With the rise of mobile, digital location information is an increasingly powerful driver in why and how people purchase offline today, and it significantly impacts how businesses stay in the flow of consumer decision-making. For locations with missing and incorrect digital information there is significant missed opportunity – to the tune of $10.3B for US businesses.
In today’s Financial Times, Emily Steel notes:
“While the internet has emerged as the go-to source for finding location information and details about businesses ranging from hair salons and veterinary clinics to gyms and restaurants, it is rife with errors. As a result, companies are missing out on customers at their bricks-and-mortar stores, and driving them to competitors, say analysts.”
The full article appears in the Yext Quarterly with original research by Greg Sterling, Andrew Shotland, and Yext that illustrates impact of missing listings:
- The internet is the most popular source for finding location information, but it’s full or errors and outdated information. These errors are often duplicated across other networks and sites, creating a multiplier effect. Even worse, essential data is missing online, preventing customers from even visiting a business
- Looking at 40,000+ business listings on 50+ local directory sites, the study showed 43% of listings—almost half – had at least one incorrect or missing address
- When customers find incorrect information, 15.1% of people would “look for another merchant”
- When listings are missing, customers choose another merchant, which costs retailers and local merchants $10.3 billion annually
For businesses, digital has actually fueled the problem of fragmentation, and in 2013, this is an issue that technology can and should fix very easily. As customers, we should be demanding correct location information, and as businesses, we should be taking advantage of the traffic and the sales correct data enables.
For more background and to download the Yext Quarterly article on the $10.3B in missing listings here.