboard measures approximately 6 metres wide by 3 metres high.
These large roadside displays can help retailers build awareness along routes serving shopping centres, retail parks and busy commercial districts.
They are particularly useful for simple messages featuring a product, promotional offer or store opening.
Digital Billboards
Digital billboards allow retailers to change campaign messages without replacing printed posters.
A fashion retailer could promote a new collection at the beginning of a campaign and switch to a seasonal sale message later.
Where supported by the media owner, digital campaigns may also allow advertising to run during selected days or times.
This flexibility can be useful for retailers promoting weekend sales, limited time offers or events.
6-Sheet Advertising
The 6-sheet format is commonly found in pedestrian areas, bus shelters, shopping centres and other street level environments.
Its smaller size makes it suitable for reaching customers close to stores, where a location specific message may be particularly relevant.
A retailer could use a 6-sheet poster to promote an offer at a nearby branch, supported by an address or walking distance.
4. Give Shoppers a Clear Reason to Visit
A retail billboard should communicate why someone should consider visiting the store.
Messages that focus on a specific product, offer or event are often easier to understand than adverts containing several competing messages.
For example, a homeware retailer could advertise:
Bedroom Furniture Sale
Up to 30% Off Selected Ranges
Visit Our Trafford Park Store
A fashion retailer might promote a new collection, while a supermarket could highlight a seasonal product range.
The most useful information usually includes the brand, the offer and the location.
If a billboard is intended to generate immediate visits, including the nearest branch or a clear directional message can help customers act on what they see.
Any advertised discounts must be accurate and supported by the relevant terms.
5. Plan Campaigns Around Peak Shopping Periods
Retail footfall changes throughout the year, making campaign timing an important consideration.
Billboard advertising can support:
- New store openings: Build local awareness before launch and encourage initial visits.
- Black Friday: Promote seasonal discounts and direct customers towards participating branches.
- Christmas shopping: Reach customers visiting high streets, shopping centres and retail parks.
- January sales: Highlight clearance offers and limited time promotions.
- Back to school shopping: Promote clothing, stationery, technology and other relevant products.
- Bank holiday weekends: Encourage visits during major retail promotional periods.
Digital formats can be particularly useful when retailers need to update offers during a campaign.
For example, a retailer could use a general sale message during the week and switch to a weekend specific promotion closer to Saturday.
The availability of scheduling and creative changes depends on the selected screen network. Our guide to what makes digital billboard advertising effective covers the role of timing, locations and creative flexibility.
6. Build Local Coverage Around Multiple Stores
Retailers operating several branches can use billboards to create coverage across different store catchment areas.
For example, a supermarket chain with locations in Manchester, Birmingham and Leeds could select billboard sites near residential areas and major roads leading towards its stores.
Each location could display the same promotional offer while using creative tailored to the nearest branch.
This approach helps keep the campaign consistent while making the message relevant to local shoppers.
For retailers with a limited budget, concentrating placements around priority stores may be a practical starting point.
The number of billboards should reflect the geographic coverage required, audience reach and available media budget.
7. Make Retail Billboard Creative Easy to Understand
Billboards often have only a few seconds to communicate a message.
Retail campaigns should therefore focus on clear visuals, recognisable products and concise wording.
A strong retail billboard usually includes:
- One main message: A promotion, product launch or store announcement.
- Recognisable branding: Make the retailer easy to identify.
- Clear product imagery: Show the item or category being promoted.
- Readable text: Use large typography and strong contrast.
- Relevant location information: Include the nearest store, address or accurate travel direction where useful.
A QR code may be appropriate for some pedestrian facing formats, but it should not be the main call to action on roadside billboards viewed by drivers.
Creative should also be adapted to the display environment. A large roadside billboard requires a different approach from a screen positioned inside a shopping centre.
Our billboard advertising creative best practices guide covers readability, layout and designing messages for different viewing conditions.
8. Measure Whether Billboard Advertising Increases Store Footfall
Retailers can evaluate billboard campaigns using several measurement methods, depending on the available data and campaign scale.
Footfall Measurement
Where suitable data is available, location based measurement can estimate visits to participating stores among audiences exposed to a campaign.
Results may be compared with a suitable control group or baseline to assess potential incremental visits.
The methodology should account for factors such as audience movement, location data coverage and other marketing activity.
Store Sales and Transactions
Retailers can compare store transactions and sales during the campaign with appropriate previous periods.
However, sales changes alone do not establish that billboard advertising caused the increase.
Branded Search Activity
An increase in searches for the retailer, its products or nearby branches may indicate growing interest during the campaign.
Promotional Codes and Store Offers
A unique campaign code or store specific offer can help identify customers responding to the advertising.
This works particularly well when the promotion is easy to remember and redeem.
For larger campaigns, retailers may combine these methods to build a clearer picture of performance.
How Much Should Retailers Budget for Billboard Advertising?
The cost of retail billboard advertising depends on the city, location, display format, number of sites and campaign duration.
A local campaign using a small number of static billboards will have different costs from a multi city digital campaign.
Premium roadside locations and screens near major shopping destinations may also require higher budgets.
When planning expenditure, retailers should prioritise the locations most relevant to their stores and customers.
A practical brief should include the target store locations, preferred campaign dates, audience, promotional message and approximate budget.
This allows suitable billboard sites to be shortlisted based on their potential contribution to the retail campaign.
Plan a Retail Billboard Campaign With OOH International
Billboard advertising can support retail footfall by reaching shoppers near stores, highlighting relevant offers and building awareness along key shopping routes.
The strongest campaigns begin with a clear understanding of where customers travel and which locations offer the best opportunity to influence their next shopping destination.
At OOH International, we help retailers plan billboard advertising across the UK, selecting suitable formats and locations around their campaign objectives.
Whether you’re opening a new store, promoting a seasonal sale or increasing awareness of existing branches, get in touch with our team to discuss your target locations, campaign dates and budget.