Pricewatch sees footfall and sales increase with NearSt partnership

The Pricewatch Group, an independent, family-owned group of forecourts and convenience stores located across Sussex, is out-ranking local multiple grocery competitors in online search results as seen with NearSt’s Local Visibility Report tool.

Today Google is populated with live data about exactly what each Pricewatch store stocks in real-time, recommending Pricewatch at the top of local searches above competitors who do not show their in-store inventory online.

“We were looking to tap into the growing number of online shoppers around our sites, and since adopting the retail technology from NearSt, the transition has not only been seamless, but we have also seen a dramatic rise in footfall and incremental sales,” Claire Goddard, Pricewatch marketing manager, said.

“It was most encouraging to be able to run our stores as normal, while unlocking access to a suite of new local customer engagement channels on Google and Facebook.”

Goddard said they were looking for a way to promote in-store offering to the growing number of local customers searching online. They wanted to find a way to get these online shoppers to visit the stores, without the need for large operational changes to head office or in-store teams.

Working with retail technology platform NearSt, Pricewatch was able to integrate its technology effortlessly with their Point of Sale system EDGEPoS, and immediately unlock sales driving solutions.

 “The results speak for themselves. In the first quarter of 2023, we saw a 22 per cent increase in clicks on ‘Directions’ within our Google Business Profiles, which is a strong indicator of local shopper intent on store visits. On top of that, our ads package saw an ROI of 11:1 In May. We are now attracting more online shoppers into our stores by providing relevant and convenient product information for local shoppers searching online,” Goddard said.

Pricewatch surfaces their products across Google and Meta, meaning their stores are now showing nearby shoppers online what they stock in-store in real time. It also enables stores to easily promote and share newly stocked product lines and any in-store promotions on Facebook.

“In addition to driving online awareness, we wanted to convert potential customers discovering our stores, into in-store shoppers. The major online retailers and multiple grocers dominate Google Shopping Ads results, so we invest in Google Local Inventory Ads,” Goddard added.

“These ads enable us to target those ‘near me’ customers, using NearSt’s automatic local targeting tools. The ads showcase our products and shop information at the top of Google alongside the likes of Amazon and Ocado, for example.”

Nick Brackenbury, chief executive of NearSt, said: “Local shoppers are going online to search for products and places. We know 55 per cent of customers wanted to check if a product is in stock before visiting a store. Our solution to their problem is to alert those potential local customers or passing trade that there was a Pricewatch store near to them stocking the products they’re searching for.”