Consumer behavior shifts occur often, given economic changes, current affairs, and unforeseen disruptions, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Rio SEO's report reinforces these shifts, proving the challenges marketers have experienced over the past two years were widespread, with no vertical left unaffected.

Rio SEO’s Local Consumer Search Behavior Report found that restaurants began to see staggering search volumes and business listing views in March 2021.

• Views increased by 243% YoY for sit-down restaurants
• Searches increased by 305% YoY for sit-down restaurants
• Clicks for directions increased by 99% for quick-service restaurants.

However, long-term impacts include more than 110,000 restaurant closures and ongoing staffing issues for this industry.

“Each industry faced its unique set of opportunities and challenges amid the pandemic,” said Mick Wilson, vice president of customer success, Rio SEO. “Adapting to meet the needs of consumers during this time is necessary. Those who adapted and pivoted survived during the height of the pandemic and came out on the other side stronger.”

Additional key highlights and takeaways include:

• Businesses across most verticals saw clicks to driving directions on their listings grow in 2021, as customers began feeling comfortable transacting and shopping in person again
• Retailers saw astronomical success in 2020 as consumers were eager to buy essential goods
• The hospitality industry had the greatest come back in 2021 as vaccines became readily available and consumers were eager to travel again
• Financial services businesses, such as mortgage brokers, saw record years in 2020 and some drop-offs in 2021 as mortgage rates began to rise again

“Although restaurants on still on their journey to recovering, sit-down and quick-service restaurants were two of the most impactful verticals we studied” added Wilson. “Online ordering quickly became essential for operators with full-service restaurants as well as the implementation of loyalty programs to entice customers to keep coming back, even during times of uncertainty.”

Businesses, consumers, and marketers can utilize Rio SEO’s report to visualize the impact of the pandemic on local search volume and conversion metrics to continue to benchmark and adjust their current search goals to meet the needs of their consumers.

About Rio SEO’s Local Consumer Search Behavior Report:
Its findings were compiled from over 170,000 U.S. business locations over the span of 2021. These locations were organized in eight diverse categories to analyze. Visit Rio SEO’s website to access the full report and dive deeper into the findings.

About Rio SEO
Rio SEO is the leading local marketing platform for enterprise brands, agencies, and retailers. Rio SEO’s Open Local Platform provides multi-location organizations with a comprehensive, seamlessly integrated suite of turnkey local marketing solutions and reputation management tools – Local Listings, Local Pages, Local Reviews, Local Ratings, Local Reporting, and Local Manager – proven to increase brand visibility across search engines, social networks, maps applications and more.

Founded in 2006, Rio SEO ranks among the largest global providers of local search automation solutions and patented SEO reporting tools, driving business from search to sale for corporate brands worldwide. Hundreds of enterprise brands and retailers rely on its innovative technology and local marketing expertise to drive motivated, measurable online traffic to local pages and into physical stores. Rio SEO currently serves Fortune 500 companies across a variety of industries, including retail, restaurants, financial services, hospitality, and more. For more information, visit rioseo.com or follow @rio_SEO on Twitter.

Source: PRWeb
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