'Net Features : shop.org

How Your Competitors Are Spending the Holidays

Linc Wonham — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 20:30:00 GMT

Optimism abounds for the online retailers who took part in the Shop.org 2010 eHoliday Study.

Nearly two-thirds (63.8%) expect their sales to increase this season by at least 15 percent over last year’s holiday totals. That number is up considerably from the 45.8 percent of merchants who had the same expectations at this time last year – and makes for the cheeriest 2010 holiday forecast yet.

The study, conducted by BIGresearch, includes some useful information about how e-commerce merchants are preparing for the new season. There are still plenty of selling days left to implement some of these tactics into your own strategies if the situation calls for it:

40 percent of online retailers will begin holiday marketing by Halloween, and another 40 percent will begin by November 1

84.5 percent will offer free shipping at some point during the holiday season

72.5 percent have increased their Facebook presence for the holidays

54.9 percent have enhanced or invested in product pages for cross-selling during the holidays

54.9 percent have optimized site search features to maximize holiday sales

52.9 percent have invested in customer ratings and reviews platforms in advance of the holidays

43.1 percent will increase their presence on Twitter this holiday season

From the consumers’ perspective, 32.2 percent of shoppers said they will make more of their holiday purchases on the Web this year, citing 24-hour convenience (35.1%), easy price comparisons (33.1) and lack of crowds (30.8%) as their top reasons.

Shop.org Forming E-commerce Think Tank

Linc Wonham — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 07:57:00 GMT

E-commerce professionals, here’s an opportunity to make a lasting impact on your industry: the National Retail Division’s e-commerce community, Shop.org, is accepting applications for a new Think Tank to launch in September. The mission of the new group will be to harness the collective vision of e-commerce thought leaders and tackle the most pressing issues the industry faces today and over the next 10 to 15 years.

A subset of the Shop.org Board of Directors will select 12 members for the group based on applications submitted by August 13. Once established, the Think Tank will produce content and materials to be distributed through the Shop.org network, addressing issues such as the future of retail, disruptive business models, cross-channel strategies, e-commerce and social media, international expansion, open brand strategy and others.

For more information, visit ThinkTank@Shop.org.

Top 10 Reasons Consumers Will Shop Online

Mike Phillips — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 15:26:00 GMT

In a recent Shop.org eHoliday '09 survey, consumers were asked to give their top 10 reasons they would shop online this holiday season rather than head to brick-and-mortar stores. Many of the responses are expected, but a few stand out as good opportunities - and potential pitfalls - for online retailers. First, have a look at the top 10:

24-hour shopping convenience
Ability to compare prices
Free shipping offers
Convenience
Not wanting to fight crowds
Ease of finding wanted items
Variety
E-mail promotions
Not having to pay sales tax
Wanting to avoid checkout line

Reasons like convenience, price comparisons and not wanting to fight crowds are expected. A little unexpected is #8, e-mail promotions. This is a great opportunity for online retailers to grow their e-mail subscriber list for this holiday season and beyond. Of course, only those e-mail campaigns that provide real value to the consumer will be successful - be it e-mailed coupons, discount codes or special (and meaningful) product announcements.

Free shipping is high on the list, at #3. This is unsurprising and, for online retailers, almost expected at this point. However, when asked about return shipping, more than half of respondents stated that free shipping for returns is "very important" to them. This is an area where merchants can offer value over their competitors. According to Shop.org, Davis Sasson, CEO of overstockArt.com and Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh believe that offering free return shipping "removes many of the fears, uncertainties and doubts of online shopping."

Finally, note #6 from the survey - ease of finding wanted items - bears watching. Make sure your site's search function is easy to locate and functions properly. Consumers expect online shopping to be fast and accurate when they are searching for what they want. Make it cumbersome and they will find another website to shop.

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State of E-Commerce Is... Strong?

Pete Prestipino — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 19:20:00 GMT

How did your gross online sales for the period April 1 through June 30, 2009 perform relative to the same period last year (April 1 through June 30, 2008)?

The National Retail Foundation's digital divsision Shop.org asked that question of its members and the results might surprise you:

- Fully 59% of retailers surveyed reported that their gross online sales had indeed grown for the quarter compared to the same quarter in 2008. Another 9% reported flat sales (in this economy, nothing to sneeze at), while one third (32%) reported sales decreases.

- Average YOY quarterly growth across all retailers surveyed was 11.8%

- Close to two-thirds of large retailers ($100+ million in annual Web sales) reported revenue increases for Q2 2009 vs. Q2 2008. Ditto for mid-sized retailers (defined as between $10 million and $100 million in annual Web sales). Smaller retailers (under $10 million) struggled somewhat more, but half of those surveyed in this segment did in fact realize sales growth.

Not too bad considering the near pervasive amount of negative economic news, right? Are you experiencing this type of growth with your e-commerce enterprise or is this some sort of statistical anomaly?