Despite the boom in e-commerce, generating qualified traffic in physical stores remains a key objective for retailers. More than 9 out of 10 French consumers prefer physical stores over e-commerce for their everyday purchases. Most often, they look up information online and then buy the product in a store.
Web-to-store is also known as ROPO (Research Online Purchase Offline). It helps local merchants, artisans, and multi-location retailers convert web visitors into in-store customers.
What is web-to-store?
Web-to-store refers to the process of using the Internet before going to a physical store to buy a desired product. This concept connects physical retail with digital channels. Its goal is to encourage online users to visit a store by sharing information about:
- Nearby stores
- The products they are looking for
Web-to-store gives consumers an omnichannel customer journey. It relies on digital actions across channels (website, email, social media, etc.). It’s the opposite of store-to-web, which directs customers to a brand’s online store to make purchases.
Physical stores offer immediate satisfaction for consumers. They visit to get a product quickly, try it out, and enjoy exclusive offers.
Good to know: what is mobile-to-store?
Mobile-to-store uses mobile technologies to drive consumers directly into a physical store. Examples include mobile advertising, geofencing, SMS, and push notifications.
The benefits of web-to-store for your business
Web-to-store offers the following advantages for local retailers:
- Reach a broader audience and increase visibility
- Better meet the needs of ultra-connected consumers — 82% say they check products online before buying them in store; 67% enjoy visiting a store if they have the time
- Provide an additional communication channel, especially for promotions
- Collect customer reviews and reassure potential buyers
- Be visible where your competitors are
- Convey a modern brand image — 9 out of 10 French consumers have a positive view of local retail
- Eliminate delivery times and avoid shipping costs
- Generate extra sales through interactions between sales staff and buyers
76% of shoppers visit physical stores for the experience and pleasure; web-to-store allows you to meet those expectations with a personalized approach.
9 ways to increase visits to your physical store
Run promotional activities
You can use email marketing and SMS marketing. Dataventure supports you in creating customized acquisition operations.
Launch geotargeted SMS marketing campaigns with our experts. To drive in-store traffic, they segment your audience using:
- Trade areas
- IRIS zones
- INSEE codes
- Postal codes
Interactive SMS campaigns work well around peak periods, local promotions, and store openings. They offer:
- High exposure: 95% read rate
- Immediate impact: 90% read within 10 minutes
- Strong memorization: 60%
- High effectiveness: 95% of French consumers have a smartphone
Dataventure’s performance email solutions run campaigns across:
- Cardata Group databases with 5 million active opt-in profiles
- 400 opt-in partner databases
We tailor tracking and lead delivery to your needs (CSV, FTP drop-off, webservice). To give you full control of your acquisition model, we work with economic models like CPC, CPL, CPM, CPV, CPCL, and hybrid options. Our in-house studio handles the creation, integration, and hosting of your email campaign visuals.
Optimize your Google business profile
Your business profile helps you appear on Google Search and Maps for free. You can customize it with hours, photos, posts, etc. According to Google, a complete and detailed business profile increases the likelihood of in-store visits by 38%.
From your dashboard, you can view how users interact with your profile:
- Search terms used to find your business
- Calls, reviews, bookings, and more
Use a store locator
A store locator on your website helps visitors find the nearest physical shop. This improves the customer journey, increases store visits, and boosts your visibility on Google. It also ensures consistent, accurate data for all locations.
Offer click and collect
83% of Gen Z and Millennials regularly use click and collect. This web-to-store strategy is now essential. Simply allow customers to buy on your website and pick up in store.
Click and collect eliminates shipping fees for shoppers. For retailers, this significantly boosts in-store visits — and more traffic usually means more sales.
Use a product locator
This feature shows customers what products are in stock at a given store. They can see:
- Whether the product is available in store
- Whether there’s enough stock for the desired quantity; if not, the product locator can point them to the nearest store that has it
Offer online appointment booking
An online booking module can be added to key touchpoints:
- Your store locator
- Your business profile
- Your social media pages
Benefits include:
- Better booking experience for customers — available 24/7, even when the store is closed
- Less waiting and no need for phone calls
- Automated confirmation, modification, and reminder emails or SMS
- Time savings for retailers — no manual scheduling by phone or email
Boost local SEO
46% of Google searches are for finding local businesses. 85% of users have searched for nearby shops online. Over the last five years, searches containing “near me” or “nearby” have increased fivefold — proving that local SEO is a powerful web-to-store strategy.
Collect as many customer reviews as possible
Nearly 9 out of 10 consumers read reviews before buying. Reviews reassure visitors and strengthen credibility. As social proof, they encourage prospects to visit your store. Use a dedicated review management solution to collect feedback.
Once collected, display reviews on your website, business profile, social media, and more.
Maintain strong social media presence
Two key points:
- Complete your profile with description, contact info, and store hours. Add photos and videos to entice visits
- Post quality content regularly — being active builds a positive brand image with your community
Offer diverse payment methods
With the rise of card payments and contactless options — accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic — consumer payment habits have shifted. Innovative payment options include:
- Pin online
- Facial recognition payments
- Mobile wallets
- Mobile terminals with integrated payment methods
Web-to-store is an ideal technique to bridge the online and offline customer experience. By implementing this marketing strategy, you engage prospects and customers at every stage of the purchase journey. To capture attention across both channels:
- digitalize your physical store
- humanize your web presence
