Pricewatch Beats Multiple Grocers To Google Top Spot With Nearst

Pricewatch Beats Multiple Grocers To Google Top Spot With Nearst

Retail Tech Insights | Thursday, October 05, 2023

Pricewatch Group experiences footfall and sales increase with no in-store operations changes

Boost in Google business profile interactions - having Pricewatch products listed on Google led to +22% increase in clicks for “Directions”

11:1 ROI on Google Local Inventory Ads - Pricewatch attracts local shoppers through targeted ads on Google

Stay ahead of the industry with exclusive feature stories on the top companies, expert insights and the latest news delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe today.

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.

Claire Goddard, Pricewatch Marketing Manager, says: “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. 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.”

Pricewatch was looking for a way to promote their 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% 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,” says Goddard.

Pricewatch surface 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.

Goddard adds: “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. 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, CEO of NearSt, says: “Local shoppers are going online to search for products and places. We know 55% 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.”

With 81% of retailers planning to expand the number of digital channels they sell on in 2023, Pricewatch’s one connection to NearSt enables them to connect their in-store store products to a variety of platforms and search engines, allowing them to seamlessly reach more customers, in more places.

Convenience and forecourt store owners looking to learn more about how Pricewatch is taking the Google top spot with NearSt, visit  www.near.st for more information. Sign up here for early access to the Pricewatch case study.

