Survey: Only 2.2% Decide to Revisit After Seeing SNS Posts, While In-Store Experience and Daily Routes Drive Repeat Visits

Creative Jump Inc. conducted a survey on customer visits and repeat visits to physical stores. The results showed that only 2.2% of respondents said they decided to revisit a store after later seeing a social media post. In contrast, 21.4% said they had already decided during their first visit, 21.0% said they decided immediately after visiting, and 12.9% said they decided later when passing near the store. Together, these responses accounted for 55.3%, about 25 times the share of those influenced by SNS posts. The survey suggests that the feeling of wanting to revisit is not generated only by distant communication such as SNS or advertising. It is also created through the in-store experience, satisfaction immediately after visiting, and reminders that occur within customers’ everyday movement patterns near the store. As for how customers first learned about a store, the most common answer was “passing by” at 38.3%, followed by “recommendation from family or friends” at 18.6% and “signage or storefront” at 12.2%. By comparison, Instagram accounted for 3.7%, TikTok for 0.8%, X for 0.6%, and web advertising for only 0.5%. This indicates that first visits to physical stores are also strongly driven by touchpoints within people’s daily living areas, not only by distant digital exposure. The leading reason for deciding to visit or purchase for the first time was “the product or service was attractive” at 27.3%. This was followed by “the signage or storefront caught my attention” at 18.3%, “it was close to home or work” at 16.9%, and “family or friends recommended it” at 10.7%. “I saw it on SNS and became interested” accounted for 2.7%, while “I saw an ad or online information and became interested” accounted for 2.1%. At the same time, the survey found that many stores may not be fully using the first visit as an opportunity to create repeat visits. When asked whether there had been any in-store guidance or mechanism that gave them a reason to return, the most common answer was “nothing in particular” at 35.8%. When asked what they actually registered for or used during their first visit, 58.2% answered “nothing in particular,” exceeding those who received point cards, registered as members, downloaded an app, or added the store’s official LINE account. Creative Jump calls this way of designing touchpoints according to customer distance “distance marketing.” Rather than thinking in terms of tactic names such as SNS, advertising, LINE, in-store POP, customer service, or point cards, distance marketing organizes each touchpoint by the customer’s distance from the store: near-distance, mid-distance, and far-distance. Near-distance marketing deepens relationships with people who already have contact with the store or are close to visiting or purchasing. Examples include customer service during and after a visit, official LINE accounts, point cards, coupons, in-store prompts, and post-inquiry flows. Its role is to turn the moment of “I want to go again” into a concrete repeat-visit path. Mid-distance marketing helps people who do not yet have direct contact with the store, but live or move within its trade area, discover it naturally. Examples include passing by, signage, flyers, local referrals, partnerships with nearby facilities, local events, and reputation within the area. Far-distance marketing broadly builds awareness among people who do not yet know the company or store. Examples include SNS, advertising, websites, PR, media coverage, survey releases, and article publishing. While far-distance marketing is important for awareness, the survey argues that awareness alone cannot design repeat visits. Physical store marketing needs to connect and circulate far-distance, mid-distance, and near-distance touchpoints. Daiki Migi, CEO of Creative Jump Inc., commented that in physical store support, repeat rates clearly change when details such as LINE messaging, in-store POP, and staff prompts are carefully reviewed. SNS and advertising are essential for letting distant audiences know about a store, but the moment customers decide to return often occurs not through a screen, but through the in-store experience and the everyday scene of passing by the storefront.