E355:🎙️CREATING THE ULTIMATE RETAIL CLICK & COLLECT ECOMMERCE MARKETPLACE | MIKE MASSEY - LOCALLY

Click-and-Collect for the Modern Retailer: An Interview with Mike Massey

Welcome back to another episode of the eCommerce Edge podcast. Today, we're diving into a game-changing platform called Locally with its founder and CEO, Mike Massey. Locally is revolutionizing how brands connect their online presence to physical stores. Read on to learn how this platform helps retailers, both big and small bridge the gap between digital and physical retail.

Mike Massey started in the retail world through his family's chain of sporting goods stores in New Orleans. As the third-generation owner, he was the one to introduce their business to the digital age, even listing products on Amazon. He noticed a big gap: while people could research products online, there was no easy way to find those products in nearby stores. Thus, Locally was born.

Locally's platform allows retailers to feed their local inventory into a universal search engine. This way customers can easily find which nearby stores carry the products, they’re looking for.

How Locally Works

The platform operates like a search engine but is focused solely on helping consumers find local stores that carry specific products. Retailers across the U.S. upload their inventory to Locally. When a shopper searches for a product, Locally shows which nearby stores have that item.

For instance, if you’re looking for a pair of shoes while in Manhattan, Locally can direct you to a nearby store like Paragon that has your size and model in stock. This is similar to booking a table at a restaurant or purchasing movie tickets online—something we do effortlessly but never had for retail before Locally came along.

The Importance of Physical Retail

Despite the rise of eCommerce, physical retail is far from dead. Mike points out that in most countries, including the U.S., physical stores account for 70% to 80% of all retail sales. COVID-19 might have given eCommerce a boost but brick-and-mortar shops still hold a significant share of the market.

Large retailers like Tractor Supply have seen rapid growth in their online sales, which still only make up about 20% of their total sales. Most shoppers on their website intend to visit a physical store. Locally capitalizes on this by guiding online shoppers to offline purchases. This also shows that successful in-store shopping experiences can drive online sales and vice versa.

The Experience of Using Locally

Locally doesn’t just bridge the gap for large chains; it also supports small merchants. The platform makes it simple for retailers to share their inventory without needing an advanced digital infrastructure. Mike says they can onboard a store by getting just the UPC and quantity from their system.

Take a scenario where someone needs a product urgently—a rain jacket for an unexpected downpour, for instance. Locally can show stores with that item in stock, much faster than traditional methods. This feature can especially benefit small retailers who might not have the resources to develop their own click-and-collect system.

Expanding Horizontally and Vertically

Locally started in sporting goods but is now expanding into other sectors like beauty, fashion, and home goods. The next big step for Locally is to become a multi-seller platform, enabling unified shopping experiences even further. Shoppers could soon go to a brand's website and see inventory not just from that brand's stores but also from local retailers who carry their products.

This multi-seller model aims to make the shopping process as smooth as possible. Imagine planning a purchase on a single website but having the option to pick it up from multiple locations or have different parts delivered to your home.

AI Integration and the Future of Locally

Artificial Intelligence will play a crucial role in Locally's next steps. Mike believes AI can drive better ad targeting, on-site search, and product recommendations. An AI-driven retail world can personalize the shopping experience even more, showing consumers ads for nearby stores with inventory they are likely to purchase.

This aligns with Locally's goal to unify digital and physical shopping experiences, offering the consumer the flexibility to buy products how and where they want.

Conclusion

Locally is redefining click-and-collect shopping by making local store inventory accessible online. With ambitions to integrate more product verticals and use AI for smarter shopping experiences, Locally is setting the stage for a future where physical and digital shopping are seamlessly connected.

Whether you’re a large chain or a small merchant, Locally offers tools to bring your inventory online and attract more customers to your physical store. If you’re interested in diving deeper into what Locally can offer your business, visit locally.com or reach out directly to Mike at mike.massie@locally.com

To learn more, check out the related THE ECOMMERCE EDGE Podcast episode below: