The rise of e-commerce has shifted the sale of many products and services into cyberspace. Some previously brick-and-mortar businesses have gone full digital, where others have embraced the omnichannel approach, offering a seamless in-store and online experience. 

For e-commerce shops that sell on-line and in-store, whether through a B2C storefront or B2B distribution channels, a reliable store locator map is a key fixture to help customers locate the products they want. 

The SC Store Locator Map offers Shopify merchants a flexible, customizable store locator solution that helps customers find your products. Customers are given access to an interactive map with real-time directions so they can quickly and easily pinpoint the nearest location, with customizable search filters to narrow down their result. 

Thanks to a recent update, SC Store Locator Map is going to be more flexible and scalable than ever. Let’s walk through some of the exciting updates and changes that Shopify merchants will care about most. 

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Store Locator is more flexible than ever

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With the recent update, SC Store Locator Map will now be compatible with Shopify OS 2.0. The latest version of Shopify Online Store offers increased flexibility for developers building themes and apps for merchants, as well as a revamped online store experience and new developer tools. Store Locator is now fully compatible with these updates. 

Store Locator also now allows merchants to add a map using the App Block function beneath the Apps section. Where previously the addition of a map created a separate proxy page, now it can be placed within a page using App Block. This means merchants can place the map anywhere on their theme that adds the most value. 

“One of the biggest pain points for merchants before was that the map could only be added to your navigation as a page and didn’t have the ability to be placed anywhere. This new update enables merchants to place the map anywhere on their theme they like, wherever adds the most value. It’s a game changer”

- Dan Pfiefer, Senior Product Manager, Shop Circle

In addition to map location, this new update makes it easier than before for merchants to customize their map within the Shopify Theme Editor. Some notable features include:

• The ability for merchants to place a map anywhere on their theme using the App Block function. 
• New map themes (Default, Silver, Retro, Dark, Night, Aubergine) that let merchants match their map to their brand. For example, a store selling vintage boots may prefer a retro theme, whereas a store selling high-tech gadgets may prefer the modern look of a Dark map. 
• New language options so merchants can choose to display their location map in the language most suitable to their customers. 
• A variety of new show/hide options so merchants can customize just how detailed vs. scaled down their map is to meet their needs.

When we talk about apps being built to scale, usually we mean they are designed with a rapidly growing and scaling business in mind. However, another dimension of scalability refers to the ability to scale down or simplify a page to deliver the appropriate customer experience. Here’s why this matters: 

For merchants and brands using Store Locator Map who don’t have a bunch of in-store locations or distribution touchpoints, a typical store locator map can seem excessively robust. E-commerce merchants with, say, a single brick-and-mortar store, want the ability to display that store on a map in a more scaled-down fashion. The new show/hide options make it easy. 

“A lot of the drive behind this update was customers who are just using the one store plan, and they wanted a simple map they could put on their storefront. Even though they had one store, they wanted to just center a map on that store to say, ‘this is where we’re located’ rather than making the customer have to track it down. The other value is being able to place it where it's more relevant. It really opens the doors for all kinds of exciting, enterprise-level features made accessible to SMB merchants”

- Dan Pfiefer, Senior Product Manager, Shop Circle

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Ready to get started? 

The recent update to Store Locator Map makes it fully compatible with the exciting Shopify OS 2.0 and the App Block functionality. Merchants now have the ability to place their map wherever they want on their theme, and customize it to their exact preference with a variety of easy-to-use customization tools. 

If you already use SC Store Locator Map, enjoy the new flexibility offered with this update. If you are considering adding a store locator tool to your store, you can now try Store Locator Map for free. 

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Shop Circle is the first operator of e-commerce tools, providing apps that help brands ignite sales, grow farther, faster, and scale without limits.