This year, consumers looking for back-to-school gear and supplies plan to shop both online and in-store to get everything they need. To reach these omnichannel shoppers, have a look at our top 3 local ad solutions.
Communicate convenience and deals
We see that more than 50% of North American back-to-school shoppers say that they’ll check for in-store inventory online before going into a shop, and 48% will shop at stores that offer kerbside pickup or contactless delivery.1 Help shoppers find the things they need in nearby shops using local inventory ads. You can even show products that are available for immediate shop pick up today, pick up later or kerbside pickup. If you are not yet on local inventory ads, you can utilise your existing Shopping ads feed to power pick up later (beta).
Promote products available for kerbside or in-store pickup.
If you’re an independent retailer and don't have a local inventory feed, you can use Pointy from Google to get products online and then run local inventory ads in just 2 clicks. Pointy is free for eligible retailers in the US, Canada, the UK and Ireland until 30 September 2021. Harley McIntire, owner of Family Feed says, '[With Pointy and local inventory ads], we now have regular customers that travel more than an hour one way to get specific products that they know we carry. I estimate our pet food sales, particularly the high-end product lines, have increased 30% since the implementation of Pointy.' Sign up here to get started.
Deals and discounts are also key this time of year. In fact, searches for 'discount code' have increased over 50% since last year.2 You can promote your in-store discounts, like '20% off' or 'buy one, get one free', using local promotions. All retailers participating in merchant promotions are eligible to serve local promotions, and now you can even allow customers to redeem promo codes in-store. See more ways to get your best deals on Google here.
Lay out your locations
60% of back-to-school shoppers plan to do at least a portion of their shopping at a small business this year.3 Local campaigns are a simple yet powerful solution for retailers of all sizes to promote their locations across Google Maps, Search, YouTube, Gmail and the Google Display Network. You can drive foot traffic for shop reopenings, special in-store promotions, updated business hours and specific products that are available in nearby shops. Local campaigns measure and optimise specifically for shop visits and/or local actions such as phone calls and clicks on driving directions to your shop.
Promote in-store products using Local campaigns.
Optimise for omnichannel goals
Shoppers alternate between online and in-store, so if you have physical locations, don’t limit the reach and effectiveness of your online ads. Include shop visits in Smart Bidding to help grow total sales, whether they happen online or in your shops. Smart Bidding automatically sets bids for each ad auction – in real time – based on your specific performance goals. You can optimise for omnichannel goals in your search and Shopping campaigns.
To learn more about driving in-store sales with online ads, see our Best Practices Guide.
Posted by Mayuresh Saoji, Sr. Product Manager
1. Google-commissioned Ipsos COVID-19 tracker, North America, ~n=494 online adults 18+ who have students or are students. 27–30 June 2021
2. Google Data, Global English, 26 Jan 2021 – 26 Mar 2021 vs 26 Jan 2020 – 26 Mar 2020
3. Google-commissioned Ipsos COVID-19 tracker, North America, ~n=494 online adults 18+ who have students or are students. 27–30 June 2021
