ACT partners with retail technology company NearSt

The Association of Cycle Traders has announced a partnership between itself and the retail technology company NearSt, in a bid to get more people through the doors of specialist cycle shops.

As online businesses continue to compete in the cycle market, selling products that are readily available in local bike shops, the ACT believes that NearSt will “lead the way” in driving online shoppers back to bricks and mortar retailers.

NearSt’s mission is to get people back onto UK high streets by making shopping from real shops easier and faster than buying online. Its platform drives in-store footfall by automatically connecting the products currently hidden on shop shelves to Google’s local inventory search through a simple integration with a business’ Point of Sale system.

This enables customers to find what they are looking for in-store, supporting local businesses and curtailing the flow of business to online retail giants.

According to the report High Street Futures by NearSt and trend forecasters The Future Laboratory, Real-Time Local Inventory (RTLI) could drive up to £9 billion of sales back into the UK’s 200,000 high-street shops.

Google partnered with NearSt in 2018, allowing shoppers to search live in-store inventory directly in Google search, unlocking the potential of bricks and mortar retailers in a time of changing shopper behaviour.

NearSt was recently named ‘Hottest Retail Tech Start-up’ of 2019 at The Europa Awards and ‘In-Store Technology Of The Year’ at the 2019 Retail Systems Awards, and Wired magazine wrote of its technology: “How the high street can take on Amazon… and win”.

‘How this partnership will benefit ACT members’

– Boost in-store footfall
– Better connectivity with the local community
– Instant setup: get stock online in less than ten minutes
– Automatic feed: A shop’s inventory displayed directly in Google search (no manual data entry required)
– Insight: see which products are most popular with local shoppers searching near the store
– Exclusive setup discount for ACT members (usually £299)
– No ongoing costs
– Free NearSt Plus trial worth £100: run highly targeted Local Inventory Ads to shoppers searching nearby at the top of Google

NearSt joins a portfolio of market-leading products and services available to ACT members, such as Ride it away retail finance and Cytech.

Find out more here or call the ACT on 01273 427 700 or email info@theact.org.uk.