How a pet store in Hitchin increased sales and footfall; surpassing pre-pandemic levels
Paws, Fur & Fin is an independent, family-owned high street pet shop, based in the historic market town of Hitchin, in Hertfordshire. Owners Caroline and Eileen pride themselves on supplying shoppers with quality products and advice, and stock a wide selection of products for all their pet’s wants and needs!
The Challenge
“...shoppers are often gobsmacked when they come into store-admitting they should have bought items in store and not from other online retailers, when we are a stone's throw away”- Caroline, Paws, Fur & Fin
As pet ownership skyrocketed in 2020, the demand for pet products rose too. Offering high quality, niche and fairly priced products, Paws, Fur & Fin knew their products were in high-demand.
Prior to joining NearSt, the Paws, Fur & Fin team used more traditional forms of advertising to attract new customers which didn’t generate the desired results. Keen to reach the younger generation in Hitchin, they were looking for a cost-effective and more efficient solution.
The Solution
‘With advertising, sometimes it can be a bit hit and miss. I can see with NearSt that it is working - as no-one would otherwise have known which products I stock behind the counter, let alone ask for it!’ - Caroline, Paws, Fur & Fin
Paws, Fur & Fin were introduced to NearSt by their Point-of-Sale provider, Premier EPOS. Premier EPOS is working in partnership with NearSt to drive customers back into stores, instead of shopping online.
The NearSt integration has worked seamlessly for Paws, Fur & Fin. With no work needed from the shop, NearSt connected to their Premier EPOS system, feeding a real-time feed of their in-store products into Google. Now, Paws, Fur & Fin products are being shown to local shoppers searching for them across Google along with details they need to come directly into the store to purchase!
The Results
“For a fraction of the previous marketing costs, NearSt has quickly become one of the only advertising mediums that we are able to track”- Caroline, Paws, Fur & Fin
Since going live on NearSt, the team at Paws, Fur and Fin are delighted to have seen an increase in sales, with much lower marketing costs! In just 4-weeks of running Local Inventory Ads, their products were shown to over 16,545 shoppers searching nearby in Google.
With NearSt driving shoppers in-store and with no effort needed from them, the team can focus on learning more about their market with the shopper insights available to them in their NearSt account. Caroline and the team have been keeping track of which of their products are being searched for most locally and across the UK helping with their day-to-day stock and marketing decisions.
Check out Paws, Fur and Fin with Happy Paw’s Inventory in Google in their Google See What's In Store here.
If you’d like to see how NearSt could help you connect your products to customers with no extra work, drop us a note on support@near.st or give us a ring on 020 3322 2435.
