“(Customers) rely more on the internet to research and discover products to buy. For example, search interest for products like the “best exercise bikes,” “best ring lights” and “best air fryers” increased by 100% or more in the last year. Shoppers don’t just turn to Google for things they want to buy on the web; they also use Google to find what they need nearby. Over the past year, we’ve seen a significant increase in commercial intent across Google including Google Search, Google Maps and YouTube,”

Igor Liskovets
Google director online to offline ad solutions

Shopping Nearby with Google Search

Whether it’s to support small businesses in their community or ensure a nearby store has the item they need in stock, consumers are using Google Search to research their shopping trips in advance. 

Here are some examples of the phenomena.

• Searches for “local” + “business(es)” have grown by more than 80% year over year, including searches like “local businesses near me” and “support local businesses.”
• Searches for “who has” + “in stock” have grown by more than 8,000% year over, including searches like “who has nintendo switch in stock” and “who has gym equipment in stock.”

Google has seen an increase in online research before heading out to a restaurant or to get takeout.

At Google, the company recently found that:

• 66% | Percentage of dining consumers who said they used search to find food and beverage information during the pandemic.
• 57% | Percentage of dining consumers who said they discovered food and beverage information during the pandemic via online ads.

Exploring new products on YouTube

YouTube has become a part of not just the shopping process, but the local shopping process too. For example:

• 45% | Percentage of viewers say they watch YouTube to see a product demo before buying.
• 2% | Percentage of viewers say they are 2x more likely to go in-store or online to buy something they saw on YouTube versus the competitive average.

Starting their journey on Google Maps

Google Maps has become a more critical part of the local user experience, as people use maps to explore something they’re interested in, versus just for navigation:

• Searches on Google Maps for “curbside pickup” have increased 9000% year over year in the U.S.
• Searches on Google Maps for “discounts” have grown globally by more than 100% year over year.
• Searches on Google Maps for “gift shop” have grown globally by more than 60% year over year.

Visits to local stores and restaurants continue to be top of mind in the new year:

Top Generic Searches on Google Maps:

• restaurants
• hotels
• restaurants near me
• gas
• food
• food near me
• grocery store
• gas station
• coffee
• pizza

Top Brands Searched on Google Maps:

• walmart
• starbucks
• home depot
• target
• mcdonald’s
• costco
• chick fil a
• walgreens
• cvs
• bank of america

Source: Google Data, U.S., February 2021

Connect offline shoppers to your store.

1. Support your local small business: In 2020, Google helped drive over two billion direct connections, including phone calls, requests for directions, messages, bookings and reviews for U.S. businesses.

2. If you run a business with physical stores: It’s crucial to make sure your customers can easily find you online. Check our Google’s best practices guide on how to drive offline sales with online ads. 

• GOOGLE ADS
• Thanks to Igor Liskovets, Google director online to offline ad solutions
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The SBA also announced four additional changes to open the PPP to more underserved small businesses.

According to the White House, the enhanced PPP will…

• Allow sole proprietors, independent contractors, and self-employed individuals to receive more financial support by revising the PPP’s funding formula for these categories of applicants

• Eliminate an exclusionary restriction on PPP access for small business
owners with prior non-fraud felony convictions, consistent with a
bipartisan congressional proposal

• Eliminate PPP access restrictions on small business owners who have
struggled to make student loan payments by eliminating student loan debt
delinquency being a disqualifier to participating in the PPP

• Ensure access for non-citizen small business owners who are lawful U.S. residents by clarifying that they may use Individual Taxpayer Identification
Number (ITIN) to apply for the PPP.

According to the President, 400,000 small businesses have closed during the pandemic, and “millions more are hanging by a thread.”

Biden noted that 98% of small businesses fit into this category. By temporarily limiting the approval process to them, the goal is to get more money to ventures that have a harder time accessing capital than their larger counterparts do. 

Links to information prepared by the SBA

• Coronavirus relief options
• Biden Administration takes steps to promote equitable access to SBA relief
• Coronavirus recovery information in languages other than English
• Guidance for businesses and employers
• Local assistance
• Additional SBA resources

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Americans are expected to spend a record amount on Valentine’s Day this year despite a years-long decrease in the percentage of people celebrating the holiday, according to the annual survey by the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics.“The vast majority of Valentine’s Day dollars are still spent on significant others, but there’s a big increase this year in consumers spreading the love to children, parents, friends and coworkers,” according to NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay . 

Percent Participating vs. Average Spending Per Perticipant

“Those who are participating
are spending more than ever (probably as a)
result of the strong economy.”
NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay

Types of gifts to be given this year (2019)

$3.9 billion | Jewelry
$3.5 billion | A special evening out on the town
$2.1 billion | Clothing
$1.9 billion | Flowers
$1.8 billion | Candy
$1.3 billion | Gift cards
$933 million|Greeting cards

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Mother’s Day spending is expected to total a near-record $23.1 billion this year, according to the annual survey conducted by the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics. (And just to help you remember, Mother’s Day this year is May 13.)

