Getting real with the trends – MarketLive Summit report

April 19, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Setting priorities is always a top challenge for merchants, what with the whirlwind pace of change in the world of online commerce combined with the need to abide by limited budgets. Thankfully, attendees of last week’s MarketLive Summit received significant help with focusing their to-do lists, thanks to industry expert Sucharita Mulpuru, principal eCommerce analyst at technology researcher Forrester.

In her keynote presentation, Mulpuru dissected six big trends that have been generating plenty of hype and presented merchants with real-world options — and, in some cases, alternatives — for acting on them. Among her top revelations:

Multi-channel fulfillment: Walk before running. While major merchants are promoting same-day delivery in some regions, Mulpuru noted that even they can’t offer coast-to-coast coverage — and that consumers overwhelmingly opt for “free” over “fast” when it comes to shipping. For that reason, she advised that most merchants should focus on other priorities when it comes to multi-channel fulfillment, including:

  • “Endless aisle” opportunities for in-store sales. Associates should be trained to help shoppers find and buy items online that are out of stock on store shelves. Self-service kiosks and tablet devices for store associates can help bridge the online/offline divide.

  • Order online, ship from stores. Mulpuru noted that merchants offering the ability to shop online and pick up items in stores have a steep hurdle to surmount, as inventory must be available in the location a shopper selects; by contrast, enabling local stores to fulfill online orders speeds delivery and gives merchants the option of tapping inventory from multiple nearby outlets to get the job done.

  • E-receipts. Delivering physical store receipts via email gives merchants the opportunity to tie together online and offline shopper activity via the shoppers’ email address. For that reason, it’s a top priority for multi-channel brands, Mulpuru said, with more than 40% of merchants in a recent survey saying they’ve implemented it or plan to do so within two years. Macy’s invites shoppers opting for an e-receipt to sign up for email updates at the same time, then follows up with a welcome email tailored to the physical location, including a discount with an in-store redemption option.

E-receipt example from macy's

Basic mobile competence is enough — for now. Mulpuru shared deep-dive analytics on mobile shopping behavior showing that while traffic from smartphones and tablets is growing exponentially, most interactions are shallow and brief. For example, while 10.7% of eCommerce site visits originate on smartphones, just 7.6% of pageviews do — and average conversion is a dismal 0.5%. And she shared dramatic results from two merchants demonstrating that a large investment in mobile doesn’t necessarily translate into higher conversion: both sites garnered 1.5% of online sales from mobile phones, despite vastly different budgets for mobile technology.

Mobile data from Forrester

While it’s possible to interpret this data to suggest that mobile as a whole is overblown as a priority, the fact remains that shoppers do expect to engage with brands via their tablets and phones — so merchants must develop mobile-friendly outposts to meet that demand. And the positive spin on Mulpuru’s data is that even merchants with modest mobile budgets can compete for mobile spending dollars, if they cover the crucial basics we’ve often described — a mobile-friendly shopping experience that incorporates long-standing eCommerce best practices and an easy mobile payment process chief among them.

Brand uniqueness counts more than ever. Using the phenomenon of dynamic pricing as a starting point, Mulpuru led Summit attendees through a fascinating discussion of how the legal underpinnings of commerce have shifted in favor of manufacturers, giving them increasing power to determine how and at what cost their goods are sold — a trend that may well give Amazon and other mega-merchants pause in their race to sell products at the lowest price point. Mulpuru urged merchants to stop obsessing about dynamic pricing and put the focus on products and brands that couldn’t be commoditized — that is, the unique offering that makes their brand a fit for their target audience. Among the practical applications of this recommendation:

  • Brand manufacturers should be the go-to resource for information about their products. Brand manufacturers can compete online for direct-to-consumer sales — and have a distinct advantage in that they are the original experts about their products. Manufacturer sites should reflect that advantage by giving shoppers encyclopedic product information in a variety of formats. Bedding manufacturer Cuddledown provides numerous buying guides, videos and other shopping tools, including a step-by-step guide to selecting the right pillow and a video showing how the pillows are made. A “pillow picker” interactive tool steps shoppers through the process and matches them with individual products.

