Locally partners with CamelBak to help shoppers ‘Find it Locally.’

Locally partners with CamelBak to launch ‘Find it Locally’ tool, powering a novel shopping experience for online shoppers.

New Orleans-based Locally has partnered with CamelBak, a leading manufacturer of gear for outdoors, cycling, running, and tactical use to provide online shoppers with visibility of local inventory. The ‘Find it Locally’ tool on camelbak.com powers a new way for shoppers to locate CamelBak products in their community. It can be viewed on any product page on camelbak.com.

The ‘Find it Locally’ button is a product level location tool that shows site visitors who are viewing a particular item where they can find the product in stock nearby. Retailers who carry the product are ranked based on proximity. Stores with the right size and color are presented first; those with the style in stock are listed second. Shops that carry CamelBak but not that particular item or style third; and authorized dealers without inventory feeds fourth. The ‘Find it Locally’ button’s stock data is powered by hundreds of inventory feeds sent to Locally by retailers across North America.

“CamelBak is committed to the long-term success of our brick and mortar retail partners” said Mike Moore, Senior Director of North American Sales at CamelBak. “We believe incorporating Locally’s ‘Find it Locally’ button on the CamelBak product pages will drive CamelBak consumers into stores to fulfill demand for our products. While all brick and mortar dealers will benefit, those dealers that stock CamelBak broadly and provide their data feed to Locally should see the largest benefit of this exciting new program.”

Mark McKnight from Chattanooga-based outdoor retailer Rock/Creek continued: “Our strongest vendor relationships are with those who actively support our efforts on the ground. CamelBak’s adoption of the ‘Find it Locally’ technology to point camelbak.com visitors in our area towards our shop and CamelBak product selection helps us forge stronger relationships with these customers around CamelBak and their line of products. Vendors can say they’re committed to the specialty channel, but this action by CamelBak actually proves it.”

CamelBak is the 7th brand in the outdoor industry to employ Locally’s ‘Find it Locally’ product locator technology, and is indicative of a growing realization that with 94% of total retail sales occurring in brick and mortar shops, a robust online-to-offline strategy is a critical component of a brand’s sales strategy.

“A brand that is not providing real-time information about where your customer can touch or try on a product they are looking for near them is missing out on a major opportunity to capitalize on the growing trend of customers doing their product research online but then completing their purchase in a store” said Mike Massey, Locally’s President. The ‘Find it Locally’ technology harnesses this trend and allows a brand’s website to be the definitive source for information about their products.”’

The ‘Find it Locally’ technology is one tool in a growing suite of tools Locally provides to improve the customer experience when there is a hand-off between brand sites and local stocking dealers. Locally’s new ‘Open Storefront’ tool lets brands and retailers work together on maintaining authorized dealer locations, eliminating thousands of hours per year spent by both vendors and retailers. The tool can update inaccurate maps instantly and vastly improve the amount of information normally included in a dealer locator by letting the retailer control hours, season, contact info, and even what’s in stock.

For retailers, a Locally account is free and enables shops to broadcast their inventory online, on brand sites that are using Locally’s on-site tech like CamelBak, on SEO and mobile friendly Locally.com, as well as their own websites with nothing more than just copy and paste. Locally uses a simple point of sale sync that can work with any POS system, and they also offer POS apps for a growing list of systems. Allowing shoppers to place products on hold for in-store pickup is currently being piloted with a handful of retailers, and Locally will facilitate local delivery later this year.

“The ‘Find it Locally’ technology offers every retailer the opportunity to be discovered on brand sites by the shoppers that matter: those near them” says Mark Strella, Locally’s Retailer Manager. “If you’re a CamelBak dealer, it’s a no-brainer to begin harnessing this new source of traffic for your shop.”

CamelBak dealers can get involved at retailers.locally.com. Brands interested in utilizing the ‘Find it Locally’ technology and learning about Locally’s additional services should contact brands@locally.com.

New Orleans-based Locally provides digital solutions for retailers and brands to engage online shoppers where they are collecting product information- brand sites, local retailer sites, search engines, and third party content sites- and provide those shoppers with a local purchase or delivery option. Locally works with hundreds of brands and retailers in the outdoor, running, snowsports, and golf and tennis industries.