10-year Journey of GOGA Store Locator

Maps have evolved from something to look at into an experience of searching and choosing. This is the 10-year journey of GOGA Store Locator, walking with Google Maps Platform.

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Inspiration

We started this service called GOGA Store Locator to solve two problems.

  1. Improving customer experience
  2. Business process optimization

What it does

1. Improving Customer Experience

Customer Story
Seven & i Food Systems co.,Ltd. Service start date : 2014〜
Denny's

Business Challenges

When users wanted to find a nearby Denny's, they struggled to find the official store page, even via smartphone search—leading many users to give up visiting the store altogether.

Results after implementation

  • The number of hits to the official website increased by 150%
  • The transition rate from the store search page to the store details page also improved
  • Many users commented that it was "easier to use than previous experience."

Seamless search experience - no more prefecture-based drill-down

2. Business Process Optimization

Customer Story
Meiji Co., Ltd. Service start date : 2023〜
Meiji

Business Challenges

The company had to handle approximately 4,000 investigations of stores that sold its products each year, each taking an average of three to four hours, causing customers to wait for long periods of time.

Results after implementation

  • Annual response costs reduced to 1/1000, equivalent to the cost of approximately 7 people
  • Digital support is available 24/7.
  • Reduced missed opportunities by simplifying store discovery for ready-to-buy customers.

  1. Product delivery record by store are synced daily with Google Cloud, enabling accurate store searches based on near-live availability data.

  2. Problem：Unclear store info leads to lost sales or competitor purchases. Solution：Map-based visualization enhances both purchase intent and conversion.

Google Maps Platform Use Cases

Directions
Simplified travel planning with route creation from hotel search Places - Nearby Search
Displayed nearby places to attract visitors Geocoding & Places Details
Google Maps Platform supports matching uncertain addresses.

GOGA Store Locator Adoption Trends

Since its launch in 2014,GOGA Store Locator has been adopted mainly in food service and retail. After COVID-19, growing demand for "where to buy" searches expanded its use.

Points of differentiation

  1. Our service is characterized by rapid deployment, seamless Google Maps APIs integration, and flexible customization.
  • Delivery Data Integration
  • API integration of occupancy data
  • Displaying nearby information
  • Show Store photos
  • Visualizing areas using Polygons
  1. By combining Google Analytics with system operation log reporting, we provide actionable insights that support better store management

Store search
Search log collection
Collects information such as user attributes, search time, selected products, and store details. Dashboard
Search log visualization
A dashboard allows users to filter and analyze search logs by date, time, and region. Utilizing search logs
Smart Product-to-Store Matching
Leverage search logs to identify potential delivery areas and support sales expansion.

Available Logs

  • User Attributes
  • Age、Gender
  • Browsing Device
  • Access Time Slot
  • Selected Product
  • Searched Area

Search Area

  • Selected Store
  • Address of Selected Store
  • Area of Selected Store
  • Selected Product × Store Combination

What's next for GOGA Store Locator

Future vision Our vision is to build the “Customer-specific Maps Platform” — Beyond just store search, this platform visualizes diverse corporate data on maps, enabling its use across a wide range of applications.

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