Product information example from Cuddledown

  • Retailers should emphasize exclusives. Whether individual items made or offered exclusively through their brand or product combinations found nowhere else, unique offerings should be highlighted on retailer sites, giving shoppers incentive to act.Mass merchant Kohl’s spotlights exclusive products by designer Derek Lam in the women’s category, noting that the collection is “Limited Edition. Limited Time.” and using video to engage shoppers with the story behind the apparel.

Exclusive product example from Kohl's

What eCommerce trends top your list of priorities for the coming months, and why?

Filed under Acquire, Convert & Retain, Connected Commerce, Mobile Commerce Tagged with Summit 2013

Why to adopt a “mobile first” strategy for email

March 6, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Most merchants are aware that mobile commerce is a top priority for their businesses. But with more and more research indicating a massive shift is underway in how shoppers connect with brands, merchants need to go beyond merely developing a set of mobile-friendly templates for the eCommerce site and embrace a mobile-first philosophy for every aspect of their online strategy. The shift is especially important when it comes to the tried-and-true channel of email marketing, which has been an outstanding performer for merchants over the years — and which merchants must optimize in order to maintain the ROI they currently enjoy.

By some estimates, mobile is poised to take over as the default Internet touchpoint as early as this year. According to data from venture firm KPCB, the global installed base of smartphones and tablets is estimated to edge above desktop and notebook computers this year, and then widen the gap in 2014 and 2015. In the U.S., 29% of consumers own a tablet or e-reader, up from less than 20% last year, according to KPCB, while 48% of cell phone users have a smartphone — a jump of 50% from a year ago.

Data on mobile adoption from KPCD



This year is also when the majority of marketing email opens are predicted to occur on mobile devices, according to marketing firm Knotice. Already, 77% of smartphone owners use their devices to read email once a month or more, according to industry researcher Forrester.

And lest merchants think that consumers merely scan Subject: lines on mobile devices, deleting the chaff and saving emails of interest to read later on desktop PCs, Knotice’s data reveals that subscribers only interact with messages once — regardless of device — with fewer than 3% viewing email content on multiple screens.

Data on email usage from Knotice

With the percentage of desktop computer interactions dropping in the course of 2012 and the percentage of mobile and tablet opens rising — in the case of tablets, by more than 80% — it’s high time for merchants to think “mobile first” when it comes to email campaigns. It’s crucial to deliver different versions of campaigns depending on a shopper’s browser and device type. Mobile versions should:

  • Have shorter Subject: lines. Mobile email clients truncate long Subject: lines, so aim for 30 characters or fewer, compared with 50 characters for emails opened in desktop browsers or email clients.
  • Accommodate “fat fingers.” Nothing is more frustrating when using mobile devices than aiming for one link and hitting the adjacent one by mistake. Mobile email design should incorporate more white space than the desktop version – around 45 pixels – so that smartphone users can select desired links with ease.
  • Present a streamlined view. Cut the navigation clutter and spotlight a few select products to avoid forcing mobile recipients to scroll endlessly through a barrage of information. Not only will the content be more digestible, but a streamlined version will load more quickly – an essential consideration.
  • Include device-targeted content.  Message specifically to mobile users with content that connects them to physical store locations, enabling cross-channel shopping. Additionally, put the spotlight on social sharing, since from their devices, according to Google.

Recreational apparel merchant Title Nine puts it all together, serving a streamlined version of its Mothers’ Day promotion for mobile phones. The mobile version uses the same theme and  look and feel of the full-fledged message for viewing on desktop email clients, but features links to products from just one of the featured ensembles. The mobile version also elevates links for social sharing on Facebook and Twitter, and prominently invites viewers to share their “favorite MOMism” on Facebook.

t9_mobileversion

Email example from Title Nine

How have you adapted your email strategy to incorporate mobile?

Filed under Client Innovations, Email Marketing, Mobile Commerce

Should you implement responsive design?

February 22, 2013 by Leave a Comment

As merchants strive to serve shoppers on a growing array of devices, the concept of responsive design has definite allure. And with over a quarter of merchants planning a site redesign this year and more than 40% saying mobile and tablet development are a priority, according to industry researcher Forrester, responsive design may become one of 2013’s top buzzwords.

