Catering to the “Search, Then Shop” Customers
When you head out for a day of shopping, do you google the stores first? Maybe you check their hours, or perhaps you pull up their Facebook page to see if they have an event or sale going on.
If you do, you are part of the vast majority of all shoppers today. We love to have all the information we can before we reach our final destinations.
As a business owner, this is crucial information! You need a strong and active online presence in order to ensure your customers can find you. You also need to know exactly what your customers are looking for when they search for your business before they head to your store.
What Customers Want to See
According to Google, in a single week 83% of shoppers in the United States searched online before entering a physical store. That is a pretty high percentage of potential consumers of your business, and it would have a substantial impact on your income if they were unable to find what they were looking for about your business and instead went elsewhere.
Many of these searches were looking for a dedicated website, but a large number of them were simply seeking business hours, address and contact information. When basic information couldn’t be found quickly, many shoppers abandon their search and are far less likely to actually visit a brick and mortar storefront.
Your business should be listed across multiple platforms, and your listings need to continually be updated in order to respond to the proper searches. Popular ways to search include “near me” searches on GPS apps and social media.
Think omnichannel, and make updates to your info everywhere. The more you can keep your social media platforms and your company’s website local and active, the more likely you are to get customers in the door.
Who Is Looking
While the number of shoppers that search online before visiting a physical store is high, digging into the demographics of that number can help you better understand how to target your information for the people that are looking for it.
There are members of each generation included in those that search before they shop, but the largest majority of them fall into a younger age range. Shoppers between the ages of 18 and 34 not only are the most likely to hit the internet before they hit your store, but they are also the most likely to skip your business altogether if they can’t find you online.
Those numbers make appealing to a younger generation online crucial. Websites should be easy to navigate, with primary information on the first page. Prices should be listed as well, as this was another reason many potential shoppers skipped out before the first sale was ever made.
Make sure your digital presence is plentiful. Just as you want to grab quick snatches of information before you shop, your customers want the same from your business. Keep your information up-to-date, local and readily available. And strike up a conversation with your customers about how you like to search before you shop, too.
Want to build a strong online presence and keep your information updated regularly? Contact us so we can help you with that!