An in-store scavenger hunt sweetens the conversion rate at Dylan’s Candy Bar

Multichannel retailer Dylan’s Candy Bar wanted to collect e-mail addresses and other information about its customers in its stores. But when it ran in-store raffles and other promotions aimed at gathering customer information, it found it couldn’t target particular customer demographics, nor verify that the information provided was accurate.

Enter LTU Technologies, which provides mobile image recognition technology.

Using LTU’s system, Dylan’s Candy Bar is hosting an in-store scavenger hunt in which the retailer posts clues in its retail locations that prompt consumers to locate a specific piece of candy in the store, take a picture of that item using their smartphone, then e-mail that photo to a specified address.

The campaign, which launched June 25 and runs through Labor Day, has already produced measureable results, says Gwan Yip, Dylan’s Candy Bar’s e-commerce director. For instance, marketing e-mails sent to addresses gathered from the scavenger hunt have a higher open rate and click-through rate than its other addresses. Yip declined to disclose the specific figures. Moreover, the conversion rate from those e-mails sent to scavenger hunt participants is 85% higher than those sent to other consumers.