Get More from Search - Trends in Search & Social Media

It’s the everything’s-on-sale season. And, maybe it’s your mother’s birthday, your colleagues’ first child, or your anniversary that is just around the corner. Stressed with all the gift giving trips? Know what you want but don’t want to traverse around town trying to find the perfect size, color or model? No need to opt for the gift that states “I didn’t have time for anything personal” gift card.
Instead of having to deal with the stress of running from store to store, determine instead to visit your favorite retailer or Web 2.0 local search websites. Large retailers and some malls across the nation are starting to provide product availability via their websites and data feeds. This feature’s real appeal is that ready-to-buy consumers get instant verification of product availability in local stores. Despite search’s tremendous research-to-purchase value, most purchases still take place offline – in the local store locations. In fact, recent studies show that 92% of post-search purchases are made offline.
Local search sites that integrate this feature will greatly enhance repeat visits by their users – conceivably, every time they’re looking for a specific item, they’ll visit the local site to find it at the retailer with the product stocked.
The more that people utilize local search, the more exposure local businesses will receive, along with the greater possibility for foot traffic to their web and brick-and-mortar stores, which in turn will provide a better return on investment for their advertising dollars.