Why omnichannel retailers must prioritize organic search? The inbound-outbound balance revealed

The retail landscape is evolving at a breakneck pace as consumers integrate online and offline shopping. Recent data shows 88% of in-store sales in Australia are influenced by digital touchpoints, and 52% of purchases involve multiple channels. This means omnichannel strategies are crucial.

Amid this transformation, organic search has emerged as a crucial link between digital intent and in - store sales. Notably, 86% of Gen Z Australians rely on Google for shopping research. Additionally, the April 2025 updates to Google Performance Max, which enhance AI - powered campaign optimization, underscore the importance of balancing Inbound (organic) and outbound (paid) strategies. This article delves into the reasons why omnichannel retailers need to strike a balance between organic and paid search, leveraging data - driven insights to drive both online and offline sales.

I. The Omnichannel Consumer Landscape

Modern shoppers defy categorization. Only 12% of in-store purchases in Australia occur without digital touchpoints, while 52% of transactions involve multiple channels. This omnichannel behavior is driven by a demand for confidence: consumers who feel assured in their decisions spend 1.4X more and are 18X more likely to advocate for a brand. Organic search fuels this confidence by enabling real-time product comparisons, local inventory checks, and access to peer reviews—often while shoppers are physically in stores (70% of Australians use their phones mid-aisle).

The implications for retailers are clear. Platforms like Google dominate commercial intent, with search behaviors like "near me" queries being twice as common as impulse buys triggered by sales. Yet many brands still over-index on short-term paid tactics, neglecting the long-term equity built through Inbound strategies like SEO and content. For example, Pandora's focus on local inventory ads and Performance Max campaigns drove a 17% uplift in store revenue by ensuring its products were discoverable at every stage of the journey—from initial search to in-store pickup.

II. The Strategic Importance of Organic Search

1. Search as the Starting Point of Discovery

Google isn't just a touchpoint; it's the first touchpoint. Consider that 71% of Australians find brand awareness easier online than offline, and AI-powered features like Google Lens now process over 20 billion visual searches monthly—25% of which have commercial intent. Retailers that optimize for these Inbound moments gain a competitive edge. Performance Max campaigns, for instance, can sync online ads with local stock levels, but their effectiveness hinges on a foundation of strong organic visibility.

2. Strengthening Offline Sales Through Online Search

The symbiosis between digital and physical is undeniable. Tools like local inventory ads bridge the gap by displaying real-time stock availability in search results, reducing friction for click-and-collect shoppers. Croma, an Indian electronics retailer, saw a 70% increase in local listing impressions after syncing warehouse inventory to Google Merchant Center—proof that transparency drives foot traffic. Similarly, Tanishq reduced customer acquisition costs by 38% by aligning its paid strategies with Inbound listings, ensuring its jewellery collections appeared prominently for bridal shoppers researching both online and offline.

To achieve similar marketing effectiveness, brands can leverage Topkee's TTO CDP. The customer data platform provides comprehensive online-to-offline attribution measurement, covering ad channels, creative performance, and product-level insights, ensuring marketing investments directly drive business results. Its detailed data collection allows retailers to measure the impact of organic search visibility on in-store visits, a key metric often missed by traditional analytics. Additionally, Topkee's marketing integration expertise enables seamless implementation of schema markup and AI-powered feed optimizations, enhancing brand visibility in new search interfaces like AI Overviews.

3. Trust and Credibility

Google and YouTube are the most trusted platforms when it comes to purchase decisions. In fact, 73% of consumers experience a sense of accomplishment upon finalizing a purchase following extensive research on these platforms. AI enhancements like gen AI-powered product recommendations further personalize these journeys, but they rely on robust data feeds from organic channels. Retailers that fail to maintain accurate product information or optimize for voice search (e.g., "Where can I try this sofa today?") miss opportunities to convert curiosity into sales.

III. Challenges and Solutions in Omnichannel Measurement

1. The Limitations of Siloed Measurement

Many retailers still measure online and offline performance in isolation, ignoring the halo effect of Inbound search on store visits. McKinsey notes that focusing solely on short-term ROI sacrifices 50% of potential returns, as brand-building efforts (like SEO) compound over time. For instance, Domino's saw a 45% higher return on investment (ROI) on YouTube by combining performance ads with brand campaigns. This strategy aligns with Nielsen's findings, which indicate that a 1% increase in brand awareness can drive short - term sales up by 0.4% and long - term sales by 0.6%.

2. Data-Driven Strategies for Unified Measurement

Forward-thinking brands adopt tools like marketing mix modeling (MMM) to attribute value across channels. Cainz, a Japanese home-improvement chain, used Oriient's privacy-compliant in-store tracking to discover that shoppers who engaged with app-based navigation spent 39% more time in stores and 223% more per transaction. Such insights underscore the need for holistic KPIs, such as omnichannel attribution, that reflect how Inbound search nurtures shoppers long before they swipe a credit card.

Topkee's YME conversation marketing platform addresses this need by unifying conversational data from websites, social media, and ads into a single dashboard. Its cross-channel behavior tracking identifies high-intent users who research products online before purchasing offline, enabling targeted retargeting campaigns that bridge the gap between Inbound search and store. Additionally, Topkee's consulting services help brands implement MMM by integrating first-party data (e.g., CRM, POS) with third-party tools, ensuring accurate attribution without compromising consumer privacy. For example, a retailer using YME could correlate spikes in branded search queries with foot traffic patterns, optimizing both SEO and in-store staffing simultaneously.

IV. Future-Proofing Omnichannel Retail

1. Emerging Trends

Autonomous shoppers are reshaping retail, with millennials using 3.6 channels per purchase journey. Features like AR try-ons (e.g., MediaMarktSaturn's in-store tech support) and AI stylists cater to this demand for self-service, but they depend on seamless integration with Inbound search ecosystems. Meanwhile, gen AI is revolutionizing content creation, enabling retailers to scale personalized product descriptions and video ads—yet without Inbound visibility, these assets may never reach their audience.

2. Actionable Recommendations

To enhance marketing performance, several actionable recommendations can be adopted. First, prioritize Inbound search visibility by investing in SEO strategies, optimizing local listings, and implementing schema markup to showcase inventory and promotions in AI Overviews. Second, leverage AI-driven tools such as Smart Bidding for driving store visits and generative AI for dynamically optimizing product feeds. Finally, take inspiration from Hornbach and approach omnichannel initiatives as a "mobile-first" experiment, continuously testing and iterating based on data analysis to refine strategies for better results.

To enhance marketing strategies, brands should adopt a "mobile-first" testing framework modeled after iterative approaches. Topkee's social operations team can conduct A/B tests to compare the effectiveness of organic social posts and paid ads on in-store redemption rates, leveraging YIS for efficient content creation and performance analysis. By analyzing Inbound search keywords that drive offline conversions through TTO's attribution models, campaigns like "reserve online, try in-store" can be optimized. Treating each marketing initiative as an experiment enables brands to refine strategies based on actual data, not assumptions.

Conclusion

The future of retail belongs to brands that recognize Inbound search as the connective tissue between digital discovery and offline conversion. By aligning Inbound strategies (like SEO and content) with outbound tactics (like Performance Max), retailers can meet shoppers wherever they are—whether they're circling a product on Google Lens or asking a sales associate about an item they researched at home. The time to act is now: as AI reshapes search behavior, visibility today ensures profitability tomorrow. Need help refining your omnichannel strategy? Consult our experts to audit your organic and paid synergies.