The Store Locator App Can Boost Your Shopify Website

We live in a digital age with thousands of online stores; this means that if you also have physical stores, you must make it super easy for customers to find them. If your e-commerce site runs on Shopify, adding a store locator tool on your website is the key to closing the gap between online browsing and offline purchases.

Just imagine that a shopper is searching for a particular product and happens to come upon your online store. Seeing the range of products and options and your prices, they want to now physically visit a store to see the product before they buy it. They are trying to find a store that is nearest to them, but it is frustrating as they are unable to find it.

What does the customer do? They give up and look for other businesses selling similar products. That is one customer lost! This means that it is imperative to simplify the search and find process for your potential customers.

Running a successful online store today, on Shopify or any other platform, is much more than simply listing your products. Customers want convenience, speed, and credibility. 

In this blog, we will explore why it is essential for you to have a high-quality Shopify store locator tool for your business, and how you can deliver a better customer experience and boost sales and revenues.

LocateStore is a store locator tool that can facilitate a seamless and consistent shopping experience to your customers by helping them find the outlet, branch, or store that is closest to their location. Flexible, user-friendly, and scalable, LocateStore is built in Google Sheets and powered by Mapbox, making it a powerful tool. It can boost your Shopify website, increase your online and offline sales, deliver a better customer experience, and help you achieve business growth quickly.

Why Your Shopify Store Needs a Store Locator

The e-commerce segment in the US is growing phenomenally, with Statista saying that it will touch 1.3 trillion USD by 2028; yet, customers do value the experience of shopping in the store. A store locator app helps to close the gap.

The reasons store locators matter:

• Think with Google says that 82% of smartphone users use the ‘near me’ search feature to find stores close to them
• SEO Tribunal: “76% of local searches lead to a visit to the store on the same day”.
• 61% of shoppers in the US say that they choose brands that simplify finding the nearest stores

When you offer accurate store locations right on your website, you can reduce friction, avoid confusion, build trust, and offer customers the confidence to either buy online or come to your store for a purchase.

How a Store Locator App Boosts Shopify Websites

Adding store locators on websites is a lot more than just providing maps; they impact your business in many ways:

Improves user experience

88% of online shoppers say that they are unlikely to return to a website if they have a poor user experience, according to a survey by Forbes in 2024. A store locator delivers instant convenience.

A store locator on Shopify improves overall customer experience by making it easy for customers to find your physical stores, check the hours of operation, customer reviews, and get directions to your stores, too.

‍Increases conversions

Shopify reports that brands that offer in-store pickup experience a 30% higher conversion rate than those that do not.

Drives local traffic

Nearly half of “near me” mobile searches lead to a store visit and result in a purchase within 24 hours (Google, 2023).

When customers find it easy to find your physical stores, they will be glad to visit them. This gives you another advantage: you can create special offers and marketing campaigns targeted at this segment. When only certain stores have special promotions, you can drive more traffic to those stores.

Enhances SEO 

Businesses that invest in local SEO strategies, like store locators, see an average annual traffic growth of 28% according to Bright Local.

One of the most important benefits of adding a store locator is the boost for local SEO. Search engines give more importance to local results, so when people search for stores or products near me, your store will pop up if you have a store locator. 

This is because search engines look for different factors to decide on the ideal results; a store locator provides accurate information on your locations, including address and working hours. The increased visibility can lead to higher rankings in search engine results and drive more organic traffic to you.

Builds credibility

More than 70% of consumers reported that having multiple verified locations helps them trust a brand (PWC Consumer Survey, 2024). When you offer customers detailed information about your store locations, like contact details, reviews, etc., you can build credibility. The comprehensive information will help customers decide faster and have a seamless experience.

Reduced Cart Abandonment

Customers often add items to the cart and then don’t check them out as they begin thinking about cost and time. With a store locator, you can keep the customer informed about a nearby store. This way, they need not worry about lengthy delivery times or shipping costs. Having a store close by also builds trust, as customers know they can easily return, replace, or even pick up items directly from the store. Altogether, this can significantly reduce the rate of abandoned carts.

Key Features That Make LocateStore Stand Out

Of course, you have a wide choice when it comes to store locator tools; so what makes LocateStore the one you should install? Here are some solid reasons:

Google Sheets Integration – All you need is your regular spreadsheets to manage multiple locations; you don’t need any technical skills or complicated setup process.

Powered by Mapbox – This alternative to Google Maps is modern, highly customizable, reliable, and fast, ensuring complete convenience to your customers.

Mobile-first design – LocateStore is fully responsive so that Shopify’s mobile shoppers have a hassle-free and smooth shopping experience. This is critical as over 70% of traffic comes from mobile.

Easy embed – The store locator widget can be directly added to your Shopify website in just a few minutes with a few clicks.

Scalable – The design is such that it can handle the extra load smoothly as your business grows, say from 5 to 1000 or 10000 locations.

Real-time updates – Any changes made to your Google sheet are reflected instantly on your website in real time.

This mix of simplicity and potency makes LocateStore the ideal choice for businesses that want accuracy, speed, and efficiency.

A key benefit of using store locators is the analytics you can get; search trends, location popularity, and other metrics can help you see which outlets are doing better and where you need to push things.

Also read: How to Add a Store Locator on Shopify

Final Thoughts

One of the smartest ways to boost your Shopify website, increase sales, build customer trust, and drive foot traffic to your physical stores is to add a store locator tool.

LocateStore brings you the ease and convenience of Google Sheets, and customizable, interactive maps with Mapbox: the best of two worlds. The combinations translate into reliability.

Customers today want speed, convenience, and connection, and you can give them all this and more with a store locator like LocateStore on your Shopify website.

FAQs

How to add store location in Shopify?

Adding a store locator app like LocateStore on your Shopify website is easy, as you only have to connect your Google sheet that has the location data. You then embed the widget, and your store locator is ready in just a few minutes. more..

What is the best store locator for Shopify?

LocateStore is the best store locator app for Shopify because it’s built on Google Sheets. This means your team has to use something they are already familiar with no training required. The map is powered by Mapbox, which is fast and customizable. The tool is designed for both small and large businesses; it is highly scalable, simple, and competitively priced.

How do you get people to come to your physical store from your Shopify store?

The best way to direct people to your store is by using a store locator app like LocateStore. By optimizing your local SEO, you can make sure that your store turns up in ‘near me’ searches. You can also run targeted marketing campaigns and offer buy online and pick up in store options to drive traffic to your physical stores. 

Is Shopify Store Locator free?

While there are a few basic store locator apps that are free, they have restrictions like no customization or limited locations.LocateStore is free to start with and comes packed with premium features for heavy users.. It is highly scalable and customizable, and helps boost business, making it an intelligent choice in the long run, and more with a store locator like LocateStore on your Shopify website.