Over a thousand bricks and mortar stores will be better equipped to compete with their online counterparts says NearSt and Cybertill.

In a bid to boost footfall on local highstreets, Google-backed retail technology firm NearSt has partnered with leading cloud-based EPoS platform Cybertill.

Founded in 2015 by Max Kreijn and Nick Brackenbury, NearSt’s software brings customers into bricks and mortar stores by showing the products stocked in local shops to people searching online nearby – making it more convenient to buy items locally than online.

Real time retail

Now integrated into Cybertill’s RetailStore EPoS platform, this means that shops can effortlessly connect their entire inventory to Google search in real time – and switch it on and off at the touch of a button.

Tripling in demand during 2020, NearSt’s software has proven to be a life-line for bricks and mortar retail during Covid as shoppers went online in unprecedented numbers to find out “what’s in stock nearby”.

The integration with Cybertill will automatically show in-store products in places like Google’s MyBusiness Page; Google Shopping and in Google Maps.

Because of this partnership, shoppers will be able to see if a product they are searching for is close by and will direct them back to their local high street.

“The surge in ecommerce sales has been widely acknowledged, but what’s been largely overlooked is the even bigger surge in shoppers going online to hunt out products on nearby high streets.” said Nick Brackenbury, CEO and co-founder NearSt.

Seven-fold jump

“We saw a seven-fold jump in local product searches in places like Google last year, with 2021 settling on four times the volume of pre-pandemic levels.

“Google also reported an 8,000% increase in searches for “who has ___ in stock” last year.

“This emerging consumer behaviour of searching and discovering products online to buy in nearby physical stores presents an exciting new opportunity for small and large retailers alike.”

“And thanks to Cybertill it makes it even simpler now. Everything works using the barcodes, stock levels, and pricing already stored in your existing EPoS system – so you literally set it and forget it.

“Pulling data automatically every few minutes NearSt automatically creates high quality product listings, so you don’t need to spend dozens of hours manually entering product details.”

As physical retail opens up across Northern Ireland with more shoppers taking to the high street – NearSt believes now is the perfect time for bricks and mortar retailers to get in front of this online-first audience and let them know they have the products they’re looking for.

C-store success – Co-op Welcome

In January and February a Southampton-based Co-op Welcome convenience store began running NearSt’s technology.

Products were seen in local search results 380,000 times, and over 4000 shoppers went on to seek out further information by clicking on the product, calling the shop, or getting directions to the store. “This has driven over 550 customers in-store during January, February and March alone.” added Mr Brackenbury.

NearSt acts as a guardian of the inventory, and operates a public data ethics policy that ensures shops always remain in control of their data.

Rather than giving platforms direct access to your stock data, NearSt acts as a buffer to keep you in control and only sends essential information to keep data secure.

Ian Tomlinson, CEO Cybertill said“Offering NearSt to the Cybertill network comes from a shared belief that there is a lot to win for physical stores in the quickly changing world of retail. Allowing shops to show their products to locals in Google is the perfect way to tap into the rapidly growing trend among shoppers of using Google to look for products in nearby stores.”

The post How to get customers back on the High Street post-pandemic first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.

Guinness 0.0 is a new non-alcoholic beer from the brewers at St James’s Gate that boasts the same beautifully smooth taste, perfectly balanced flavour and unique dark colour of Guinness, without the alcohol.  

The journey to launching Guinness 0.0 has drawn on Guinness’s proud 261 year history of innovation and brewing brilliance dating from 1759. A commitment to retaining the distinct character and taste of Guinness was central to the four year process led by the technical and innovation teams at St. James’s Gate, the Home of Guinness.  

Integrity of taste and character

To create Guinness 0.0 the St James’s Gate brewers start by brewing Guinness exactly as they always have, using the same natural ingredients; water, barley, hops and yeast; before gently removing the alcohol through a cold filtration method. The cold filtration process allows the alcohol to be filtered out without presenting thermal stress to the beer, protecting the integrity of its taste and character. The brewers then carefully blend and balance the flavours to ensure the distinctive flavour profile and taste characteristics of Guinness.  

The resulting product is a stout that is unmistakably Guinness, just without the alcohol, featuring the same dark, ruby red liquid and creamy head, hints of chocolate and coffee, smoothly balanced with bitter, sweet and roasted notes. In taste tests by an independent panel, they found that Guinness 0.0 ‘exceeded expectations’ with its taste lauded as ‘outstanding’*.  

Bravery in brewing

Gráinne Wafer, Global Brand Director, Guinness said: “This is an exceptional day for Guinness, as we finally reveal Guinness 0.0. The launch of Guinness 0.0 highlights our long-held commitment to innovation, experimentation, and bravery in brewing, harnessing the power of our brewers and our ingredients, to create an alcohol-free beer that is 100% Guinness but 0% alcohol. 

Aisling Ryan, Innovation Brewer at St James’s Gate said: “Guinness has always had an unwavering commitment to quality and our entire brewing team is hugely proud of the care and effort that has been put into the four year development process for Guinness 0.0. We have created a taste experience that we believe is truly unrivalled in the world of non-alcoholic beer and we can’t wait for people to finally be able to try it!”  

Low calorie

Guinness 0.0 is also a low-calorie option for those choosing to moderate, with only 16 calories per 100ml. This means a standard can of alcohol-free Guinness 0.0 contains just 80 calories. 

Guinness 0.0 is brewed at St. James’s Gate in Dublin, the Home of Guinness and will be rolled out in the UK and Republic of Ireland. Guinness 0.0 will be available in 500 ml can format in off-licences and supermarkets from November 2020 at a RRP of £4.50 for a 4-pack and will be available in pubs across the UK and Republic of Ireland from Spring 2021 and available in more markets throughout the world later in 2021.

The post My goodness – Guinness goes alcohol free first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.