The premise is that a single base of code can serve multiple touchpoints by detecting the device and browser used and changing the layout and functionality on display accordingly — promising merchants a streamlined process for updates and maintenance. But is responsive design really the right choice when it comes to building a seamless brand experience? There are a number of pros and cons to weigh, among them:

Ease of maintenance vs. ease of use. It’s true that responsive design makes site maintenance easier for merchants — but it’s even more important to consider the site experience for shoppers. While sophisticated use of code can resize, rearrange and even add or omit elements on the page, it can be difficult to create a truly device-specific experience that meets or exceeds shoppers’ expectations. For example, the footer on the desktop browser version of the responsive site for Perry Ellis brand Original Penguin includes an 800 number and a badge indicating shoppers can pay with Paypal, both of which are dropped from the mobile version of the same page. But arguably, the phone number — with click-to-call functionality built in — is more important than ever on the mobile site, where merchants should use every means at their disposal to build trust and ease communication with consumers wary of making purchases on their phones. Similarly, the Paypal badge should be even more prominent than on the desktop site, given that more than two-thirds of transactions on mobile phones are completed using alternative payments rather than entering credit card data.

Responsive design example from Original Penguin

Desktop footer

 

responsive_op_mobile

Mobile footer

It’s important, too, to consider the content of shared elements and whether they truly scale to fit different formats. U.K. electronics giant Curry’s uses responsive design to deliver different sites to mobile and desktop browser users. The main rotating promotions on the home page, however, don’t exactly fit the designated space when viewed on the mobile browser — and some of the images containing multiple products are just too tiny to be effective.

responsive_currys

Desktop home page promo

responsive_currys_mobile

Mobile home page promo

SEO boost vs. performance drag. Another potential benefit to responsive design is that all inbound links from any device or browser point to a single URL — giving that flagship site maximum potential relevance when being ranked for natural search engine results. It’s a worthwhile consideration, since the number of inbound links originating from mobile is significant; for example, — and potentially share product links, “likes” and reviews there.

At the same time, the complexity of the code required to build a truly responsive site can add to page weight, affecting site performance and frustrating the potential customers who clicked on that page-one search results link. As of 2010, , penalizing slower sites as potentially less credible — thereby potentially canceling out some of the positive SEO impact of having a single URL. And on mobile devices, the expectation for speed is more acute than ever; performance monitoring firm Gomez found that 59% of mobile users expect sites to load in 3 seconds or less, while 46% of mobile users would be unlikely to return to a site that had experienced load time problems.

Of course, using separate sites for different devices can cause problems of its own — namely, the loss of speed associated with redirecting shoppers to the right URL. And as with usability and functionality problems, there are ways to avoid performance problems associated with responsive design, such as starting with the mobile version and adding enhancements for tablets and desktops, rather than trying to go from large to small. But the majority of responsive design sites currently don’t employ these techniques, according to performance firm Akamai, which found that 86% of responsive sites’ mobile pages were at least 90% as big as the desktop browser versions.

responsive_akamai

The upshot? Merchants undertaking a redesign should consider using responsive design, as it has great potential. But they should weigh the costs of doing it right versus the costs of maintaining separate sites for different devices — and recognize that responsive design isn’t a cheap silver bullet for solving all their multi-touchpoint needs.

Filed under Connected Commerce, Mobile Commerce, Search Engine Marketing

Social media watch: 5 Ways to Use Twitter’s Vine app

February 19, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Our 2013 trends presentation touched on the importance of video as a means of connecting shoppers with products. With the recent launch of Twitter’s Vine app, merchants have yet another reason to make video a top priority this year.

For those who haven’t already checked it out, Vine is a mobile app (currently only available for iPhone or iPod Touch) that enables users to capture and share 6-second looping video snippets, which display and play within a Twitter post. The app enables users to capture pivotal, colorful or just wacky moments in live action, rather than with a still image, and share instantaneously. Vine is the latest of several apps to enable quick sharing of mobile video, starting with Viddy and now also including , which features 15-second video status updates.