 86% |  Percentage of Americans who will celebrate Mother’s Day

$180 | Amount per person thankful kids will spend on mom

“This year’s Mother’s Day forecast is one of the strongest we’ve ever seen,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said. “With spring in full bloom, Americans are looking forward to splurging on their mothers and retailers are prepared to offer a variety of options that will allow consumers to find the perfect gift for the occasion.” The expected spending would be second only to last year’s $23.6 billion, the highest in the 15-year history of the survey at an average $186 per person.

What consumers plan on spending for Mom this year

  $4.6 billion | Jewelry (34% of those surveyed will spend money on this item or service)
  $4.4 billion | Outings such as dinner or brunch (55%)
  $2.6 billion | Flowers (69%)
  $2.5 billion | Gift cards (45%)
$2.1 billion | Clothing (36%)
   $2.1 billion | Consumer electronics (14%)
   $1.8 billion | Personal services such as a spa day (24%)
$956 million | Housewares or Gardening Tools (19%)
$813 million | Greeting cards (77%)
$494 million | Books or Music (19%)

Where Mom’s gifts will be purchased

35% | Department stores
31%  | Online
29% | Specialty stores such as florists, jewelers or electronics stores
23% | A local small business
22% | Discount stores
10% | Specialty clothing stores

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As we’ve noted before, according to Gallup, Americans have lost their confidence in most institutions. However, there are two exceptions to that trend: the military and small business. Want to know why? (1) Those in the military risk their lives to protect their country; (2) Small businesses do things like this:

A few weeks ago, 68-year-old Yolanda Portillo, a resident of Kingman, Ariz., lost a little over $2,00 in a parking lot near a new boutique she is opening.  She told the local newspaper, the Kingman Daily, that she had taken out the money to pay the bills she owed for the grand opening of the boutique.  Portillo said she put the money in her jacket pocket, but when she got home the envelope with the money was gone.

After reading about the lost money in the Daily Miner, Jason Marino of Imagine Photography logged onto the, “What’s Up Downtown Kingman,” Facebook group and suggested that Kingman retailers each donate $50 to the cause..

Marino and Leah Burkhart of Gracie’s Vintage, teamed up to spearhead the effort. “It’s a simple gesture,” Marino said. “I’m always happy to give back to the community,”

“We look out for each other,” Burkhart said. “Small business needs to stick together.” Within a few days, they had collected $1,495. Marino and Burkhart invited Portillo to come by Gracie’s Vintage store where they surprised her with the contributions from the small business owners.

As you can see from the YouTube video, Portillo was surprised and tearful when Burchart and Marino gave her the money raised.

Video | Jason Marino

“Y’all are angels,” Portillo said, clearly amazed.

About 20 local businesses donated money to the fund, including

• Southwest Trading Co.
• Black Sheep Ink and Piercing
• Kingman Animal Hospital
• The Farmhouse
• Black Bridge Brewery
• Gracie’s Vintage
• Imagine

Do you have examples of small businesses making a bug difference in your home town or community, please let us know via email: Tips@SmallBusiness.com

Sign Photo: Some rights reserved by jared422_80

Photo: Google Maps

On my way to work today, I stopped by my favorite locally-owned, independent coffee shop. In addition to serving great tasting coffee, it’s one of those places like the 1980s sitcom”Cheers” —  everyone knows your name (and order). Everyone, that is, except the barista who was working the morning shift for the first time. When picking up my coffee, I realized there was a mistake. “I’m sorry, I must have forgotten to ask for hot milk.” At that point, I felt as if I had changed channels to the 1995 episode of Seinfeld featuring the Soup Nazi.  “Next time, you need to order your milk when you are supposed to,” he snapped. All I could think was, “Has this guy ever heard of Yelp?” But no, I did not give the shop a bad review. However, I did send a friendly email to the owner, an acquaintance of mine. 

We live in an era of customer reviews. We’ve shared an extreme example of how NOT to handle reviews. And sites like TripAdvisor and Yelp have guidelines for responding to poor reviews.

But do these guidelines for handling negative reviews actually have any impact, positive or negative, on a company’s online reputation? To find out, David Proserpio, an assistant professor of marketing at USC’s Marshall School of Business and Giorgos Zervas, an assistant professor of marketing at Boston University Questrom School of Business, analyzed tens of thousands of hotel reviews and responses from TripAdvisor.

Management responses are common on TripAdvisor

33% | Percentage of reviews that receive a response from the business
50% | Percentage of hotels that respond to review

“On average, the reviews improved by 0.12 stars,” the professors write in a recap of their study that appeared in the Harvard Business Review. (1 star = terrible, 5 star = excellent)

“While these gains may seem modest, TripAdvisor rounds average ratings to the nearest half star: A hotel with a rating of 4.26 stars will be rounded up to a 4.5, while a hotel with 4.24 stars will be rounded down to a 4. Therefore, even small changes can have a significant impact on consumers’ perceptions.”

12% | When hotels start responding, they receive 12% more reviews and their ratings increase by 12%
33% | Percentage of hotels studied that increased their rounded ratings by half a star or more within six months of their first management response

(In their article, the professors explain how they established a causal relationship between responding to reviews and improved ratings.)

