NEW YORK, Dec. 8, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Yext, Inc.
(NYSE: YEXT), the Search Experience Cloud company, today released
its predictions for consumer search behavior during the holiday
season to help businesses prepare for the end of an unpredictable
year marked by COVID-19.
The predictions, which combine Yext's research into consumer
search behavior both over the past eight months and during the 2019
holiday season, indicate that foot traffic to brick-and-mortar
stores will only be significant for select verticals, while clicks
to call a business and visit their website are expected to surge as
consumers opt for digital shopping experiences.
"The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically altered the way consumers
interact with brands this year, setting the scene for what will be
the biggest digital season we've seen," said Zahid Zakaria, Senior Director of Insights and
Analytics at Yext. "As our report indicates, some businesses will
have to get ready for spikes in in-person visits, but given the
unpredictable nature of COVID, all businesses need to make
sure their digital doorsteps are not only open for business, but
ready to engage with customers and answer their questions."
Yext examined three kinds of customer actions in search for
businesses around the world and found:
- "Get directions" clicks: While many businesses are
shifting the bulk of their operations online, visiting a physical
location is sometimes the most convenient — or only — option for
consumers. Store visits have sunk overall, but select verticals
like jewelry and sporting goods are still set to see significant
foot traffic ahead of Christmas.
- Clicks to websites: In response to COVID-related
restrictions and store closures, more and more consumers are
turning to digital shopping experiences. Website clicks have stayed
above pre-pandemic levels, which indicates the increase in
Ecommerce is here to stay during the holiday season.
- Clicks to call: With constant changes to hours of
operation, store policies, inventory levels, and more during the
pandemic, clicks to call businesses have climbed over the past
year. Consumers are reaching for the phone when they need to
confirm information they find or can't find any up-to-date answers
to their questions online.
Click here to read more about Yext's holiday search trend
predictions.
About Yext
The ultimate source for official answers
about a business online should be the business itself. However,
when consumers ask questions on company websites, too often they
are left in the dark with wrong answers. Yext (NYSE: YEXT), the
Search Experience Cloud, solves this problem by organizing a
business's facts so it can provide official answers to consumer
questions — wherever people search. Starting with the company
website, then extending across search engines and voice assistants,
businesses around the world, like T-Mobile, Jaguar Land Rover, BBVA
USA, and Kiehl's — as well as
organizations like the U.S. State Department and World Health
Organization — trust Yext to radically improve the search
experience on their websites and across the entire search
ecosystem.
Yext's mission is to help businesses and organizations around
the world deliver official answers everywhere people search. Yext
has been named a Best Place to Work by Fortune and Great Place to
Work®, as well as a Best Workplace for Women. Yext is headquartered
in New York City with offices in
Amsterdam, Berlin, Chicago, Dallas, Geneva, London, Miami, Milan,
Paris, San Francisco, Shanghai, Tokyo, and the Washington, D.C. area — and work-from-home
offices all around the world.
CONTACT: Amanda Kontor,
pr@yext.com
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SOURCE Yext, Inc.