A perusal of VinePeek, which streams newly-posted Vine videos as they’re added, suggests that the new app will be used to capture plenty of cute moments involving pets. But there’s also serious potential for merchants to engage social followers using Vine and other mobile-video apps. And because the format is quick and simple to use, merchants can experiment without breaking the bank. A few potential uses include:

Promotion of live events. While merchants may well want to shoot extensive video at live events to edit and post after the fact, Vine is designed for instant sharing — enabling followers to share in the excitement as it happens and perhaps get a backstage sneak peek. When a NASCAR driver was featured on ESPN’s “Sports Night” program, NASCAR posted a Vine video showing a glimpse of the interview, as well as the scene from behind the cameras in the studio — enticing Twitter followers to tune in.

Vine example from NASCAR

Demonstrate a quick how-to. While 6-second clips won’t replace extensive product demo videos, merchants can use Vine to highlight a specific feature, expert tip or handy trick. Cadbury UK recently promoted its new “Egg ‘n’ Spoon” product with a quick video showing how to scoop out the candy filling, and encouraged sharing by offering a prize drawing to those who retweeted the clip.

Vine example from Cadbury

A new format for user-generated content. Consider a contest inviting followers to submit Vine clips featuring your products, or encourage customers to use clips to illustrate their product reviews.

Build brand identity. Advertisement-style clips that build on a current campaign or reinforce brand image are quickly becoming popular. Gap asked followers what shoes they’d wear with its Skimmer pants, and illustrated the question with a quick clip that encouraged followers to “be bright.”

Vine example from Gap

Reinforce lifestyle affinity. Like longer-format videos, Vine clips can give followers a glimpse behind the scenes of a brand and demonstrate that staff members are attuned to the tastes of their clientele. And with the brief format of Vine, the clips can be quirky and tongue-in-cheek, as in this post from Urban Outfitters paying homage to National Beer Can Day.

Vine example from Urban Outfitters

Have you tried Viddy, Vine or Tout yet? What potential do you see in mobile-video tools for your brand?

Filed under Mobile Commerce, Social Commerce Tagged with Twitter, Video

Webinar recap: Shopping without borders

February 12, 2013 by Leave a Comment

If there’s one theme that emerged from last week’s webinar on trends for 2013, it’s that this year will see shopping escape the confines of the eCommerce site.

MarketLive founder Ken Burke explained how often-discussed but rarely-implemented concepts such as social commerce and multi-channel execution are due to come to fruition, resulting in an experience where shopping seamlessly blends with a consumer’s individual lifestyle. Rather than having to seek out products nested within eCommerce site categories, shoppers will be able to access items in new formats, presented with their individual devices, locations and situations in mind.

Finding new ways to marry shoppers’ preferences with products is an essential means of brand differentiation, which — as discussed in our preview of the webinar – will be merchants’ core challenge for 2013. By attuning technology to match shoppers’ priorities and the core identity of their brands, merchants can stand out in the crowd. A few top strategies the webinar covered:

Designing tablet-specific experiences. Burke estimated that 25% of all online shopping now takes place on tablets — and there’s growing evidence that tablet shoppers are more likely to buy, and buy more, than mobile and perhaps even desktop shoppers. So it behooves merchants to take advantage of the devices’s unique properties — not only its screen size and swipe-and-tap navigation, but the environment in which shoppers use tablets. Tablet owners use them at home 74% of the time, according to eMarketer, while just over a third use them in stores. By contrast, the vast majority of smartphone owners go online on their devices from on-the-go locations, with 75% using them in stores, industry researcher Forrester found. Merchants should optimize the shopping experience for tablets with display-driven formats that enable swiping to browse, as Staples has done with a  tablet-specific site that includes an array of “hot deals” and best sellers for shoppers to swipe through.

