One of the longstanding holy grails of local commerce is visibility into the increasingly convoluted and fragmented path to purchase. It weaves in and out of digital and physical channels, making it hard to figure out where influence and intent lie. SOCi and Placer.ai have lifted some of that fog.

Specifically, the two companies got together to fuse their respective first-party data. On SOCi’s end, its Local Visibility Index tracks, scores, and benchmarks online visibility for multi-location (MULO) brands. Meanwhile, Placer has rich and reliable data on retail foot traffic, including the same MULO brands.

Put the two together, and you have a more comprehensive view of who scores high in online visibility for local shoppers, as well as who’s attracting the most foot traffic. More importantly, what lessons and tactical takeaways can be extracted from those that correlate online and offline performance?

The short version is that several brands scored high on both metrics, including Aldi, Costco, and Bath & Body Works (see graphic below for the full slate). Meanwhile, some brands scored high in online presence while falling behind in foot traffic. And others experienced the reverse problem/opportunity.

Standards & Expectations

What does this all say in terms of strategic implications? According to SOCi CMO Monica Ho, during a recent livestream to introduce the data, it’s all about today’s consumer standards and expectations. If you aren’t highly visible in local commerce channels – an increasingly challenging feat – you’re invisible.

That invisibility can impact eCommerce, of course, but the more potent missed opportunity is lost offline sales. That statement can be backed by the simple reality that most shopping, in terms of sheer dollars spent, happens offline in physical stores. And younger generations are drawn to it (more on that in a bit).

As for the tactical takeaways promised above, Ho points to the need to capture offline local intent. She cites the reality that about half of searches have local intent, many of which plan to transact offline. That puts a great deal of importance on the elements of online presence that drive offline behavior.

We’re talking about accurate store hours, robust business info, and more granular data such as product availability. Granular is the key word, as AI engines are increasingly surfacing more nuanced business information. And that nuance is being driven by the increasing granularity in search queries themselves.

SOCi Study: LLM Queries Are 6x Longer Than Traditional Search

Early & Often

In addition to accuracy and granularity, Ho points to the need for uniqueness. AI engines hate seeing the same content across competitors in a given category. So view this as an opportunity to differentiate with specific language about what makes you unique, what products are on the shelf, and other specifics.

For similar reasons, AI engines tend to answer questions in the context of what’s “the best.” It’s not about the 10 best things (Google’s traditional SERP), but the best. This makes them more discerning, including not recommending any business that has poor reviews or overall ratings below 4.2 stars.

Of course, that’s a ranking factor that’s hard to uphold, given that ratings are tied to factors beyond marketing efforts. But what marketers can do is what’s more squarely in their control. And that includes reviews responsiveness. Consumers (and algorithms) want to see businesses respond early and often.

In the end, the name of the game, says Ho, is accuracy, granularity, reputation, and engagement. At least three of those are things that local businesses (including MULO brands) can actively influence and impact through near term rigor. And again, the payoff will be both online engagement, and offline footfall.

SOCi Draws a Straight Line From Online Visibility to Business Expansion

Renewed Relevance

That last part is increasingly important, as it’s where the majority of dollars are spent, as noted. That’s always been the case, but Ho points to a notable trend in the return to retail. Not only does the post-Covid environment compel it, but cultural factors are driving the renewed relevance of brick & mortar.

For example, 70 percent of generation Z prefer to shop in store, says Ho. This says a lot because they spend half their waking hours in front of screens, but they still prefer to go to stores to transact. This aligns with the generation’s other known affinities such as thing that are real, raw and authentic.

Accelerating that trend, digital domains that are increasingly taken over by AI slop will drive value around things that are authentic. That will play out in lots of ways such as the growing importance of reviews, as we’ve theorized. But in the context of all the above it translates to more time at the local shopping mall.

But all the above just scratches the surface. What about the MULO brands that score high in online visibility but low in foot traffic (or vice versa)? What’s the opportunity for those brands to parlay their strength in one area to the other? Check out the full robust discussion in SOCi and Placer.ai’s webcast.

Header image credit: Arturo Esparza on Unsplash