Intercepting consumers' purchase intent and bringing them into store
Drive to Store the Calligaris way, powered by RetailTune AI.
Calligaris, the Italian company leading the way in design furniture, with over 80 single-brand stores and more than 1,000 retailers in Italy and abroad, launched an omnichannel project to increase the online visibility of its products and stores while driving traffic in-store.
Market data reveal consumer preferences when it comes to purchase channels and online research. The recent Osservatorio Compass survey — Special Report on Furniture 2024 — shows that the physical store remains furniture and design consumers' preferred purchase channel, despite the e-commerce boom of the last three years: stores account for 76% of preferences compared to 49% for online channels.
This isn't surprising when we consider how important the emotional component is in the purchase of a durable good, as well as the need for pre- and post-sale assistance. Before buying, consumers search online: 97% of consumers look up businesses on the web.
The results achieved with RetailTune AI
Calligaris succeeded in reading its customers' needs and, starting in 2023, rolled out an omnichannel project across its entire distribution network, both single-brand and multi-brand, through the RetailTune AI platform. The first step was to centralize on a single platform the data of every store — direct, franchise and retailer — and every available product, in order to publish it consistently to the outside world: starting with the store locator.
The store locator is one of the most important touchpoints for the consumer: entirely controlled by the brand, it is where a dialogue between user and store is established. For Calligaris it becomes the digital version of the physical store, where potential customers find contact information and the full catalog of available products, and can ask questions by opening a direct line of communication with the store manager.
The pages dedicated to stores and products rank on Google both for local brand searches (e.g. Calligaris Milan) and for unbranded searches by product category (e.g. extendable tables Udine). Searching for Calligaris + city, the first page of the search engine is almost entirely occupied by the brand's touchpoints: Google Business Profile listings, store locator concierge pages and individual store product pages — even in cities where the product is sold by a multi-brand retailer.
The benefits are clear: consumers find up-to-date information and available products online before entering the store; single- and multi-brand stores become more visible and searchable, increasing in-store traffic; the brand increases the visibility of its stores and products while keeping control of its communication.
What results has Calligaris achieved?
In 10 months of activity online store views doubled, and consumer actions grew alongside them: over 17,000 requests for directions; 10,000 calls to stores, for a total of more than 35,000 actions taken by consumers on the store locator and Google Business Profile listings. Organic views of the store locator also increased, with 54% of these coming from the Google ecosystem.
“What we're seeing here is extremely interesting data,” says Martina Sansone, CMO of RetailTune AI. “The precise work on local SEO, made possible by our platform's built-in technology, has a clear impact on stores and products, causing their online visibility to explode: stores and products that are more visible become more searchable, and that translates into an increase in in-store traffic and, in turn, a greater chance of a sale.”
My sincere thanks to Guido Gorlato for believing in the project and becoming, in this sector, an early adopter of our solution.
“For Calligaris, stores are the primary place to experience the brand. Adopting advanced digital tools to improve store visibility is crucial for attracting customers and improving their purchase journey, especially at the consideration stage. This omnichannel strategy not only increases drive to store, but also lets us offer a better service to the end customer, easing the transition from online research to an in-store visit and, ultimately, to the product experience,” says Guido Gorlato, Brand Manager at Calligaris.
