Christmas is just days away, which means that as a local retailer you need to be on your game to bring those shopping procrastinators into your store! While holiday online shopping is more popular than ever before, last-minute shoppers typically still choose to shop in person because selecting and buying a gift in-person assures that they’ll have it in time to get it under the tree for Christmas. The good news is that you just need a few basic things to attract these shoppers:
Click-to-Call Phone Number
Last-minute shoppers don’t have time to search on your site to see if you carry a particular product, they’d rather call and ask instead (and potentially request to have it held until they get there). For these types of questions and the many others that can arise, you want to encourage potential customers to speak to a sales associate. Display your phone number prominently and make it clickable so that mobile searchers can easily call your business while on the go.
Address with a Map
Let shoppers know where you’re located by including your address and well known landmarks like “just after the water tower” or “behind Target.” Having a clickable map on your website is helpful as well because it allows shoppers to get a visual understanding of where you’re located and use their mobile devices to get directions to your location. If there are any public transportation stops nearby, you may want to include that information for people that are riding the bus, train, or subway.
Business Hours
There’s nothing worse as a shopper than heading out to make a purchase only to find out that the store you took the time to travel to is actually closed. (Consider the fact that your time is incredibly valuable leading up to Christmas, and this frustration is ratcheted up even further!) Avoid frustrating shoppers by letting them know when your store is open. Post your hours on your website and be sure to include any special holiday hours as well. This will help pull in additional shoppers who are in the area searching on their phones for those last-minute gifts.
Mobile Ads
Paid mobile advertisements (PPC) will enable more nearby searchers to find your business. The great part about PPC is that you can get it up and running quickly and make changes on the fly as data comes in, which means that it’s never too late to get started. Also, you can change bids based on searchers’ locations so that you pay less when people are further away and, therefore, less likely to travel to your store. This is why so many local stores use PPC during the holidays and year-round.
Kate Pierce is the owner of LionShark Digital Marketing LLC, a West Michigan internet marketing company. Her areas of expertise include Paid Search, Search Engine Optimization, Business Blogging and Web Copywriting. She lives in the Grand Rapids area with her husband and son and enjoys cooking, watching sports, and spending time together as a family. Like a true digital marketing expert (i.e. geek), she loves talking about current marketing trends… so don’t say you weren’t warned!
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