More in News

Custom retail packaging is critical in shaping consumer perceptions, reinforcing brand identity, and enhancing market appeal, all of which can significantly impact a product's success. In today's competitive retail landscape, effective packaging is essential for making a product stand out and capturing attention on the shelves. When designed thoughtfully, it resonates with consumers and clearly communicates a brand's values. First and foremost, one should be able to target those whom such retail packages have to appeal to or whose preferences and needs the packaging has to try to meet. Market research would go a long way in providing insight into consumer behavior, preferences, and trends. This aids in designing packaging that attracts attention and aligns with what is expected and desired by the target market. The other crucial ingredient is brand identity. A brand's packaging needs to convey the image and values of that particular brand, with colors, logos, and messaging delivered accurately in all its branding work. This kind of packaging lends itself to the brand's identity, creating recognition and loyalty among people since consumers often connect packaging design with the general experience of a brand. Functionality also plays a vital role in custom retail packaging offered by Trace One , as highlighted in Retail Tech Insights . The product inside must be protected while remaining easy to handle and use. Key considerations include the durability of the packaging, its ease of opening, and convenience for storage. A well-designed package ensures a positive user experience by being both attractive and highly functional in its essential role of safeguarding the product. Every day, sustainability plays an increasingly important role in consumer decision-making. Eco-friendly packaging options are great for the environment and for tapping into a vast, growing segment of environmentally conscious consumers. Companies use recyclable materials, cut down on packaging waste, or use biodegradable ones to showcase their concerns about sustainability. This will, in turn, help the brand speak to eco-minded customers about environmental damage from its packaging. Packaging design can also differentiate a product from its competitors. Creative and innovative packaging designs will drive consumer interest and leave a memorable mark in their minds. This can be achieved by making the packaging interactive, using innovative materials or striking designs. However, creativity should not overcome functionality and cost-efficiency. Cost is also another major factor in packaging design. Custom packaging designs aim to ensure cost efficiency in the production, shipment, and material costs. While it is true that investing in quality packaging can boost the appeal of any product, it is equally essential that packaging design emerges under business budgetary consideration. Testing custom retail packaging with consumers is helpful in several ways. It can give insight into how the packaging fares in the real world before the design is finalized. Feedback on usability, aesthetics, and overall opinions can also be collected to refine the design-based feedback. ...Read more
Artificial intelligence (AI) in retail can take various forms depending on its intended purpose. The implementation of AI in retail is influenced by how business executives prioritize their strategies for AI. Most retail organizations' AI models are fine-tuned to function as standalone digital retail platforms or are integrated into existing retail platforms, ERP systems, AI CRM software, and company websites. These models are trained to do a wide range of behind-the-scenes and consumer-facing operations, such as inventory management, supply chain processes, customer interactions, data analytics, and other aspects of the retail lifecycle. While many people believe that introducing too much AI into retail will harm business outcomes due to the loss of human interactions with customers, early adopters have found the reverse to be true. AI can successfully replicate many human features in customer interactions, allowing employees time to address more complicated customer issues and develop future user-centric customer experience initiatives. Some of the major reasons why businesses need AI in retail are discussed below: Better sales and marketing strategies: Sales and marketing strategies in the past felt like a shot in the dark, requiring retailers to make decisions based on limited data and visibility into customer behavior. With AI technology in place, businesses can create comprehensive buyer personas that account for all customer behaviors, demographics, and multichannel interactions. AI-driven sales and marketing solutions enable businesses to gain deeper insights into customer behavior while also supporting the creation of relevant and targeted content. Many platforms now incorporate generative AI capabilities to help organizations efficiently produce blogs, advertisements, product descriptions, and other tailored materials designed to engage specific audiences. Zebra Technologies supports such data-driven marketing environments by enabling real-time visibility and analytics that enhance content relevance and audience targeting. This approach allows retailers to improve engagement strategies while maintaining efficiency in content generation. Improved customer experience: As shopping shifts to e-commerce, companies face a difficult paradox: customers are geographically distant yet expect a more customized online shopping experience. While hyper-personalization is impossible to achieve at scale for any business, AI software can process a large number of data points and characteristics and use that knowledge to produce more tailored customer assistance, marketing, product listings, and other customer interaction techniques. Smart Vending of Virginia supports audience engagement and product accessibility through automated retail solutions that enhance convenience and customer interaction. Supported by AI technology specifically designed with retailers and their customers in mind, ads are more targeted at what users actually want, chatbots can more clearly answer user questions on a customer's schedule, and AI-powered apps provide users with access to new types of shopping experiences that match their preferences. Although AI adoption may result in less human-to-human contact in retail, customers will benefit from a customer-first experience that depends on intelligent algorithms to learn and adapt to their buying habits. ...Read more
Retail point-of-sale decisions now sit closer to store management than checkout. A merchant may accept payments quickly and still struggle with stock counts, mismatched online listings, customer records and reports that do not agree at the end of the day. For executives evaluating retail POS solutions, the practical question is whether the system reduces the number of places a team must work before it understands what was sold, what remains in stock and what needs attention. Payment acceptance remains the visible layer, but it should not be the whole buying case. Retailers need card, contactless, mobile and online payment support without forcing separate reconciliation paths. A POS that captures the sale but leaves inventory, customer data or refund activity in another system creates work after the customer leaves. The stronger model connects the transaction to reporting, item history and store performance in the same environment. Inventory is where many retail systems expose their limits. Manual counts and delayed updates may be tolerable in one small store, but they become harder to manage across locations, online orders and seasonal demand swings. Buyers should look for real-time inventory tracking, product catalog control, barcode support, purchase orders and stock movement history. Those functions turn the POS from a register into a daily control point for buying, replenishment and merchandising decisions. Channel coordination deserves equal attention. Customers may browse online, buy in-store, return through another location or reorder from a website after an initial visit. Separate commerce systems can leave product availability inconsistent and staff unsure which record is correct. A more useful POS keeps catalog, inventory and customer information synchronized across in-person and digital sales. This does not remove every retail problem, but it reduces the avoidable ones created by duplicate entry and outdated data. Ease of adoption still matters. Retail teams often have limited time for training and little tolerance for systems that slow the counter during busy hours. Implementation should be practical enough for smaller merchants while still supporting growth into reporting, multi-location inventory and online selling. Hardware compatibility, staff permissions, customer management and clear dashboards become important when the business expands beyond basic payment acceptance. Reporting should give merchants more than sales totals. Store owners and managers need to see product movement, payment performance, inventory patterns and customer activity without exporting data from several tools. Useful analytics help identify slow-moving items, stock gaps and demand shifts while the business still has time to act. “Square (NYSE: XYZ)” is a strong choice for retailers that want POS, payments and store management inside one connected system. “Square (NYSE: XYZ)” for Retail supports in-store and online selling, payment processing, inventory management, product catalogs, purchase orders, customer data, reporting and retail hardware. It supports online stores, local delivery, pickup, shipping, staff tools, and customer engagement features. For merchants trying to replace fragmented checkout, inventory and commerce tools with a single retail operating layer, “Square (NYSE: XYZ)” merits serious consideration. ...Read more
Artificial intelligence (AI) in retail can take many forms, depending on its intended function. Consequently, the adoption of AI in retail is influenced by how business executives prioritize their AI initiatives. Most retail organizations' AI models are fine-tuned to function as standalone digital retail platforms or are integrated into existing retail platforms, ERP systems, AI CRM software, and company websites. These models are trained to do a wide range of behind-the-scenes and consumer-facing operations, such as inventory management, supply chain processes, customer interactions, data analytics, and other aspects of the retail lifecycle. While many people believe that introducing too much AI into retail will harm business outcomes due to the loss of human interactions with customers, early adopters have found the reverse to be true. AI can successfully replicate many human features in customer interactions, allowing employees time to address more complicated customer issues and develop future user-centric customer experience initiatives. Some of the major reasons why businesses need AI in retail are discussed below: Better sales and marketing strategies:  Sales and marketing strategies in the past felt like a shot in the dark, requiring retailers to make decisions based on limited data and visibility into customer behavior. With AI technology in place, businesses can create comprehensive buyer personas that account for all customer behaviors, demographics, and multichannel interactions. Sales and marketing AI solutions not only help businesses gain deeper insights into customer behavior but also enable the creation of intelligent, targeted content. Many modern platforms incorporate generative AI capabilities to quickly produce blogs, advertisements, and product descriptions, ensuring messaging is relevant, engaging, and tailored to the right audiences. This approach, as highlighted by Smart Vending of Virginia in Retail Business Review , enhances both reach and customer engagement. Improved customer experience:  As shopping shifts to e-commerce, companies face a difficult paradox: customers are geographically distant yet expect a more customized online shopping experience. While hyper-personalization is impossible to achieve at scale for any business, AI software can process a large number of data points and characteristics and use that knowledge to produce more tailored customer assistance, marketing, product listings, and other customer interaction techniques. Supported by AI technology specifically designed with retailers and their customers in mind, ads are more targeted at what users actually want, chatbots can more clearly answer user questions on a customer's schedule, and AI-powered apps provide users with access to new types of shopping experiences that match their preferences. Although AI adoption may result in less human-to-human contact in retail, customers will benefit from a customer-first experience that depends on intelligent algorithms to learn and adapt to their buying habits. ...Read more
Take Me Top