The storefront used to be everything. A prime location, attractive window displays, and consistent foot traffic could make or break a business. Not anymore.
Today, your digital presence is your storefront. And if it's not optimized, you're essentially operating with the lights off and the door locked while competitors welcome customers with open arms.
Recent research from Uberall, based on surveys of over 2,000 consumers across the US, UK, France, and Germany, reveals a striking reality: 91% of consumers search online before visiting a local business. Not most. Not many. Essentially… everyone.
Even more telling? When asked how often they search online before visiting, exactly 0% of respondents said "never."
Let that sink in. Your next customer, whoever they are, whatever they need, will find you online first. Or they won't find you at all.
The Death of Walk-In Traffic (As We Knew It)
The notion that a good location guarantees customers is true in some places of the world but also for many people, is now dead. While physical location still matters for convenience, discovery has moved entirely online. Consumers no longer stumble upon businesses while walking down the street. They search, they compare, they decide, all before leaving their couch.
The research breaks down like this:
- 16.7% search "always" before visiting
- 40.3% search "often"
- 34.1% search "sometimes"
- 8.8% search "rarely"
- 0% never search
But discovery is just the beginning. What happens after they find you determines everything.
According to the Uberall study, 85% of consumers visit a business within a week of discovering it online. The timeline is even tighter than that:
- 13% visit the same day
- 17% visit the next day
- 55% visit within a week
And the payoff for getting this right? 60% of consumers say they're likely or very likely to make a purchase after discovering a business online. This jumps even higher to 68% among German consumers.
Savvy small business owners have long understood that your digital presence isn't just about awareness. It's all about revenue.
Google Still Rules, But it's a Dynamic Year for Search
When consumers search for local businesses, they're not using obscure platforms. The channels are clear:
- 77.6% use Google Search
- 51.4% use Google Maps
- 34.4% use social media (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok)
Google's dominance is undeniable. But there's a new player climbing the ranks fast: AI tools are now the 4th most-used method for local search discovery.
Nearly 19% of consumers are already using AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot, and Perplexity to find local businesses. Among 18-24 year-olds, that number jumps to 27%, more than one in four.
This isn't a future trend. It's happening now.
The catch? Most businesses aren't ready. While traditional search engines crawl your website and business listings, AI search engines need structured, accurate location data fed directly to them.
This is where partnerships matter. Through Hike's collaboration with Uberall, Hike ensures your business information is distributed to AI SEO and AI search platforms including ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, and Google AI Overviews. While competitors scramble to figure out AI search, Hike customers are already there. Not only is your SEO done for you, now so is your AI SEO.
It's not about being an early adopter. It's about being visible where your customers are searching today and tomorrow.
The "Right Now" Economy: Intent is Immediate
One of the most striking insights from Uberall's research is when consumers search. The answer: in the moment of need.
59% of consumers search for local businesses "in the moment they need something." They're not browsing casually or planning weeks ahead. They have an immediate need, and they're looking for a solution now.
This changes everything about how local marketing should work.
Traditional marketing campaigns operate on longer timelines, awareness builds over weeks or months, leading to eventual consideration and conversion. But local search collapses this funnel. A consumer goes from "I need a window cleaner" to "I'm calling this window cleaner" in minutes.
The speed of decision-making varies slightly by market:
- French consumers are most likely to search "in the moment" at 69%
- British consumers are more likely to plan ahead, with 54% searching "before planning a visit"
- US consumers often search "when they have free time" at 31%
- German consumers frequently search "during a specific event or occasion" at 43%
But regardless of regional nuances, the pattern is clear: consumers search with intent, and they act fast.
Real consumers from the study shared their experiences:
"I searched for a local garage, arranged a price and time online, then planned to visit that day."
"I was looking for a restaurant for tonight and searched on my phone while deciding where to go."
"I needed a dentist immediately due to pain and searched for options near me with same-day availability."
This immediacy creates both opportunity and pressure. Get your digital presence right, and you capture high-intent customers ready to buy. Get it wrong, outdated hours, missing information, unclear services, and they're gone in seconds.
What This Means for Your Business
The implications are profound, especially for multi-location businesses.
Your visibility in local search is your front door. More than your front door, it's your window display, your sales pitch, your first impression, and your competitive advantage all rolled into one.
Think about it: if 91% of customers search before visiting, and 85% visit within a week, your digital presence is directly responsible for the majority of your foot traffic and sales.
Yet many businesses treat their online presence as an afterthought. According to Uberall's research, 36% of multi-location businesses still manually update their profiles. That's dozens, sometimes hundreds, of hours per month spent on spreadsheets and logins instead of serving customers.
Meanwhile, listings drift out of date:
- Hours change but don't get updated everywhere
- New services launch but aren't reflected in profiles
- Photos become outdated and no longer represent the current experience
- Reviews go unanswered, signaling poor customer service
Every gap is opportunity handed to competitors.
The research shows there's a 52% performance gap between average local marketing maturity and excellence. Most businesses hover around 48% maturity, doing some things right, but leaving massive opportunities on the table.
That gap is where growth lives.
The Path Forward
Here's what needs to happen, informed by what consumers actually do:
1. Ensure you're visible where consumers search
That means Google (Search and Maps, obviously), but also Apple Maps, major directories, social platforms, and increasingly, AI search engines. Omnichannel presence isn't optional anymore.
2. Keep information accurate and current
Lisa Landsman from Google puts it simply: "At Google, we see 5x more views for regularly updated Business Profiles." Accuracy and freshness signal relevance. Outdated information signals abandonment.
3. Make your digital presence match the immediacy of consumer intent
If consumers are searching "right now" for a solution, your information needs to tell them right now whether you can help. Are you open? Do you offer what they need? Can they book or contact you immediately?
4. Prepare for AI search
This isn't futuristic planning. It's the current optimization. AI tools are already the 4th most-used discovery method, and usage is growing fast among younger demographics who will drive tomorrow's market.
Stop Guessing, Start Winning
The data is unambiguous. Consumer behavior has fundamentally shifted. Discovery happens online, decisions happen fast, and every interaction with your digital presence either builds trust or erodes it.
The businesses that win in this environment treat local search visibility as a core revenue driver, not a marketing afterthought. They ensure consistency across every platform, respond to the immediacy of consumer intent, and prepare for emerging search behaviors before competitors do.
Your next customer is searching right now. The question isn't whether they'll find a business like yours.
The question is: will they find you?
This blog is based on insights from Uberall's 2025 Local Search Consumer Study, surveying over 2,000 consumers across the United States, United Kingdom, France, and Germany.
About the author
Bryn Foweather
Vice President Marketing
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