Tablet example from Staples

Connecting on-the-go browsing to buying. Smartphone shoppers are 14% more likely to convert and make a purchase in the store than non-smartphone users, according to data from Deloitte — the trick is to provide deep, location-relevant content that encourages purchasing. As a corollary benefit, developing mobile content intended for in-store use helps merchants quantify and track consumers’ movement across touchpoints – enabling them to tighten the mobile-to-purchase connection and justify further investment in mobile efforts. QR codes are increasingly prevalent, with one in five U.S. consumers having scanned one in the past month, so merchants would do well to experiment with this format for physical stores. As an extreme example, Burke showed how eBay has transformed its Inspiration Shop window at 404 Park Avenue South in New York into a buying opportunity using QR codes to link passersby to products and transactions.

eBay physical store with QR codes

 

Embedding products in pictures. Merchants have long known that multiple images and product videos help increase conversion; now, it’s possible to make the transition from image to transaction even more seamless, with product links and displays built into rich media that can be syndicated far beyond the eCommerce site. Barney’s New York used a behind-the-scenes video to showcase products with a product popup display that allowed shoppers to add items to the cart without disrupting their viewing experience. A timeline across the bottom of the display lets shoppers scroll back to items of interest.

Shoppable video example from Barney's

Redefining social shopping. At first, merchants who wanted to monetize social media focused on Facebook stores as a way to enable shoppers to buy within the social environment. Those efforts have seen mixed success, largely because merely adding a “buy” button fails to take advantage of the unique properties of the medium. Rather, by integrating social data with products merchants can create an engaging experience for brand followers. On social networks, that means building interactive social media experiences that allow shoppers to share and tailor product arrays. But perhaps even more exciting is the prospect of bringing social data back onto the eCommerce site, where merchants can blend shoppers’ personal preferences and social data with relevant products using Facebook login and other social connector tools. When shoppers use Facebook in conjunction with accessory retailer Claire’s, they can access a “Fashion Feed” showing which items other shoppers — everyone or just friends — are tagging as favorites, and they can opt whether to add their product picks to the mix.

Using social login is so important that we’re planning a post dedicated to best practices for implementation — watch for it in the coming week. Meantime, to access more key strategies for 2013, replay the webinar — and tell us: what are your priorities for the year?

Filed under Acquire, Convert & Retain, Connected Commerce, Mobile Commerce, Social Commerce Tagged with Facebook, Tablets, Video

Webinar preview: trends to help brand stand out in the crowd

February 5, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Now that the exuberance of the successful holiday season has worn off, for many merchants the reality of 2013 is setting in – and while they have every reason to be optimistic, they also face a fundamental challenge: how to stand out in the crowd.

The online marketplace is increasingly polarized, as the top mega-brands attract the lion’s share of revenues on one end of the spectrum even as the field of small- and mid-sized merchants becomes ever more crowded. While overall U.S. eCommerce sales grew an average of 14% annually from 2007 to 2011, per year for the same time period, according to industry researcher Forrester.  And nearly 78% of the total 2011 revenues reported by Internet Retailer’s Top 500 merchants was generated by the 50 biggest names on the list. With over two million online retailers in the U.S. alone, according to the U.S. Commerce Department, merchants must differentiate themselves in order to survive, let alone succeed.

The challenge of creating uniquely irresistible appeal will be at the heart of tomorrow’s webinar examining 2013 trends, which will explore three key themes merchants can adapt to their individual businesses to present a relevant combination of products, offers and services across screens and in new formats. Among the topics MarketLive founder Ken Burke will discuss:

Multi-screen shopping becomes the norm. As merchants have deployed mobile offerings, they’ve largely focused on browsing and researching – activities that support eventual offline or computer-based purchases.  After all, , compared with the 96% who’ve researched products and gone on to make purchases offline or on a larger screen, according to research from Google and Ipsos. But the imperative is growing to focus on driving sales directly from mobile offerings. One key reason: the growing audience of than smartphone shoppers, in part due to the larger screen size that makes it easier to view products and complete checkout forms. But even on smartphones, merchants have an opportunity to better drive mobile revenues, whether by smoothing the path to purchase or tightening the mobile/offline connection so that they can better attribute eventual sales to mobile influence.

The end of the product page as we know it. Rather than seeking out static product information sequestered within a hierarchy of categories and subcategories, increasingly consumers can shop from a variety of online settings that are seamlessly permeated with opportunities to browse and buy. This revolution in content and product presentation is an outgrowth of advances in mobile technology that allow device users to search and identify non-textual content – from visual search tools such as Google Goggles, which delivers search results based on images rather than keywords, to Shazam, an app that can identify songs based on an audio snippet.  QR codes that connect consumers to content via scannable codes are also part of the trend; their usage has grown exponentially, with fully one in five U.S. smartphone users scanning a QR code in April of 2012, according to data from comScore. Shoppable videos and artful product-and-text layouts appeal to the same sensibility of being able to “point, know and buy”.

