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How to Build a Geofencing Funnel in Retail
Karina
Author @ InAppStory
Retail geofencing is often reduced to one action: sending a push notification when a customer approaches a store. That’s the simplest use case, but it leaves the rest of the journey undefined.
A complete geofencing funnel works across three stages: Entry, Dwell, and Exit events. Each can help you decide whether a message is useful, but you don’t need to send one every time. Here’s how to build that logic and connect it with relevant in-app content.
What is geofencing marketing in retail?
Geofencing marketing uses a virtual boundary around a store to trigger an action based on a customer’s phone location. A notification about a nearby offer is one example.
But location only explains why the message might be relevant now. It doesn’t tell you whether the customer understands the offer or knows how to use it.
With the required location access, the app can receive three types of events: Entry, Dwell, and Exit.
How do geofence Entry, Dwell, and Exit events work?
| Event | What the app records | What remains unanswered | |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Entry | The phone entered the area. | Did the customer come to shop, or are they passing by? |
| Dwell | The phone stayed for a set time. | Are they considering a purchase? |
| Exit | The phone left the area. | Did they buy anything? |
Android’s geofencing documentation describes these events and recommends Dwell to reduce notifications caused by briefly passing through a zone.
Dwell is the more useful signal when you want to exclude brief passers-by. That said, someone waiting outside another shop may also stay long enough to qualify. Geofence dwell time tells you how long a phone remained nearby, but it doesn’t explain why.
For a retail geofencing campaign, activity inside the app adds context. A customer who opens the offer may still be checking its conditions. Someone who has redeemed the coupon has already completed that step.
And those actions are worth measuring separately. A push notification open tells you that someone responded to the message. Coupon redemption tells you they used the offer. Treating both as the same result makes it harder to see where customers need help.
How should geofencing push notifications connect to in-app content?
A geofencing push notification can bring a customer into the app. The content they see next should explain the offer and help them use it.
Vlad Lastovsky, CEO of InAppStory, describes this distinction in his LinkedIn post: “Notifications on the lock screen are great at bringing attention back to the app. But the context is better created inside the product itself.”
Sometimes, though, a location-based offer opens a general promotions page. The customer has responded to a specific message, but now has to find the offer again. A direct link to its details removes that extra search.
There may still be something to figure out. A member price might require an activated coupon. A discount might apply to selected products at one branch. In practice, the in-app content needs to answer those questions before the customer reaches checkout.
What should a location-based offer show after the tap?
| What brought the customer into the app | What the content should help them do | |
|---|---|---|
| A promotion on selected products | See which products qualify and open their details. |
| A member-only price | Check whether activation is needed and find the coupon. |
| An unfamiliar product | Understand what it does and how it’s used. |
| A store-specific offer | Check where it applies and when it expires. |
The connection to the store matters just as much as the screen.
Barbara Wardell, co-founder of Cullari & Wardell, discusses this in an interview about geofencing and customer experience. The published interview summary records her warning: “You don’t want that customer to come in and say, ‘Okay, this is not what the promise was, right?’”
Wardell is talking about whether a business delivers what its advertising promises. For a retail app, that includes making the offer’s conditions clear. If a discount requires activation before payment, put that instruction beside the coupon. Otherwise, the customer may discover the missing step only when the price at the till doesn’t match what they expected.
When does a retail offer need stories or in-app messages?
A short in-app message may be all a straightforward coupon needs. When the answer fits on one screen, several slides would give the customer more to work through without adding useful information.
Stories make more sense when there’s something to explain. For example, a product demonstration can show how an unfamiliar item works, with a button leading to its details. This gives the customer enough context to decide without leaving the app to search for an explanation.
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But someone who’s ready to redeem a coupon doesn’t need to watch that demonstration first. Choose the content around the step they still need to complete.
How does customer activity change the geofencing funnel?
And the app can remain useful without sending another promotion. In DICK’S Sporting Goods’ Store Mode, shoppers can scan products for information and access local availability and rewards, according to Radar’s customer case. Location helps the app surface tools customers can use during the visit.
That’s a useful way to approach the rest of the geofencing funnel. After the notification brings someone back, the app should help with the purchase already under consideration. What happens at Entry, during Dwell, and after Exit should reflect how far that customer has actually progressed.
How can in-app formats support a retail geofencing funnel?
Once the customer opens a location-based offer, the format should match what they need to do inside the retail app. Comparing several products needs more space than opening a barcode at checkout.
That choice matters in retail. McKinsey’s 2026 grocery research found that 51% of surveyed shoppers were reducing impulse purchases. Another 43% were using more promotions, while the same share were comparing prices more carefully.
The in-app format can make that decision easier by putting the relevant products or offer action in one place.
