A brick-and-mortar is another name for a physical storefront that customers visit in person.
Coined by Charles Dickens in the 1850's for his novel, Little Dorrit, the term literally describes buildings made of red clay bricks held together with mortar. A brick-and-mortar can be any size business — from small pop-up shops to global brands with local franchises.
While people spend, on average, 47 hours every week in the digital world, customers still appreciate brick-and-mortar stores.
80% of all shopping still happens in stores, and 72% of customers shop in brick-and-mortar locations every week.
9 of the top 10 eCommerce sites are run by brands that also operate brick-and-mortar stores.
84% of U.S.-based customers agree that local businesses are the backbone of their community. Still, whether you're a small business or one of hundreds of brand locations, it's hard to stand out in local SEO, the Local Pack, and other business directories.
What steps can brick-and-mortar stores take so customers can find and buy from them?
Just as an attractive storefront inspires foot traffic, the brand information in your local listings affects your digital footprint.
Listings with incorrect or missing data are downgraded by traditional search engines and AI-powered search experiences. Meanwhile, brands that keep their NAP data accurate, up-to-date, and consistent across owned and third-party platforms rank higher in unbranded searches. So do brands that create and manage enhanced content like photos, videos, menus, bios, local landing pages, special events, product and service lists, and more.
What's the customer journey like for a brick-and-mortar business these days?
The customer journey is shifting, especially in search. Customers are blending their research across traditional search, AI-powered search experiences, and social media.
Yes, 84% of customers use traditional search engines like Google to find an "Italian restaurant near me" or "4-star hotel in Chelsea." However, search engine use is predicted to drop 25% between 2024 and 2026.
Location-based services (LBS) are expected to grow, though. As more sites and apps emerge, they will embed location services. Brands must keep up when new location attributes roll out. After all, even though location services are optional, 78% of U.S.-based customers leave them turned on at least some of the time. 16% always have location sharing on.
As AI-driven search responses get even more personalized (based on query context and chat history), brick-and-mortars may have an advantage in branded and unbranded search. When a brick-and-mortar makes the most of location attributes and local content, it's possible to carve out an advantage over bigger brands that rely on heavy ad spend to boost awareness.
In terms of social media platforms, they're no longer "just" engagement centers. 67% of Gen Z turn to social to search for products and services. That makes Zoomers 6x more likely than Boomers, 3x more likely than Gen X, and 2x more likely than Millennials to start their customer journey on social media.
The good news is that locally relevant, accurate, up-to-date, consistent, and rich content serves those high-intent queries no matter where customers search. Once they find what they want in your listing, they're likely to plan a visit. When searching for a local business on a mobile device, 88% of customers will call or visit the location within 24 hours.
Yext helps local businesses convert more digital searches into more foot traffic. With over 200 publisher partners, brick-and-mortar businesses use Yext to bridge the gap between digital searches and in-person shopping, dining, entertainment, healthcare, and financial services.