Shoppable video example from Barney's

Personalization moves to the next level. Merchants have been making increasingly earnest efforts at personalization, and for good reason: the rewards for tailoring products, content and service are potentially significant. More than one in three consumers say they buy more from retailers who personalize the shopping experience and 34% say they buy more from retailers who send product recommendations based on past buying and browsing behavior, according to research from personalization firm MyBuys and The E-Tailing Group.  With an ever-expanding array of information available about individual behaviors, and a growing expectation on the part of consumers that products will be relevant to their specific situation, the bar is being raised on personalization. Merchants should now explore ways to incorporate location-based data from mobile devices and personal details gleaned from social networks as way to add further context to the shopping experience. But personalization in 2013 is also about drawing on shoppers’ explicit input and providing individualized services that make every transaction unique.

Sign up now for the webinar to explore these trends in further depth, complete with examples and more data. We look forward to the conversation!

Filed under Acquire, Convert & Retain, Connected Commerce, Mobile Commerce, Social Commerce

Webinar recap: mobile’s influence on search marketing

November 2, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Tuesday’s webinar on search engine marketing was full of useful strategic advice for helping merchants maximize their investments, both for optimizing to boost natural search results rankings and for paid search advertising. One key takeaway: both types of search marketing have been revolutionized by the advent of mobile.

When it comes to natural SEO, search engines are increasingly allocating real estate on the first page of results to local listings tied to mapping services — a shift that caters to mobile shoppers on the go. Fully 94% of smartphone owners have looked for local information, according to Google  – and more than , according to The Pew Internet & American Life Project

And paid search ads are receiving more and more traffic from mobile devices. The share of clicks to search ads grew 132% in the course of 2011 alone, and is estimated to total 25% of all clicks by the end of this year, according to Marin Software.

Paid search forecast from Marin Software

To adapt search marketing strategies to accommodate the growing importance of mobile, merchants should:

Enhance on-site store locator information with a unique page for each outlet, and optimize off-site listings to match. As discussed in a prior post, most local directories offer the opportunity for business owners to “claim” their pages and add information such as store hours and the types of products and services offered. In addition to local listings tied to search engines, merchants should be sure to optimize their information on other business directory sites, such as CitySearch, Yellow Pages, and SuperPages, as well as review sites like Yelp!.

A search for outdoor retailer REI produces a series of local results in the second position in organic search results. The Google Plus Local page includes store-specific information, such as specialty services offered, and links directly to a page on the main REI site specific to that location, which lists still more localized information, such as a schedule of in-store events and classes.

Local search example for REI

Physical store location page from REI

Target mobile phone search ads by region. Mobile paid search remains cost-effective, with costs per click lower than on desktop browsers: in 2011, the average cost per click for desktop search was $0.83, while on smartphones it was $0.53 and on tablets it was $0.63, according to Marin Software. Merchants should capitalize on this cost-effectiveness by crafting separate mobile campaigns, which perform 11.5% better than mobile-desktop hybrid campaigns, according to Google. Not only should the ad copy be mobile-specific; it should also take into account local physical locations and offer. Merchants should also consider enhancements such as click-to-call and integrated location mapping to further enable shoppers on the go. Such enhancements have the added benefit of giving merchants more real estate on small mobile phone screens, increasing the likelihood for top bidders to dominate the page.

Banana Republic tailors its mobile search ad to include click-to-call functionality as well as a link for directions. Additionally, whereas the desktop ad puts the emphasis on a free shipping offer likely to appeal only to online shoppers, the mobile ad mentions a general $35 discount available in stores as well as online.

Banana Republic paid search examples

Devise mobile-friendly landing pages. Paid and natural search links alike should point shoppers to pages that fit the format of the intended device. Not only do optimized landing pages serve users better, leading to more engagement and conversions, but Google also factors landing page usability into its algorithm for serving mobile ads, favoring those listings that link to mobile-optimized content.  Merchants should:

  • Tailor technology. Eliminate elements that use incompatible technology, such as Flash, or that may not render well on touchscreens, such as Javascript flyouts or popups.
  • Streamline content. On small screens, the connection between the link text and the landing page should be more clear than ever, and the call to action should be prominent.

