If you have a WooCommerce website and are looking to close the gap between online browsing and physical purchasing, what you need is a WooCommerce store locator. It is not a bonus or nice-to-have tool, but an essential conversion store.
The right store finder can help turn casual browsing into actual footfall, helping shoppers find local inventory and improving brand visibility plus trust. This is because shoppers feel more secure even when buying online, as they know they can go to your physical store in case of issues with the order or product.
Why In-Store Discovery Still Matters
It’s true that online shopping has increased tremendously, and yet, physical stores continue to be an important part of the customer journey. In fact, many store visits are driven by online searches: about 76% of online searches, in fact.
Within 24 hours of online searches, these visits happen, and about 28% of them convert into customers. That is fast conversion, and you need a store locator app to get this fast conversion.
E-commerce is growing rapidly across the world, and mobile commerce amounted to about $2.2 trillion in 2023, according to a study by Shopify. That amounts to a large share of total online sales. This proves that a lot of shoppers often search on their phones when they are near physical stores. An efficient store locator can convert that nearness into visits.
To put it in a nutshell, customers search locally, decide swiftly, and expect immediate, precise replies, and a store locator fulfils all those requirements.
What a WooCommerce Store Locator Actually Does
A good WooCommerce store locator does not stop at dropping pins on a map. Here’s what it all does:
- Current location or address search filters; these usually specify the radius, like 2 km, for example.
- Displays store cards with information like contact numbers, business hours, product availability, links to product pages, etc.
- Driving directions, Map navigation, click-to-call on mobile
- Custom filters for services like in-store pickup, open 24 hours, demo units, etc
- Multi-store management from a centralized dashboard.
- Inventory lookup so customers can check the closest store that has specific products in stock.
Many store locators can show the stock in each store, or link from a product page to ‘find this near you’, when they are integrated with WooCommerce. According to Google Business, 46% of shoppers check available inventory online before they visit a store. While LS does not display stock directly within the store listing, it can link to the specific store’s page, allowing customers to view the available products at that location if needed.
This helps to create a very tight flow between online and offline.
How A Store Locator Boosts Brand Visibility And Trust
Improves local SEO and discoverability
When you have a dedicated page for store locations that has structured data and displays store information clearly, it helps your SEO. Search engine bots understand where you operate, and can show locations in local results. We have already seen that local searches convert quickly.
Improves omnichannel metrics
BOPIS or “buy online, pick up in store” (BOPIS) is a very convenient service for consumers. Brands that provide this service are more likely to have higher conversion rates and average order values. Shoppers, after all, want an ideal mix of e-commerce convenience and the swiftness of physical retail. You can also easily indicate if your store supports BOPIS by adding a simple tag in your store listing, helping customers identify this option instantly.
Increases footfall from mobile searches
As mobile commerce grows and near me searches increase exponentially, store locators help mobile searches facilitate physical visits. And what is required for that is a store locator widget that is fast, intuitive, responsive, and flexible, just like LocateStore.
Why WooCommerce Merchants Should Care
Here are reasons why you should pay attention if you use WooCommerce for your website:
Higher conversion intent
People who search locally do so because they actually want to buy, and are not simply passing the time of the day or indulging in window shopping. When customers are searching for the product closest to them, to buy in person, it means there is high intent to buy.
Google says that this is the reason that local searches result in high conversion rates. So when you display local availability, it nudges users towards purchase.
Lower CAC or customer acquisition cost for in-store channels
You simply have to convert people who already had purchase intent and were near you. This works out to be much more cost-effective than paying for marketing campaigns on a large number of channels.
Better inventory turnover
When you direct local shoppers to nearby stores, you substantially reduce your shipping expenses, as well as the possibility of returns, as the customer inspects the product before purchase. You can also quickly move inventory from where it’s lying unused to where it is required. According to Think with Google, shoppers check inventory levels online, and only then visit so that they don’t have to visit stores in vain.
Why Choose A Mapbox-Driven Solution?
Many store finder solutions like LocateStore are built on Google Sheets and use Mapbox for maps and geocoding. This combination offers a few practical advantages:
- You can add, edit, remove, and update locations, store information like timing, phone numbers, and so on, from a single Google Sheet that can be accessed at any time, without any coding.
