Though brands and retailers have been talking about omnichannel’s importance for more than a handful of years, many still have yet to master their strategies for juggling e-commerce and physical retail.
That’s where Locally comes in.
More from Sourcing Journal
The company, founded more than 10 years ago by Mike Massey, its CEO, and Ben Hirsch, now its CTO, integrates its technology with brands’ sites to show consumers where they can view or purchase an item in person at a retail store. The participating stores run the gamut, and include mom-and-pop specialty retailers, small chains and massive retailers.
Locally boasts a variety of clients—particularly in the athletic wear and outdoor industries—including Brooks, Crocs, Ugg, Asics, Hoka and Patagonia. For Massey, those names are simply a testament to the power of the physical.
“[In the industry], we think of online first, but the reality is, most people have an experience that starts with them in physical retail. Then it’s easier to buy that…Patagonia jacket the second time after they know it fits,” he said.
The technology ingests inventory data from tens of thousands of retailers around the country, then uses that information to show consumers where they can find an item in stock, in person near them. Massey said in 2024, Locally onboarded 25,000 retailers to support its existing clients.
Among those clients is Patagonia, which uses Locally to offer its customers a stronger sense of choice in their shopping experience.
Bruce Old, the B Corp’s chief marketplace officer, said the way Locally collects inventory data from participating retailers gives the company confidence that, even if a consumer is directed to a store not owned by Patagonia, they’ll still find what they’ve come to see.
And though some of the retailers Patagonia works with have more simplistic inventory tracking systems than others, Old said Locally has made sure there’s not an unapproachable upfront technology investment to participate. The company has even accommodated retailers operating off of Excel spreadsheets.
“You can really go down to the SKU level—all the way down to style, color, size, and making sure that the [retailers] have it in stock. So you’re making sure that they know that, when they go to that store, the item is actually there,” Old told Sourcing Journal.
On the Locally platform, the default is to display retailers by proximity to the consumer. Brands can choose to rank some retailers higher than others, whether because they want to promote small retailers, because they know consumers have strong experiences with a specific retailer or otherwise. Old said Patagonia doesn’t make use of that function; it lets the consumer decide the most convenient option.