How a bookshop increased their online visibility within their opening month

Surrounded by magnificent countryside and moorland, The Ivybridge Bookshop is a recent addition to this bustling Devonshire town. With over 20 years experience working in bookshops in Hong Kong, Matt Steele decided that it was finally time to live out his bookseller dreams and return to Devon to open his own bookshop. On April 12th 2021, the dream turned into reality and The Ivybridge Bookshop opened its doors for the first time. 

The Challenge: 

‘Our aim was to increase visibility on starting out as a new business...NearSt certainly created that.’ - Matt, The Ivybridge Bookshop

As a brand new shop opening for the first time on a busy high street, Matt set about thinking of ways to increase his bookshop’s visibility to potential new customers. The difficulties of reaching these shoppers soon became apparent and Matt knew that he would have to find a way to draw in the customers that lived right on Ivybridge’s doorstep. 

The Solution: 

‘Looking at what was on offer with NearSt, it looked great to be able to appear in Google Search results’ - Matt, The Ivybridge Bookshop

After hearing about NearSt through his Gardlink POS system, Matt reached out to find out more about the product. On speaking with the partnerships team, Matt saw how easily NearSt could integrate with his existing inventory system and start displaying his products on Google for nearby shoppers in just a few steps. Not only could NearSt help The Ivybridge Bookshop increase visibility, but also drive in-store sales. 

The Results:

“I thought the trial was really good. It really works and has created sales for us!” - Matt, The Ivybridge Bookshop 

During his four-week trial, Matt was ecstatic to see that ‘people were coming in saying that they saw products available online’. By using NearSt, The Ivybridge Bookshop has been able to drive new customers into the store and keep track of popular items through the MyShop dashboard. 

During Ivybridge’s first four weeks of opening, Matt’s inventory was spotted by locals online over 1,431 times. With an estimated 45 customers coming into the store through NearSt during the same period, Matt has been delighted with NearSt’s ‘clear and useful’ interface and can also see the added value of continuing to use the Local Inventory Ads during busy periods such as Christmas. 

If you’d like to see how NearSt could help you connect your products to customers for no extra work, drop us a note on hello@near.st or give us a ring on 0333 050 9658.