The research shows that improved ratings can be directly linked to management responses. And, perhaps surprisingly, they also found that when managers respond to positive reviews, it has the same benefits as when they respond to negative reviews.

Additional findings of the research

• Consumers who read previous management responses are less likely to leave short reviews than consumers who had not.
• Once hotels started responding, they experienced a sharp drop in the rate of short negative reviews.
• While longer negative reviews still cropped up, these reviews often contained constructive feedback that could be useful to managers trying to make changes.

Quote

“While negative reviews are unavoidable, our work shows that managers can actively participate in shaping their firms’ online reputations. By monitoring and responding to reviews, a manager can make sure that when negative reviews come in — as they inevitably will — they can respond constructively and maybe even raise their firm’s rating along the way.”

Davide Proserpio and Giorgos Zervas

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Also on SmallBusiness.com

How NOT to Handle Negative Yelp Reviews

Perhaps you’ve heard: Advertisers are getting a “break” on Super Bowl commercials this year. That’s because the price of a 30-second ad is not increasing from last year when such an ad cost “only” $5 million. However, retailers — including local bars and restaurants — can expect an 8.5 percent growth in Super Bowl-related spending, according to an annual survey by the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics.

$15.3 Billion | 2018 Super Bowl-related retail spending
$81.17 | 2018 Super Bowl-related spending per American adult
$118.43 | 2018 Super Bowl-related spending per consumer ages 25-34

8.5% | Increase over 2017 of Super Bowl-related retail spending
113 million | Last year’s viewership of the Super Bowl (via: Nielsen)

Super Bowl festivities

76% | Percentage of survey respondents who have special plans for viewing the Super Bowl

What are some of the things these survey participants plan to do?

18% | Host a party
28% | Attend a party
5% | Watch the game at a local bar or restaurant

What do they enjoy about a Super Bowl party?

41% | The game itself
24% | The commercials
15% | Getting together with friends
14% | The half-time show
7% | The food

What are the respondents preparing to purchase related to the game?

82% | Food and beverages
11% | Team apparel or accessories
8% | A new TV
8% | Decorations

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And remember, shop at your favorite local and small merchants.

National Farmers Market Week is an annual celebration sponsored by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) that highlights the important role farmers markets play in the nation’s food system. Always held during the first full week of August, this year’s celebration runs from August 6-12.

What is National Farmers Market Week?

Now in its 18th year, National Farmers Market allows farmers markets to:

• Showcase the impacts they make in their communities
• Preserve America’s rural livelihood and farmland
• Support healthy communities
• Promote sustainability

American farmers and ranchers receive only 15.6 cents of each dollar consumers spend on food.  “It’s important for Americans to know that the food they buy directly from their local farmer isn’t just more flavorful, but that this business has a very real impact on the livelihoods of the men and women who produced that food,” says event sponsor Farmers Market Coalition (FMC) executive director Jen Cheek. “Farmers markets run on lean budgets and keep overheads low so that farmers can retain more of our food dollar.”

(Click image for a larger view)

The Benefits of Buying Local Food

Buying directly from farmers and ag-entrepreneurs has an outsized impact by helping diversify farm incomes and supporting other businesses by keeping more money in the local economy.In addition to being good for the farmers and convenient for consumers, farmers markets are gathering places that help build a sense of community.

Throughout the week, thousands of U.S. farmers markets will highlight the range of produce, fruit, meat, dairy and specialty products available from their local and regional farmers.

National Farmers Market Directory

Provided by the USDA, the National Farmers Market Directory (click to reach directory) makes it easy to locate farmers markets in towns and neighborhoods across the country. The Farmers Market Directory lists markets that feature two or more farm vendors selling agricultural products directly to customers at a common, recurrent physical location. Maintained by the Agricultural Marketing Service, the Directory is designed to provide customers with convenient access to information about farmers market listings to include: market locations, directions, operating times, product offerings, accepted forms of payment, and more.

Local Food Directories Page

The USDA also maintains a Local Food Directories page to find other operations other than farmers markets that offer locally grown products. If you are a market manager visit our Local Food Directory Registration & Update page to add or update a market listing.

Farmers Market Week Social Media Updates

• @USDA_AMS on Twitter and Instagram
• #USDAFarmersMkt
• USDA.gov/FarmersMarket

Photos: SmallBusiness.com

Americans will spend more than ever as they wear their green outfits and enjoy St. Patrick’s Day with friends and family, according to National Retail Federation’s annual survey of St. Patrick’s Day participation and spending. The day is especially a pot of gold for many local restaurants and bars.

Overview of St. Patrick’s Day, 2017

139 million | Number of Americans who plan to celebrate
$37.92 | Average amount celebrants will spend
$5.3 billion | Total St. Patricks’ Day spending (highest in survey history)

Ten-Year Trend in St. Patrick’s Day Spending

How St. Patrick’s Day Will be Celebrated

Percentage of Americans Who Plan to Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day

Source: National Retail Federation

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