It’s easy to see why local search is a blind spot for some retailers. Digital listings platforms like Google Maps are frequently misconstrued as navigation apps. Users get directions to a restaurant across town, a friend’s house or perhaps to cut through busy traffic. The idea that someone needs directions to a convenience store two blocks away sounds preposterous—and rightfully so.

Rather than navigation apps, these platforms serve as a virtual front door for businesses. Directions are an important component, but so are phone numbers, hours of operation and more. As Uberall mentioned in a recent report about the impact of COVID-19 on local search, many consumers are relying on this added information to make decisions about how and where to shop. Data show that requests for directions are down on Google Maps, but calls and website visits are up.

“In some places, everything got shut down,” said Greg Sterling, vice president of market insights at Uberall, developer of a cloud-based platform to help small and large businesses get listed and market themselves. “You have to rely on the internet and phone calls, to some degree, to get the correct information. Is the store even open, and what are the protocols?”

The time to have a local search strategy was yesterday, but it’s not too late to get started or make improvements. It’s a crucial aspect of the digital customer experience now and in the near future.

The Looming E-Commerce Shift

The way consumers shop is changing. Over the past few months, retailing witnessed a digital transformation as convenience retailers expanded beyond the physical point of sale and embraced curbside pickup, home delivery, forecourt delivery, mobile payments and more. Even as traffic rebounds, these are likely to be lasting changes.

“Online retail will become the primary commerce channel for an even greater subset of the American consumer,” writes Web Smith, founder of 2PM Inc. “Conservative estimates place e-commerce at 25% or higher penetration rate by September, a number that wasn’t to be reached for another 5-10 years.”

All your digital information needs to be up-to-date if you want to show up in search results.

Many readers likely encountered the “hockey stick” graph that circulated via LinkedIn and Twitter during the month of May. According to Bank of America, ShawSpring Research and the U.S. Department of Commerce, e-commerce penetration rose from 16% to 27% during the pandemic in a span of only eight weeks.

While some of this shift is reactionary and will give way as familiar habits return, the e-commerce transformation was already in progress before COVID-19. The pandemic merely poured accelerant on this trend. And the shift shows no sign of slowing down. In recent weeks, major e-commerce announcements have been made by Facebook, Shopify, Amazon and Walmart. These are long-term plays from companies that were not forced to tread water during the pandemic.

“I do think we’re going to continue living more of our lives online and doing more business online,” said Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg in response to the company now allowing consumers to make purchases directly from businesses’ Facebook pages.

In January, Google acquired Dublin-based Pointy. The startup’s primary product was a piece of hardware that connects to the point-of-sale system and uses algorithms to make assumptions about inventory based on purchasing patterns. This information can then be displayed online. Real-time inventory has been a trend for more than a decade, but it’s not hard to imagine a scenario where it becomes the norm. Perhaps a consumer would search for a favorite brand of chips, and the results would show nearby convenience stores. “If retailers expose their inventory online, they will be better able to compete but will also train consumers to start expecting that,” said Sterling of Uberall.

All of this is to say that consumers will have more ways to conveniently access brands in the near future. Leaving the front door open for businesses is essential, and optimizing for local search is one way to do it.

The Virtual Front Door

A Google Maps query for REI in West Des Moines, Iowa, yields—within seconds—all the information necessary to make a decision about visiting and shopping. A full overview of COVID-19 protocols is displayed on the listing, including a red “x” next to the words “in-store shopping” and a green checkmark next to “curbside pickup.”

Chick-fil-A has taken similar steps. The listing for the Ankeny, Iowa, location informs visitors that the dining room is closed, while takeout and delivery are available. A phone number is listed, along with a link to the website and detailed hours of operation.

Acquiring this level of information previously involved a visit to a search engine, a query to the company, a visit to its website, clicking on a store locator, typing an address or ZIP code, and then clicking on the appropriate location. Now, all this information is available near-instantaneously—or it should be.

