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GroundBreakers of Brick-and-Mortar: The Drive-In Strikes Back
Evelyn Aguilera
Associate Director, Brand Strategy
In this blog series, we are highlighting brands with brick-and-mortar locations that are implementing new and innovative ways to increase foot traffic to their stores. Especially with new COVID-19 restrictions, it’s even more important for brands to provide new ways of interacting with customers all while in a safe environment.
What are they doing?
While the early months of quarantine led to streaming binges, home improvement projects, and a renewed interest in baking, the unknown timeline for stay-at-home guidelines and social distancing protocols required brands to get creative in order to engage consumers in new ways.
Big-Box giant Walmart created the Walmart Drive-In, a movie theater pop-up at 160 Walmart locations throughout the U.S. from August 14th through October 21st. This family-friendly, and notably free, experience quickly gained traction with many showings selling out completely.
How does it work?
Walmart’s custom-built experience allowed them to engage their local communities in a positive way during a time riddled with uncertainty. During financially trying times, this free, ticketed event provided a social-distance friendly option for families in their communities. GroundTruth visitation data trends shows that Walmart locations hosting drive-in movie nights saw 10% higher foot traffic during the evening hours (5-10PM) compared to nights where there are no movies playing. The increase in traffic to stores on these nights highlights that providing added value to communities is also good for business.
Certain Location-Based Audiences on GroundTruth’s platform came out for movie nights over others. Gen-Z, Stay-at-Home Moms, School Staff and Young Drivers are just some of the few audiences who were interested in this type of event and drove in for the show.
Image Source: Walmart
Why now?
Because of the flexibility and social distancing native to drive-ins, this was a perfect pivot for the big-bog retailer to repurpose their massive parking lot real estate in a new way. The privacy and safety of watching a movie from your vehicle established the perfect backdrop for a safety-first focused activity that local communities could look forward to. It also gave Walmart a chance to give back to their customers while promoting their brand as an experience-focused company.
Walmart Hourly Foot Traffic (Indexed)
What’s next?
While Walmart was a key player and early adopter, other brands will be following suit. The trend appears to be continuing into Fall 2020, with the potential to become a mainstay as consumers continue to embrace it. Major streaming networks like Disney+ and Hulu have jumped on the trend with drive-in festivals and halloween horror movies following studios like Sony Pictures who partnered with Porsche for their take on summer movie nights on their studio lot.
For Concert Goers, drive-ins open up opportunities to see their favorite bands from a safe distance as many concerts and music festivals had to be cancelled or moved to virtual platforms in 2020. Sport Enthusiasts might soon be able to get back at the game, from redrawn sidelines anyways, as teams begin to explore outdoor spaces meant to host a new version of the “tailgate experience”. Teams like the Milwaukee Bucks are looking to create “a way for fans to watch the game outdoors in a socially distanced way utilizing parking garages, shipping containers and even creating a drive-in movie like experience”. Also, Halloween fans are in for a treat with drive-through haunted experiences coming to a city near them.
Drive-in focused entertainment appears to revving up audiences who are looking for a safe way to enjoy their favorite activities. As we adjust to this new normal and brands look to stay connected with their core customers, we will likely continue to see more drive-in or drive-through experiences pop up.