Omnichannel is one of the key pillars of drive-to-store, and it's impossible to talk about retail without addressing these key concepts that unite the digital and physical worlds. Leveraging the best of both worlds is crucial to delivering experiences and providing customers with ever-increasing possibilities.
Do you know what drive-to-store is and how it's a cornerstone of omnichannel retail? Let's talk more about it—stay tuned!
What is drive-to-store?
Drive -to-store is a strategy that integrates the online and offline worlds with the aim of attracting customers to your physical store. This is precisely why it is so relevant in retail, a sector that has many stores and the physical world is of great relevance to results.
To do this, through marketing actions such as local searches , email marketing, social media or advertising, the brand awakens the customer's interest in the products or services and encourages the customer to visit the store to deliver a complete and personalized experience.
Therefore, drive-to-store is about using online to bring customers offline . In a physical store, customers can see products up close, ask questions to specialists, and complete the purchase. This integration offers several benefits for retailers, such as increased sales, customer loyalty, enhanced customer experience, and much more.
The importance of local searches in the drive-to-store strategy
Geolocation is one of the pillars of drive-to-store and it involves the ability to identify and track the geographic position of an object, person, or device in real time.
This is a crucial pillar for retail, after all, you need to know who and where the people who interact with your brand are to direct communications and benefits to them, and here, local search makes all the difference.
Local search, which is part of the Local SEO strategy , involves applying optimization techniques to your content, profiles, and networks that ensure your company is prioritized by search engines. In other words, it ensures your brand is delivered to users based on their geolocation.
“Near me” searches are growing more and more every day within search engines, after all, customers want convenience and want to solve their problems with solutions that are close to them.
Therefore, it is essential to invest in paid advertising to stand out in this segment and invest in Local SEO through content, Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business) and your information, positioning yourself as relevant so that, organically, the business is presented to potential customers.
Online to Offline Integration: Unifying the Customer Journey
Omnichannel is a strategy that integrates online and offline channels to offer a seamless and consistent customer experience. With it, regardless of the channel the consumer is using, the brand delivers the same context and offers a single experience, even across diverse interactions.
This pillar is crucial for drive-to-store, after all, consumers cannot find extremely different experiences when they are online and when they are interacting with a brand offline.
Regardless of whether the customer searches for the company on websites, social media, communication channels like WhatsApp or customer service, or goes to a physical store , every interaction needs to be fluid and follow the same language and experience.
Think about your personal experiences. How many times have you looked at a company's website or social media and liked what you saw, but when you arrived at the physical store, you were faced with conflicting information, poor communication, and it felt like they were two completely different places?
A lack of unification causes customers to view the brand negatively, and a consolidated strategy is essential, offering experience and fluidity, regardless of when and where they interact. Look at your brand as a person: how does it position itself and communicate with customers? This communication and experience must be maintained across all channels, online and offline . After all, we're talking about the same "brand/person," right?
Personalizing the customer experience in omnichannel retail
Being a drive-to-store isn't about creating generic content or ads to reach the largest number of people, but rather about tailoring offers and information according to your consumer's profile and preferences.
People want to feel valued and special to your business, and to truly deliver an experience, you need to invest in personalization . Knowing your customer, using data strategically, and mapping their pain points and needs is crucial at this point, and personalization is a key to brand success.
From the moment a brand is first discovered to after-sales service, the entire journey must be monitored so that the company not only makes sales, but also truly offers the best personalized solutions and possibilities for its customers.
The impact of online reviews on offline purchasing decisions
Online reviews play a significant role in consumers' purchasing decisions; after all, people want opinions from those who have already used the product or service.
Regardless of whether the purchase is online or offline, shared reviews and feedback build trust and credibility and can positively or negatively influence potential customers' decisions.
Having a strong digital reputation means ensuring your audience perceives your brand positively. It's worth noting that nine out of ten Brazilians research online before purchasing, and this research, in addition to being driven by price, is also related to the company's reputation and credibility in the market.
In other words, before actually going to your store, the consumer is very likely to search for it and online reviews, thus deciding whether or not to go through the drive-to-store cycle.
Additionally, online reviews are directly linked to Local SEO, increasing your brand's organic exposure and bringing new people to your business in both the digital and physical world.
Challenges and barriers in implementing omnichannel retail
While they're highly advantageous for businesses, omnichannel and drive-to-store are not simple strategies and still face many barriers and challenges to end-to-end implementation with significant results. Some of these include:
Channel integration
One of the biggest challenges for omnichannel retail is precisely the efficient integration of channels, which is the foundation of the strategy. There are many possible and existing sales channels, from physical stores to websites, apps, social media, phone service, and many others, and it's important to ensure they all share data to maintain the journey.
Therefore, companies need to invest in technologies, platforms, and tools that share all information and allow all channels to communicate with each other to be truly omnichannel.
Business culture
Many companies treat physical stores and online stores as different businesses and strategies, making them competitors. It is necessary to have an omnichannel culture in the business so that it truly delivers this experience to the consumer.
It's common for people to research prices in stores, for example, and they're frowned upon by salespeople, right? Once again, unifying channels is crucial; customers must be treated equally, whether in a physical or online store, and this is a major mistake many retailers make.
According to a survey , 57% of consumers consider it important to be able to use discount coupons offered on a brand's website or app in physical stores. For 80%, the freedom to exchange or return items purchased online and in-store is important or very important.
Of course, turning the switch isn't easy, but it's necessary to invest in training, internal initiatives, and clear communication so that the business culture is truly omnichannel.
Inventory and logistics operations
Encouraging your customers to leave the online store and come to your store is important, but you need to ensure that the products are found, and here we talk about another challenge: inventory and logistics operations.
More than just the ability to remove products, companies need to invest in the ability to exchange products from the online store to the physical store, for example, and this is only possible with good inventory control.
It is essential to have integrated product inventory systems, as well as planned logistics to serve audiences from a wide range of channels.
Data Management
Data management and analysis are fundamental to the success of omnichannel retail, and collecting, organizing, analyzing, and interpreting large volumes of data from multiple channels and sources remains a significant challenge. Furthermore, transforming data into actionable insights and effective strategies requires expertise in analytics and advanced technology.
Technology
For all aspects of omnichannel and drive-to-store operations to function effectively, systems are essential, and investing in technology is essential. We can no longer rely on outdated platforms or have multiple platforms that confuse all employees.
Investing in automation, tool unification, and strong partners is crucial to ensuring all processes run quickly, simply, and efficiently.
Conclusion
In an increasingly connected world, omnichannel and drive-to-store stand out as fundamental pillars for modern retail. After all, extracting the best from the digital and physical worlds means having the combination of both worlds for your results.
Thinking about channel integration, organizational culture, inventory, technology, and so many other processes is a challenge, but a customer-centric and experience delivery cannot be left for later.
How are omnichannel and drive-to-store approaches handled in your environment? Now that you know more about the topic, revisit your processes, and count on us to further connect your online and offline experience!
