Online Content Helps Your Offline Storefront

In recent years, local business owners have been taking notice of the increasing popularity of online shopping. Retailers have learned that there are major benefits that come with operating an offline store that utilizes online marketing strategies. As a result, many brick-and-mortar store owners have been using online content as a way to get local shoppers into their stores. Take a few minutes and learn how properly utilizing online content can help improve in-store traffic for your local business.

Customers View Websites First

One reason why online content is so important for local businesses is because most customers like to do research online before they do any shopping. According to Retail Dive, more than 65% of customers research local businesses online before heading out to buy something in person. This means investing in a well-designed website can draw more customers to your store, improving your local presence.

Having detailed product pages on your website can help you convince customers to buy your wares when they do research online. On top of this, you can draw more people to your physical store by allowing customers to review your products. People like to look at reviews for certain products so they can see if other customers liked them. If they see that customers liked a particular product, they might head out to buy it.

Social Media Content Drives In-Store Traffic

In addition to browsing websites, people tend to use social media to gather research about particular brands and products. Shoppers frequently bring their phones with them when they shop, since this allows them to find information on certain products while they are at the store. As a result, social media can help you engage with your customers, both at your store and online.

Social media can be used to showcase popular products and highlight key sales that are coming up in the near future. Your store can get a lot of attention if people start sharing these kinds of posts online. You can also post videos that show your customers how particular products function at home. For any customers who are unaware of your social media channels, you can promote them in your store so customers can keep up-to-date on upcoming products and deals.

Order Online, Pick Up In-Store

One benefit local business have in regards to online shopping is the practice of ordering a product online and picking it up in-store. This practice involves customers shopping for products online, and having the local business hold onto the products at the store so the customers can drive out and pay for them. Not only does this help improve traffic for your website, but it also helps get customers to come out to your local establishment.

Online-exclusive retailers that do not have a physical store cannot benefit from this practice, so this practice gives brick-and-mortar stores an edge over the competition. On top of this, if your local store already has the product in stock, your customers can pick it up the same day it was ordered. This gets products to the customers much faster, which can also make your business more enticing.

Learn More About Shoppers

Another benefit that comes with giving your local business a website is that you can learn more about how your customers shop. Website owners have access to a wide variety of analytics tools that can be used to track data on your site. You can use this data to see how shoppers behave on your website, and this information can be used to improve the shopping experience for your local customers.

To give an example, analytics can show you what items people are searching for the most, allowing you to see what your most popular products are. With this knowledge, you can make adjustments to your physical storefront. For example, once you have learned what your most popular products are you should move them to a place where customers can easily find them. Shopping data can help you learn more about your customers, which in turn gives you the chance to adjust your plans to meet their needs.

Logicblock’s 7cart platform allows users to integrate third-party plug-ins, including many different analytic trackers.

If you are a local business owner, you should consider taking advantage of online trends. Doing this properly can help improve public perception of your brand both online and offline.