Consider a listing from a major fuel or convenience retailer that has not optimized in a similar fashion. The hours of operation are available, but not the phone number. What if someone needed a few essentials and wanted to call the store to verify that it’s open? Missing information hardly inspires confidence.

If retailers expose their inventory online, they will be better able to compete.

For better or worse, the digital customer experience is now tied to the overall brand experience. Imagine visiting a quick-service restaurant’s drive-thru at 8:45 p.m. because Google Maps says it’s open, only to discover it had already closed. Would you blame Google Maps, or would you blame the restaurant?

Fortunately, many convenience retailers take this seriously. “‘Clicks to call’ and ‘clicks to website’ are two of the main things we look at,” said Mike Templeton, director of marketing at Iowa-based Casey’s General Stores. “That’s the closest thing to starting a pizza order. Historically, one of the primary ways people would order pizza is by calling our stores. If they can’t find a phone number, then they go somewhere else.” Casey’s listings on Google Maps also include links to DoorDash. Simply click, view the full menu and submit your order.

If You Don’t Stand Out

Convenience retailers know the importance of location better than most, but it’s not enough to be on the right corner or intersection. When someone searches for “gas stations near me,” you have to be one of the top results to drive visits.

“Search is the new front door of the store,” said Templeton. “If you don’t show up, you’re not an option. Getting things right like where you’re located and how to contact you is as important as having a clean, well-lit store that [customers] feel safe visiting.”

Accurate listings are one way to ensure this. When inconsistencies exist between a company’s listings on Google My Business (GMB) and other platforms—such as Facebook, Yelp and Apple Maps—the GMB listings may be deprioritized and fail to drive traffic. “This is an issue now and as we move forward,” said Sterling. “Most searches are category searches and don’t have a brand associated with them—Chinese restaurants, hardware stores, gas stations. All your digital information needs to be up-to-date if you want to show up in search results.”

A similar issue plays out on GasBuddy. Since search results give priority to stations with recent gas prices, those that fail to update their prices are buried at the bottom. This can be an issue since only 5% of GasBuddy users ever scroll to the bottom of the list screen. Similar to missing phone numbers and hours of operation, the lack of fuel prices on a platform where it matters can erode consumer trust. In a 2019 survey of nearly 20,000 GasBuddy users, more than four in five (84.7%) said they are more likely to trust stations with recent prices.

Feedback Is a Gift

As an added benefit, many listings platforms serve as a venue for ratings and reviews. This immediate feedback is a valuable source of information.

“Gulf has been focused on educating our distributors and dealers on the importance of listening to consumer feedback and monitoring their competitors,” said Nikki Fales, director of marketing at Massachusetts-based Gulf Oil. “Because our sites are operated by distributors, communication is one of our strongest tools. We are able to ensure our branded partners are upholding an exceptional experience through real-time access to online reviews.”

There’s no denying that COVID-19 has brought about significant changes in consumer sentiment.

“Maslow before Bloom,” as educators like to say—meaning basic needs must be satisfied before higher-order objectives can be achieved. The pandemic has merged cleanliness and safety into one single, fundamental concern. Online reviews provide retailers with immediate feedback on this and other issues, enabling them to quickly identify high- and low-performing outliers across their brand. They also can get a sense of whether or not their perception about the customer experience is accurate.

As Fales pointed out, sometimes customer feedback will also surprise you in unexpected ways. “We had a scenario in which a site operator unknowingly opened for business before the technician had fully finalized the point-of-sale brand conversion. A consumer tried, and failed, to use our mobile payment app. Fortunately, we were alerted by an online review and were able to quickly correct the issue before any other consumers had a negative experience.”

Digital listings have become an important part of the customer experience. The time to have a local search strategy was yesterday, but it’s not too late to get started or make improvements. Retailers can help consumers navigate the pandemic and keep the front door open long after it’s over.