Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Local Search Fills Retail Gaps

When shopping for a particular item, it's best to look (online) before you leap (to a retailer). I generally look online for items for my son (car seats, play pens, large toys) before heading out to Target or WalMart to make sure that what I want is in stock and to get a gauge of what I'll have to pay. If I can't find it in a store at a competitive price, then I may buy it online.

Greg Sterling writes about his similar experience, and how this mode of shopping can make it difficult for retailers to track web leads. The message here - having a strong web presence with an easily searched (and SEO optimized) catalog is a cost of doing business that can't be accurately tracked by your e-commerce sales. You won't track everything, so assume that the value of sales is higher than your shopping carts.

A new GPS box integrates Yahoo Search to simplify your trek to retailers that were based on web searched. It will take considerable bargain hunting to pay off the $600 Dash Express, but the WiFi gadget also is a fully functioning navigation system as well. Expect more GPS devices to enhance their integration with local search.

By John Gartner at 09:01 AM | Comments (0)

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