1-800-Flowers calls out its gift finder as a sitelink in its mobile search ad, which highlights that the brand has a mobile-friendly site. Shoppers who click the “Find a Gift” link can use a streamlined form to specify the delivery region , occasion and date  – thereby fulfilling the ad’s promise of mobile ease-of-use – or browse gift products with the ability to sort by a number of criteria. The label “find a gift fast” underscores the speed and simplicity of the process.

Mobile search ad from 1800Flowers

Mobile landing page from 1800Flowers

The webinar covered many more aspects of search marketing, from social media’s impact on SEO to retargeting campaigns — so download the replay or the related whitepaper today. And tell us: what are your top search marketing priorities?

 

 

Filed under Mobile Commerce, Search Engine Marketing Tagged with Business Optimization

A quick fix to boost holiday mobile engagement

October 23, 2012 by Leave a Comment

One of the surprising results of the 2012 MarketLive Consumer Shopping Survey was the strong showing forecast for mobile in the holiday season to come. By now, heavy mobile researching is to be expected, but the survey revealed that a large percentage of consumers plan to go beyond browsing to use their devices to transact purchases. Specifically:

  • One in five survey participants plan to make purchases on their mobile devices during the holiday season
  • 43% said they would use their mobile devices to redeem coupons in-store
  • 82% said they would use retail apps to make purchases

With such potential for direct contribution to the bottom line, mobile offerings deserve prominent promotion. But often, the only mention of mobile on the flagship eCommerce site is a small link in the footer — or, worse, there’s none at all. With the holiday season right around the corner, merchants should act immediately to highlight whatever mobile offerings they have — using all the touchpoints to cross-promote their services. Specifically, merchants should:

Go big with details on the eCommerce site. On the flagship eCommerce site designed for viewing on desktops or browsers, devote a page or more to mobile offerings, detailing what’s available through text-message alerts, the mobile Web and on custom apps. Toys R Us features a page detailing its three mobile apps, with links to download each, along with its mobile Web site. With the heading “Buy and browse from anywhere!” the page emphasizes convenience, calling out the ability to scan item barcodes for registries and research and to access “quick on-the-go shopping”. The left-hand column invites browsers to sign up for text-message alerts by emphasizing “the hottest deals and savings” and allows subscribers to select which categories of alerts they’d like to receive.

Mobile promotion example by Toys R Us

Additionally, merchants should consider linking to mobile information from a promotion on the home page and/or in the global header, as MarketLive merchant Perricone MD did when launching its new iPhone app. The home page promotion promises “instant access” to health advice.

Mobile promotion example from Perricone MD

Alert email subscribers to new ways to shop. Email subscribers are already familiar with the brand and may already even be customers — but that doesn’t mean they don’t have any interest in shopping via mobile device as well as on the traditional Web site. Message them with a promotional offer exclusive to mobile shoppers, as MarketLive merchant Armani Exchange did with this message promising $20 off mobile orders of $100 or more. After the campaign, the mobile site saw a three-fold increase in conversions.

Mobile promotion example from Armani Exchange

Reach mobile-primed shoppers via social networks. Fully 80% of smartphone owners visit social networking sites, and more than half of them do so daily, according to . Merchants should engage this audience of mobile enthusiasts by promoting their offerings on social outposts, emphasizing the ability to access exclusive and up-to-the-minute content. Victoria’s Secret promotes its apps and mobile alerts service on a “Get Connected” page linked prominently from its main Facebook Timeline.

Mobile promotion example from Victoria's Secret

How are you promoting your mobile services across touchpoints?

Filed under Client Innovations, Connected Commerce, Mobile Commerce, Seasonal Selling Tagged with 2012 Holidays

Webinar preview: Maximizing holiday sales success

October 9, 2012 by Leave a Comment

The National Retail Federation’s Shop.org has released its holiday forecast, predicting that online sales will grow 12.6% year over year. That estimate is lower than the earlier forecast from eMarketer, which predicted growth of nearly 17%, and also lower than last year’s sales growth of 15%, as measured by the U.S. Department of Commerce.

