The store pickup with locator functionality not only allows you to offer the customers to shop online and pick up their orders at physical locations of their convenience. It helps the consumers quickly access information about your business, product availability, photos, contact numbers, address, working hours, etc., overview the preferred locations on Google Maps, and get directions. This article focuses on the benefits of adding store pickup with locator for Magento 2 stores and shares some possible means to achieve that. Let’s get started.
What is Store Pickup with Locator?
Store pickup with a locator is the functionality that allows consumers to place an order online but choose an offline point of sale where they can pick up the order at their convenience.
1 What is Store Pickup with Locator?2 Reasons to Leverage Store Locators in Ecommerce2.1 Increase in Search Engine Rankings2.2 Gaining More Loyal Customers2.3 Improving the State of Things in Your Physical Stores2.4 More Market Research Opportunities3 3 Possible Ways to Add the Functionality in Magento 23.1 Upgrade to Adobe Commerce3.2 Use a Third-Party Extension3.3 Hire a Magento Developer4 In a Nutshell,
Commonly, the functionality displays available physical shops for order pickup based on the zip codes the consumers enter. However, some solutions come with the Geo IP functionality and automatically detect the shoppers’ IP addresses. Besides displaying store locations, the consumers can access a variety of other details, such as:
Phone numberEmail addressSocial media linksWorking hoursDistanceDays offBreak timeThe open/closed statusFilterable attributes, such as ATM availability, parking, etc.
As the functionality’s layout entirely depends on the solution you opt for, store pickup with a locator will look differently — locations can get displayed as tabs, pins on Google Maps, etc.
Reasons to Leverage Store Locators in Ecommerce
Businesses naturally have different customer bases, market challenges, and goals. Nonetheless, the advantages of incorporating the store locator functionality seem similar no matter how many brick-and-mortar stores your business has. These benefits are as follows:
Increase in Search Engine Rankings
First, the store locator makes it easier for your consumers to find your locations. Second, the helpful content that such pages provide is highly appreciated by search engine crawlers (remember the recent helpful content update). Third, most integrations (extensions, third-party modules, add-ons, etc.) come with built-in SEO features. They let you:
Adjust the URL pathCreate automatic 301 redirectsAdd breadcrumbsConfigure meta robotsAdd canonical tags and more
Gaining More Loyal Customers
Besides making a sale, the ultimate goal of any business is to create the brand’s positive image and keep its customers returning. With the shipping costs going higher, the in-store pickup option is a time and money-saver. It introduces flexibility and creates more opportunities for organizations to bring a personal touch to communicate with the shoppers when they stop by your local stores.
Improving the State of Things in Your Physical Stores
The functionality can be an essential part of your marketing activities. Say some of your physical stores could use some help increasing foot traffic. You can only make certain items available for in-store pickup in the targeted locations. Alternatively, you can build awareness of the new places or share discounts or coupons for those offline stores only.
More Market Research Opportunities
Any business is searching for new marketing opportunities day in, and day out. Interacting with your shoppers via as many channels as possible helps collect data on the target audiences continuously while keeping your business in the spotlight.
3 Possible Ways to Add the Functionality in Magento 2
Upgrade to Adobe Commerce
While Magento Open Source comes with various limits, Adobe Commerce has more advanced opportunities. For example, the shoppers can choose an in-store delivery option during the default multi-step checkout flow. However, if it’s not enough for your organization, consider some other options.
Use a Third-Party Extension
The Magento community has over 3000 extensions. So if you need specific functionality, the chances are high that you can find it at acceptable prices. The challenging part will be making the right choice. What should you pay attention to when opting for a Magento module to add a store locator with a pickup? Here’re some ideas:
Features (besides the basics, take a look at the layout option, design, API support, MSI, Google Maps, multi-address, compatibilities, i.e., what concerns your business the most).Responsiveness of the technical support teamPricing models (subscriptions, extra charges, paid support, support subscriptions, etc.)Customer testimonials on trusted platforms
Hire a Magento Developer
If the variants mentioned above fail to offer your brand’s functionality, hiring a Magento Developer can be an option, though quite costly and time-consuming. (Please remember that most extension vendors offer customization along with their extensions.) Nonetheless, if you have found an extension that does the job but missing a feature, it’s worth connecting with the extension developer and requesting an estimate on the customization. It will allow you to compare the expenses and make the best choice. Image credit: Store Locator, In-Store & Curbside Pickup by Mageworx
In a Nutshell,
There are a host of means to increase brand visibility, trust, and loyalty. Introducing the store pickup with locator functionality in a Magento-based store for businesses that operate both online and offline is one of them. Now that you know some of the benefits of such functionality and the possible means to add it to your e-store, it’s high time to choose the integration means that meets your business’s needs the best and enjoy your sales going skyward.