- Add the unique link of each store for each store listing, helping customers look up the items before they visit the store.
- You can customize the map to align with your brand theme. It renders fast and is also easily scalable. Mapbox has excellent geocoding and navigation capabilities.
- Designers can modify the map’s appearance and behaviour, while other employees can maintain location data without any technical knowledge. This means less friction and relevant, updated information.
If you are looking for a user-friendly WooCommerce store locator tool, think of LocateStore; it is a solution that can be used by any team member without technical knowledge. It is also responsive and works perfectly on mobile.
The combination of Google Sheets and Mapbox delivers a superlative user experience for businesses and customers.
Implementation tips for WooCommerce stores
Use Google Sheets for dynamic updates
When you have changes in inventory or location, it is good to have a flow driven by Google Sheets. This is because it helps teams update locations and store information without calling in developers or needing coding skills. LocateStore is one tool that offers you this convenience.
Optimize your store data for SEO
To enable search engines to list your stores in local packs, you need to make sure that every location has a distinct name, complete address, business hours, phone number, and structured data or schema markup.
Prioritize mobile UX and speed
As several local searches take place through phones, a widget based on Mapbox which is lightweight and fast, helps greatly by minimizing bounce rates.
Track drive-to-store metrics
By tracking specific metrics, you will be able to check how effective your Use UTM parameters, “get directions” clicks, and store visit uplift to measure ROI and attribute in-store sales.
Which plugins are best for WooCommerce store locators?
There are several WordPress/WooCommerce plugins that function as store locators; the best choice depends completely on the features your business needs, your budget, and scale. These are the most popular options:
LocateStore
It’s built on Google Sheets, and the map is driven by Mapbox. It’s fast, flexible, user-friendly, customizable, and scales easily. It’s the perfect tool for a small business on a growth trajectory.
LocateStore is designed for flexibility, so whether you have ten stores or one thousand, you can use it with the same efficiency. It also offers multiple language support, so whether you have stores in the GCC region or across Europe, you can rest assured that your customers can interact with your store locator in the language they are comfortable with.
As it’s built on Google Sheets, LocateStore can be easily updated by anyone in the team, and even by multiple employees at the same time, without any coding skills. All changes made to the sheet are instantly updated on your website.
Agile Store Locator
It is fast, has a modern UI, and shows good performance for larger location sets. You can select from four different templates,s which can be further customized. Its comprehensive backend system allows you to manage stores, themes, logos, etc.
WP Store Locator
It is popular as it is lightweight, customizable, and offers search according to radius. This means that you can use filters like search within 1 km, or 2 km, and so on.
Store Finder for WooCommerce
This tool integrates with WooCommerce and shows product availability and has a wide range of filters. It also shows turn-by-turn navigation and the ‘find in store’ functionality so that customers can locate the products they want at their nearest store.
YITH Store Locator
YITH provides an improved customer experience as it offers real-time, turn-by-turn directions and information about product availability. It also offers customizable search filters, adding to the convenience of customers.
Also read: How to Add Store Locator in WordPress – A Complete Guide
Conclusion
If you require a workflow where non-technical teams can easily manage stores in Google Sheets and want fast loading, customized maps, LocateStore is the best WooCommerce store locator for you.
It is designed for easy embedding, use, and maintenance, and is ideal for small businesses looking to scale.
FAQs
Which plugins are best for WooCommerce store locators?
The most popular choices include Agile Store Locator, WP Store Locator, and Store Finder for WooCommerce. However, if you want a cost-effective, fast, easy, and efficient tool choose LocateStore.
How can a store locator boost in-store sales?
Store locators convert high-intent local searches into visits and increase chances of conversions by displaying contact details, addresses, directions, and real-time inventory. This boosts buyer confidence and builds trust.
What are the benefits of using a WooCommerce store locator?
The key benefits include improved local SEO, higher conversion of near me searchers, minimal product returns, enhanced omnichannel experiences, and lower acquisition cost of new customers.
Can a WooCommerce store locator work with a multi-language website?
Yes. Modern store locators support multi-language setups; at least, you can expect support in English and the local language. LocateStore offers multiple language support with localized labels.