Scaling Footfall with Local Inventory Ads
Retailers are using local inventory ads to bridge the last mile gap between online research and offline purchase. It is a more dynamic, responsive ad format, and it is different in several key ways.
Put simply: a local inventory ad is a Google Shopping ad for physical store visits rather than online orders. When a customer is searching with their mobile phone, Google checks to see if the product is available locally at a store in their current location. If so, the user experience can be transformed in three ways:
- The ad is more visual, with the product image, local price, distance (eg “0.8 miles away”) and “In Store” badge.
- The link goes not to your website, but to a Google Local Storefront. It works like a store window, promoting opening hours, directions and available stock.
- Targeted to a specific location. Local Inventory Ads can be scaled across locations, with automatic rules filtering by store, stock levels or margins.
Setup – Before you Begin
A lot of this system works around automated rules. Before you begin, review these previous guides to set up the foundation.
- Performance Max for Retail – Getting the Most from Google Shopping Ads
- Merchant Centre & Product Feeds
Part 1 – Understanding Local Inventory Ads
Before we can scale this out, we need to understand the engine that makes it work.
The Ads
In practice, the user experience has three visual differences. (If you are on mobile, the ad in this example will display in the full Shopping experience rather than a carousel banner. Users are three times more likely to click a “multiformat” ad like this, so make sure your Merchant Centre is set up for it.)
For example, the price is a key element. If a customer finds that something is in stock, and it is cheaper than their usual supplier, that can be a powerful motivator. In this example, a user sees this item is available in their local store.
They also click through to this Google-hosted “Local Storefront” instead of a generic product page. The Local Storefront acts like a window in the front of the shop. It proactively addresses a typical “last mile” question for the shopper: “Can I get this, right now?”
The technical specification for the ad format is that it has to link directly to a Local Storefront page. The storefront can appear before the user has actually clicked. When they do click, they go not to the product page, but to this storefront.
Scaling the Ads
The key point is scalability. If you have hundreds of locations, it would be a nightmare to create and manage campaigns for every location.
The trick is to run campaigns at a national or regional level, while LIA filters the ads automatically at the store level. This is where the advanced rules we are setting up in other guides start to pay off.
The LIA uses a template system that references your feed for:
- product images
- local prices
- store distances
If a user is near store A, Google replaces the template tokens with store A data. If a user is near store B, it uses store B.
This means you can configure one national-level campaign, which Google dynamically personalizes for users, stores and stock levels. In our furniture retailer example, the system can create a national campaign, but it will show thousands of unique ads, filtered for:
- current stock
- available margin
- user location
Part 2 – Advanced Features for LIAs
If you want to make this scalable system even more effective, you can also add these layers:
The badge: A standalone “Store Pickup” or Click and Collect badge can be added to the ad, without any other work. It is a valuable addition, and a simple way to increase CTR.
Combining LIA with Postcode Targeting: You can also boost the impact by combining these local ads with our postcode tiering strategy. This is a more effective way to automate bids intelligently, scaling reach while optimizing for value.
Refresh your memory on this approach in our Postcode vs. Radius Targeting article.
Case Study: Scaling to 215% Growth
Our furniture retailer client used this scalability approach across 15 showrooms.
In the past, they had relied on a static, generic approach with a “Visit Us” call to action.
Our new dynamic LIA was restricted to showing ads only if stock for sofas at that store > 2. In addition to that, we showed the LIAs in front of the right postcodes, with our local postcode database custom tool we developed.
The new rules & targeting reduced wasted clicks, improved store visits, and shifted budget to inventory that could be fulfilled.
The result was a 215% increase in store visits. The system has also continued to cope with the reality of different stock across locations.
Read the full analysis of this success in our 215% Increase in Store Visits Case Study.
Conclusion
Local inventory ads are the format that scales with your physical expansion. It turns complex real-time inventory data into a simple, compelling customer message.
And you do not need to be a tech giant to use this system. You can use it with the right infrastructure, clean data, and with rules that optimize efficiency and spend.
This is a starting point for most merchants. As your understanding and expertise matures, you can begin to use local inventory more dynamically. By then, you will have a footfall system you can use to scale your business.
Ready to scale your local ads?
We can audit your feed and set up your LIA templates.