“Everybody’s beauty experience is just so no one-size-fits-all.” — Kelly Mahoney, CMO of Ulta Beauty, speaking about retail personalization at an Axios event.
The same applies to in-app content. A beauty retailer might use a quiz to narrow a large product range. A grocery app may lead directly to a member price and barcode. The more useful format is the one that fits the shopping task.
How should the shopping task determine the in-app format?
The in-app format provides the space. Widgets inside that format let the customer act.
| Shopping task | Useful format connection | What the customer can do | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Compare products included in an offer | Story with a product carousel | Swipe through eligible items and open a product page |
| Use a discount at checkout | Bottom sheet with a promo code or barcode | Open the code without searching through the app |
| Choose from a large category | Quiz followed by product cards | Answer a short question and view relevant products |
| Browse a longer seasonal selection | ScrollView landing with a product feed | Move through the collection and add items to the basket |
| Keep an activated offer easy to find | Dynamic banner linked to the coupon | Return to the coupon from the main app screen |
| Add an item that completes the purchase | Product card or carousel inside a story | Add a related item without returning to the catalog |
| Collect a loyalty reward | Mini-game followed by a reward screen | Play, receive the reward, and save it to the account |
| Comment on a completed visit | Poll or feedback widget | Answer one specific question after the visit |
In practice, a retail geofencing campaign may use different formats at different moments. For example, a story can introduce a seasonal collection before the visit. If the customer activates an offer, a banner can keep the coupon easy to reopen later.
And mini-games have their own role. They work better when the goal is repeat engagement around a seasonal or loyalty campaign, while a bottom sheet is the simpler choice when the customer needs a code at checkout.
How does a geofencing push connect to in-app content?
A retail geofencing campaign moves through five steps. Each step has one job.
| 1. Location event | 2. Campaign check | 3. Geofencing push | 4. In-app content | 5. Retail action | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The phone triggers an Entry or Dwell event. | The app checks the store, offer, customer eligibility, and message frequency. | A short message gives the customer a reason to open the retail app. | A story, banner, or bottom sheet shows the relevant offer. | The customer opens a product, saves a coupon, or adds an item to the basket. |
InAppStory handles the fourth step. The retail app supplies the context, and the platform uses it to select and show the right content.
What information can the app pass to InAppStory?
| Retail data | How it can shape the in-app content | |
|---|---|---|
| Store or location tag | Show the story or in-app message assigned to that store |
| Customer segment | Select an offer for members, new customers, or another relevant group |
| Product feed | Show current products, prices, and availability in product cards or carousels |
| Coupon status | Display the active promo code or loyalty barcode |
| Completed action | Stop the offer or replace it with the next useful message |
InAppStory targeting documentation explains how an app can pass tags based on attributes it already tracks, including geolocation. And embedded commerce tools can connect stories and other in-app formats with product feeds, product cards, add-to-cart actions, and checkout.
Why choose InAppStory?
- Fast integration: With its lightweight SDK, InAppStory allows you to integrate visual engagement tools starting from 1–2 days, with the exact timeframe depending on the app’s complexity.
- Comprehensive toolset: Features like full-screen stories, dynamic onboarding, gamified challenges, and targeted in-app messaging make it a one-stop solution for all engagement needs.
- No-code flexibility: A visual editor empowers marketing teams to create and launch content instantly, freeing up developers for other tasks.
- Expert guidance: InAppStory’s team offers tailored support at every step, from integration to content optimization.
Whether it’s onboarding, engagement, or monetization, InAppStory ensures your app doesn’t just look good — it works better.
In practice, the geofencing push doesn’t need to carry every detail. It starts the interaction. The in-app format gives the customer the information and controls needed to finish it.
Why combine push notifications with in-app messaging?
The two channels cover different parts of the same retail geofencing funnel.
| Channel | Main job | Useful content | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Geofencing push notification | Bring attention back to the retail app at a relevant moment | Store reminder, nearby offer, or short reason to open |
| In-app messaging | Help the customer understand and use the location-based offer | Eligible products, conditions, coupon, barcode, product selection, or add-to-cart action |
Conclusion
Retailers should treat push and in-app content as one product flow. A geofencing push can arrive at the right moment and still open a generic promotions page. The customer then has to recover the context the notification already had.
InAppStory is most useful at this point. The retail app passes the relevant store, segment, and product data, while the platform shows the story, banner, bottom sheet, or product widget that fits the current task. The location infrastructure finds the moment, while in-app content gives that moment a useful destination.
In our view, this continuity is what separates a basic geofencing notification from a complete retail funnel. The customer shouldn’t have to work out what the brand wants them to do next.
