Tips, Stats for E-Commerce Holiday Season

Amberly Dressler — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 18:30:00 GMT

Much to most of our chagrin, retailers are already stocking the shelves with holiday décor. Although we haven’t hit October, brick-and-mortar stores are doing what they can to pinch more out of the holiday season. E-commerce sites can do the same.

To do so, it’s not only important to understand which products are most likely to be purchased online, but to also understand the current international online purchasing picture, for companies entertaining the idea of expansion. Pitney Bowes, a provider of business communication software, mailing systems and services, surveyed 4,000 consumers (in France, Germany, the U.K. and the U.S.) asking just that. Books, clothes, magazines, shoes and electronics hold the top-five slots globally, while health supplements, pet supplies, gardening products, Do-It-Yourself products and crafts ranked last of the preferred items for online purchase. The survey also looked at what these consumers purchased in the last year. Magazines counted for 55 percent, of the group's online purchases, books 52 percent, clothes 51 percent and so on.

It’s also important to note that the report, Consumer Trends in Online Shopping and Shipping, found that online purchases of every type of product are on the rise in the last 12 months. According to Goldman Sachs, e-commerce sales are predicted to reach $963 billion globally by 2013, with an annual growth rate of 19.4 percent.

“Consumers continue to delight in having clothes and electronics arrive at their doorstep,” said Craig Reed, Vice President Global E-commerce, Pitney Bowes. “Cross border e-commerce shopping and shipping solutions are expanding retail’s reach this year. It is critical to create a predictable seamless experience for each consumer from the online shopping cart to the moment they open the package at home.”

Additionally, the company offers the following tips for the e-commerce holiday season:

For the consumer in any country, the shopping cart experience must be seamless. E-commerce solutions now automatically calculate cross-border fees, end-to-end shipping and local taxes. They also filter out products that are prohibited from being sold in certain locales by import and export regulations.
Use a multi-channel approach for holiday campaigns. Direct mail, call centers, websites, live chat, texts, social media and email should all be leveraging the same customer data and communicating in a similar tone.
Pace your communications for a two-way conversation to build customer loyalty. Timing and acknowledging previous touch points build intimacy.
Make returns and customer service easy. Consumers will remember and return.
Measure your cross-border success as new technology solutions contribute to the emergence of this revenue-generating trend.

Social Media Influences Buyers; Duh!

Pete Prestipino — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 19:12:00 GMT

According to a report published by digital marketing agency Razorfish, four out of 10 consumers have made a purchase based on advertising they saw on a social media site and 76 percent welcome advertising on social networks. I have a lot of concerns about the study, primarily that "search" is considered one of the mediums that is influencing the decision to buy. Little in the way of methodology was provided in the report and even less about what constitues social media in general, rendering this report in my opinion, about as useful as a chocolate teapot.

Fortunately, the Consumer Behavior Study also contained some tips for marketers on the eve of a challenging holiday season, such as the importance of personalization and loyalty programs.

Razorfish reports that 65 percent of connected consumers say that retail loyalty programs highly influence purchasing decisions. According to Razorfish, loyalty services like Amazon's Prime™ or Best Buy's Reward Zone® are essential for retailers to succeed in a competitive digital environment.
Websites that give personalized recommendations strongly influence connected consumers. Of the total surveyed, 65 percent said that they have made a repeat purchase on a site that issued an automated recommendation based on their previous purchase.

"Connected consumers embrace social media, are actively building and refining their own trusted personal networks and are rapidly dabbling with emerging communication offerings like Twitter," said Garrick Schmitt, Razorfish Group Vice President of Experience Planning and FEED editor. "We find that consumers are more open to advertising as part of their everyday experience than commonly assumed."

'Net Features : consumer behavior study

Tips, Stats for E-Commerce Holiday Season

Social Media Influences Buyers; Duh!