Retail Week Buzz: Chatting and Hacking the Future of Location

With 76% of local mobile searchers visiting a store within a day of their search, the need for accurate location data for retailers has never been more important than it is right now.

The power of location, the customer journey, and innovative in-store technologies were on the minds of marketers and retailers alike at this week's Retail Week Buzz conference in London. With Yext's recent expansion across Europe, and its appointment of Jon Buss as Managing Director of the UK and Northern Europe, the conference was the perfect time to discuss the connected consumer and the technologies impacting retailers around the world.

Yext CEO Howard Lerman participated in a panel entitled The Power of Location-Based Marketing, alongside George Pallis, Director of Marketing at Deliveroo and Peter Biven, Head of Global Digital Marketing at Land Rover. Moderated by Retail Week's Managing Director, Chris Brook-Carter, the panel explored the importance of engaging audiences in both the real world and the digital world, as well as the opportunities technology, augmented reality, and location data can offer retailers.

"Locating what you want fast has never been easier," said Lerman during the panel. "You can Google most things and get a map at the top of your search results. But if you don't get what you ask for in this demand-heavy world, you are a very unhappy customer!"

Yext sponsored the Retail Week Buzz Hackathon, which challenged teams to find new and innovative ways to drive online shoppers into store locations while creating a seamless customer experience. Seven teams battled it out over a 24-hour period to come up with the best idea, and those who took part were judged by their creativity, team cohesion, and a five-minute pitch to the judges (all on a lot of Red Bull and zero sleep).

"The topic [of the Hackathon] sits perfectly with what we do," said Jon Buss in an interview with Retail Week Buzz. "We wanted to see these innovations and experience some of the great, new ideas that these teams have come up with. I have been very impressed by the talent."

"Retailers need to be on maps to succeed, and we are glad to be here supporting innovation," echoed Lerman. "We're just getting going in the UK, and there's nothing we love more than supporting a vibrant technology ecosystem with amazing and extraordinary talent."

Check out the full interview with Howard Lerman and Jon Buss, and catch up on all the action from Retail Week Buzz on their blog. Learn more about how the Yext Location Cloud can help your business Go Places.