Case Study: Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores achieves 194% lift in local search visibility and franchise discoverability with Yext

Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores (SHOS) Uses Yext to Help with Local Discoverability of Franchisees, Owners, and Licensed Dealers

Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores (SHOS) is a U.S. retailer with over 1,100 locally owned and licensed locations selling appliances, hardware and lawn & garden products. Facing intense product-driven competition from big-box chains, SHOS’ CMO identified poor local discoverability and inconsistent public business listings across hundreds of franchisees as a critical barrier to driving in-store traffic and customer engagement.

SHOS implemented Yext’s Knowledge Engine and Review Monitoring to centrally manage listings, empower local owners to personalize profiles, and integrate online reviews with in-store survey data. The program expanded SHOS’ listings presence from ~24,000 to 61,000+, corrected hundreds of thousands of incorrect data points, added hundreds of thousands of photos and descriptions, captured 750 reviews in the first three months, and drove a 194% lift in search impressions while enabling rapid follow-up (90% contact rate) on negative feedback.

Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores

David Buckley

Chief Marketing Officer