How to reach local consumers in a dynamic market

Communities worldwide are in various stages of responding to COVID-19 and businesses are reopening or restricting operations depending on local ordinances. Consumers need help navigating the changing market and turn to Google for local information like what’s open near them, store safety measures and in-stock inventory. Google searches for “clothing store open” grew by 900 percent¹ since last year and searches for “restaurants open for” grew by 1000 percent year-over-year.² Top searches include “local restaurants open for delivery” and “restaurants open for carry out near me".

Adjusting how your business shows up in these dynamic conditions can be difficult, especially with lower capacity. Here are a few ways our automated solutions can help you support your open locations and meet customers where they feel comfortable shopping, even as the market changes.

Help shoppers plan their next visit to your business

Communicate with consumers who are near your locations across Google using Local campaigns. As your stores reopen, create ads that share your open status, provide health and safety updates, or highlight in-store shopping options like product inventory, curbside pickup and takeout options, or special promotions -- all on a store-by-store basis.

Now you can optimize Local campaigns for store visit indicators like clicks on “directions” and “calls”, not just store visit conversions. This will make it possible for even more businesses to access Local campaigns. You provide your store locations, campaign budget, and creative assets and Google’s machine learning technology will automatically optimize your campaign to meet your store-centric business goals. You can easily update your goals as local conditions change and select which locations to promote as your stores open and close. As a reminder, store visits reports are anonymous and aggregated and can’t be tied to individual ad clicks, viewable impressions, or people.

Sinyi Realty, a real estate group in Taiwan, used Local campaigns to let consumers know about open branches and available appointments as demand for real estate climbed as the country was navigating the pandemic. Many businesses in Taiwan have remained open during COVID, but have implemented additional precautions. Sinyi Realty optimized for calls and direction clicks, resulting in more foot traffic to their physical locations and a 25 percent increase in property viewing appointments.

“Through Local campaigns, we are able to track online and offline performance. By evaluating our CRM data, we see actual increase in both foot traffic and property viewing appointments. We will continue to work with Google in driving omnichannel performance.” - Robert Chen, Sinyi Realty Digital Marketing Manager

Promote your local inventory and store pickup options

Even in the midst of COVID, customers are still looking to get the items they need fast, which means getting them nearby is often the best option. With longer shipping delays from larger online retailers, you can help reassure them that they can find what they need locally and collect their purchases safely by showing consumers what fulfillment options you offer. You can promote items that are available for pickup in-store today or available for contactless curbside pickup right in your local inventory ads.

UK cycling and automotive retailer Halfords is using the curbside pickup badge to highlight contactless pickup availability on bikes, parts and accessories that are available nearby for same-day pickup.

“Bike sales have risen as a result of the pandemic and our customers want to be able to get their new bike nearby, quickly and safely. Curbside pickup provides our customers with convenience and confidence in knowing that the bike they want is available for pickup at their local store." - Tom Rees-Evans, Senior Group Media Manager, Halfords

Independent retailers can get started using local inventory ads in just a few clicks with Pointy from Google. Pointy helps get your products online quickly so local shoppers can see what’s in stock nearby. Just set a daily budget and a radius around your store you’d like to reach, and Pointy takes care of the rest.

Knudson Lumber in Ellensburg, WA used Pointy from Google to get their products online and promote their hardware, tools and building supplies to nearby shoppers.

“I absolutely love that with hardly any effort on our end and a nominal monthly budget, our store’s products, with photos and pricing, are served to an audience near our location. This feature allows local shoppers to discover the products we carry, get them to come to our store to shop and buy the products they were searching for. I highly recommend using Pointy and their ads feature- you will notice increased online searches and exposure for your store and results!” - Cheryl Brown, Marketing & Advertising Manager at Knudson Lumber

Posted by Gary Ling, Product Manager, Local Ads

 

 

1. Source: Google Data, Global English, Mar 25, 2020 - May 23, 2020 vs Mar 25, 2019 - May 23, 2019
2. Source: Google Data, Global English, Mar 11, 2020 - May 9, 2020 vs Mar 11, 2019 - May 9, 2019