Brick-and-click retailers can transform store locator pages into revenue drivers, integrating inventory, prioritizing pickup, and offering targeted incentives.
Store locator web pages are known providers of info such as addresses and operating hours. For small and midsized businesses, the locator is typically an app installed from, say, the Shopify or BigCommerce dashboard. Enterprises with a network of dealers and outlets are likely to deploy the pages, too, but only for directions and hours, not sales.
There is an opportunity here. Locator pages connect online and physical stores, providing a bridge for high-intent shoppers.
Certainly the locators encourage physical sales. But the potential is much more. Done well, the pages encourage shoppers to buy online first and pick up in-store — BOPIS.
Consider the revenue-driving features a multichannel merchant could add to a locator page.
Integrate Inventory
An eager shopper searching for a new air fryer does not want to go online, find the fryer she desires, and drive to a store only to discover it is out of stock. She might decide it is better to order from another retailer — think Amazon — than risk navigating to the strip mall and returning fryer-less.
That is presumably why Best Buy includes inventory counts directly on its store locator page. A shopper can enter a zip code, add a product, and obtain inventory availability, such as “(18) air fryers & deep fryers available for pickup.”
Best Buy encourages BOPIS on its locator pages.
Merchants could implement such inventory info in a few ways.
- Display “Available for Pickup” messaging directly on the store locator.
- Show stock quantity indicators (e.g., “Only 2 left in stock”).
- Offer estimated pickup times (“Ready in 2 hours” or “Same-day pickup”).
- Provide alternative store options if the nearest location is out of stock.
In each case, the aim is to display inventory levels and reassure shoppers.
Prioritize BOPIS
Many store locators simply list addresses and hours of operation. A strong call to action encourages BOPIS.
Apple’s online store displays click-and-collect options on its physical location finder page.
Apple, for example, includes in-store pickup repeatedly on its locator pages. The calls to action reflect Apple’s branding — subtle but present.
Prioritizing online buying might also take a few forms, each to encourage shoppers to close the sale before driving to the store.
- Add a “Pick up at this store” button to each location result.
- Highlight pickup benefits near the locator — “No shipping fees. Pick up in-store in 1 hour.”
- Design the locator so that selecting a store for pickup happens early in the customer journey.
Incentivize BOPIS
In 2017, Walmart famously offered discounts on BOPIS orders. The discounts appeared in the shopping cart and on locator pages.
That idea of incentivizing click-and-collect behaviors still makes sense and appears dynamically on some sites, such as Kohl’s.
Kohl’s offers shoppers $5 worth of Kohl’s cash when they pick up in-store.
For example, Kohl’s shoppers receive up to $5 of Kohl’s Cash for buying online and picking up in-store, depending on location.
Other BOPIS incentives on locator pages could include:
- Location-based discounts that apply only to pickup orders.
- Show a “Get 5% off when you pick up in-store” banner.
- Offer “$10 off your next purchase” when customers complete a BOPIS order.
- Provide bonus loyalty points or exclusive deals when pickup is selected.
Kohl’s incentives are not limited to discounts. The store locator also emphasizes speed.
BOPIS Hurdles
Merchants employing these store-locator features could soon experience a BOPIS boom, but it will be for nothing without addressing common hurdles.
- Delivery speed. Consumers browsing a store locator page are likely high-intent shoppers, ready to hop in the car and head to the store. Unreasonable or not, many buyers expect the order to be ready in minutes, not hours.
- Updated inventory. If your store locator page says there are 18 air fryers in stock, there better be at least one. Synchronizing inventory levels between a physical store and online is a challenge. Many retailers apply a buffer stock — if there are five in-store, show three online.
- Promotion. Many shoppers don’t think of click-and-collect as an option. Spread the word.
Dealers
Stihl lets shoppers buy on its site and pick up from a dealer.
What I’ve described thus far works for consumer brands, but the concepts apply to wholesale providers, too. A manufacturer could consummate the transaction on its site and refer the customer to a nearby dealer to pick up.
Stihl, a maker of chainsaws and power equipment, does that very thing.