While it’s impossible to know whose crystal-ball prognostications will be more accurate, the lower figure squares with the new data collected for the 2012 MarketLive Consumer Shopping Survey, which polled more than 1,000 U.S. shoppers about their plans for holiday spending. The majority of participants, 54%, said they plan to spend about the same amount as last year — down from 56% last year; the percentage of respondents who said they plan to spend more more than doubled, but remains small at 16%, while fewer than 1 in 3 participants said they planned to spend less.

MarketLive 2012 Consumer Shopping Survey data

The data confirms that while the prospects are good for holiday success, merchants will have to work harder than ever to convince shoppers to spend more. The proposition is even more difficult for small-to-medium-sized merchants, who may not be able to compete on price alone with mega-players such as Amazon and Wal-Mart.

But there are plenty of ways merchants can thrive this holiday season despite the challenges. As we’ll reveal in a comprehensive review of survey results tomorrow, October 10, the key to success is to provide value — which doesn’t always equate to bargain-basement pricing. Among other topics, the webinar will explore:

  • What gifting features are most popular for merchants to offer
  • The promotions most likely to motivate purchasing
  • How Amazon impacts holiday shopping behavior
  • Whether shoppers plan to buy — not just research — via their mobile devices
  • How social media can help merchants drive holiday sales

In addition, the webinar will feature a bevy of examples and tactics merchants can apply immediately to boost the success of their holiday campaigns. Register for the webinar now – and stay tuned to the blog for holiday tips throughout the season.

Filed under Acquire, Convert & Retain, Mobile Commerce, Seasonal Selling Tagged with 2012 Holidays

Three more reasons to use video

October 3, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Most merchants recognize that there’s a compelling case for developing video content. According to Internet Retailer’s compilations, 72% of the Top 500 merchants have at least one video and 44% of the Second 500 feature video on their sites.

In-depth product demonstrations can satisfy shoppers’ need for information and motivate the add-to-cart, with merchants such as Zappos reporting sales increases of 6-30% on pages featuring video. Video reviews give buyers a new way to weigh in on products, and lifestyle videos provide a compelling demonstration of how brands align with shoppers’ priorities.

But video’s utility extends far beyond these basics — and its importance is only likely to grow with the continued expansion of new shopping formats and networks. To justify expanded investment in video, consider:

Video gives email a boost. Using the word “video” in the Subject: line can boost open rates up to 20%, and video in email can produce a two-fold to three-fold increase in click-through rates, according to the Email Experience Council. The latest wave of email clients, those that support HTML5, enable inclusion of video playback within the body of an email message; animated .gifs or still images that link to videos can also be effective in motivating email engagement, as in this email from American Eagle Outfitters, which has three animated .gifs for lifestyle videos embedded in it.

Video usage example from AE

(Image from the Retail Email Blog)

Video is a preferred format for tablet users. The expanded horizontal layout of the email above is ideal for tablet consumption — no coincidence, given tablet users’ propensity for watching video. More than half of tablet owners report watching video at least once in the past month and nearly 1 in 10 watch video daily, according to measurement firm comScore. With tablet commerce generating , merchants should provide as much content for this new format as possible — with video front at center. Saks has developed an iPad app that puts video front and center with a “video gallery” featuring interviews and how-to fashion advice.

Video example from Saks

Video is catchy for social media beyond YouTube. Merchants can easily syndicate video across social networks, making for compelling content for brand followers. Facebook is the number two video site after YouTube, according to comScore, while eMarketer reports that video is the most popular content type on Google+; and 9% of links posted to Twitter are video clips, eMarketer found. Merchants can extend the life of existing video content — and should also take the opportunity to create custom social video, such as this clip from luxury retailer Burberry welcoming viewers to its Google+ site. Google+ offers the additional possibility of creating video events with its “hangouts” feature — worth exploring as a way to connect loyal followers with brand insiders.

Video example from Burberry

How are you making the most of your investment in video?

Filed under Acquire, Convert & Retain, Connected Commerce, Email Marketing, Mobile Commerce, Social Commerce Tagged with Video

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