ChoiceStream

A new survey suggests that online advertising has not worn out its welcome. Conducted by Opinion Research Corp. the polling found respondents a bit more likely to be responsive to various sorts of online advertising than was the case in a similar poll a year ago. 51% of respondents said they're "very likely" or "somewhat likely" to read and act upon e-mail offers, up from 47% last year. There were similar upticks in the numbers saying they're at least somewhat likely to read and respond to sponsored search-engine links (from 39% last year to 40% this year), banner ads (from 25% to 28%) and pop-up ads (from 13% to 19%).Read the full article at AdWeek

Companies are growing more confident that the recent revival of consumer spending is more than just a blip. Saks is “moving from defense to offense,” selectively rebuilding inventory and increasing investment. Meanwhile, same-store sales at Best Buy rose 7.4% in the U.S. during Q4. The cause of the turnaround is “a large reservoir of pent- up consumer demand,” according to a chief economist with the International Council of Shopping Centers. The increase in consumption has been driven by people still employed who put off purchases during the deepest recession since the 1930s and who are now returning to the shops. JPMorgan Chase however believes the “key factor” determining the pace of household spending will be the labor market. Some believe government stimulus has offset much of the effect of high unemployment and that stimulus monies are fading which is a concern. Stay tuned.Read the full article

Retailers and a wave of start-up companies are rushing to create smart-phone and iPhone apps that let shoppers compare prices, redeem coupons, lend friends money, buy movie tickets and make dinner reservations. Right now, most of what's happening in mobile retail is marketing and promotion, rather than sales and revenue-producing activities. But Web developers and retailers say the day is coming when consumers will be able to wave their cellphones to pay at the grocery checkout line, department stores, and restaurants and movie theaters. "Consumers love their cellphone," said Conrad Sheehan of mPayy, which is developing a mobile payment system that shoppers can use instead of credit and debit cards. This past Christmas, Toys "R" Us let shoppers shrink the company's 80-page holiday toy "wish book" down to cellphone size, through an iPhone app. Toys "R" Us also introduced mobile shopping in November, allowing customers to make purchases from their phones, as well as read customer product ratings and check if items sold out at one store were available elsewhere. The most successful mobile apps, experts say, link to the retailer or restaurant's Web site, where the credit card and other personal information is stored.


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According to Justin Palmer of online retail group Palmer Web Marketing, “We eat, sleep, and breathe conversion rates, CTRs, SEO, and SMO. Yet are we missing the obvious?” Palmer relates a story about how customers had told his firm “for years” that they wanted pictures of clothing on real people, rather than mannequins. But the expense of hiring real models was too much. Palmer notes, “So instead we optimized the heck out of everything we knew how. We overhauled the design of the site [and] built a new and improved shopping cart. But we started hitting a point of diminishing returns.” Only then did Palmer and his team act and give customers what they wanted: real people shown in real clothes. The result: it was the single most effective optimization project we have ever done to the website. According to retail blog GetElastic, this experience, “is a good reminder that the voice of the customer should be shaping your ecommerce initiatives, first and foremost. It’s also a good reminder that people like to see products “in context” (in use), and it can have a staggering impact on conversion.” Read the full article

A new survey, by e-commerce platform company ATG, shows more than three-quarters of consumers use two or more channels and nearly one-third use three or more channels to browse, research and purchase products. The findings also identified an opportunity for merchants to increase online sales and improve contact center efficiency by offering more information on the Web. The survey results also highlight an evolving role for the emerging mobile channel and more traditional catalog channels, and point to opportunities for email marketing and the incorporation of social media into consumers' online commerce activities. ATG’s CMO Nina McIntyre said, "Retailers must direct their energy toward fulfilling the unique role and sales potential of each channel. This research illuminates the expectations consumers have for the Web, call centers, the store, catalogs, and email."Read the full article

Top online retailers sent each of their subscribers 2.7 promotional emails on average during the week ending March 26, 2010. This represents a 9% increase in average promotional email volume from 2.5 emails the week ending February 26, 2010. Compared to March 2009, year-over-year promotional email volume increased at an even higher rate. Retailers increased their promotional email volume 13%, from an average of 2.4 emails in March 2009. Both the Easter holiday and St. Patrick’s Day are giving retailers more reason to send e-mails this month. Upcoming holidays of note for retailers include April Fools Day (April 1), Mother’s Day (May 9) and the May-June graduation season.Read the full article

With a background in marketing, Quentin Griffiths, 42, co-founded the online celebrity fashion store ASOS.com in 2000 before co-launching Achica.co, a online private members store offering luxury lifestyle brands at a discount, in February. Griffiths offers some rules for online retailing success which including: Stand Out (“Make sure what you do is different. Work out what the USP is — for example online shopping — and find a clear differentiator.”) and Think of Your Customers (
“People want what they want, not what you're selling. We have a feedback form in the making. As long as people say what they want, we'll include it”). To read more of Griffith’s take on what it takes to be an online retail success click the link above.Read the full article

An ever-growing number of companies have begun employing Facebook "fan" pages for customer relationship management. Among the companies using Facebook for CRM are retailers Walmart, Dell and Teleflora along with embattled auto maker Toyota and pizza chain Domino’s. The companies have been proactively addressing customer concerns on Facebook. If questions cannot be immediately answered, their social reps normally direct "fans" to a Web page, toll-free number, or customer service e-mail address in a follow-up post. But there are other types of simple-yet-interesting CRM/loyalty tactics being used. Toyota has been constantly posting comments under "fan" car photos as it continues to reach out to consumers in the wake of its scandal congratulating people on their purchases of Toyota’s and thanking them for supporting the company. "Congrats on the new Tacoma, T.J.! Thank you and your family for your continuous support." Teleflora is another, using it’s Facebok fan page to reel in occasional customer complaint. Some brands with huge Facebook presences are choosing to zero in on engagement (i.e., "Feels like spring outside! Perfect weather for [product name]!") while leaving CRM alone. Stay tuned.Read the full article

Mobile commerce and mobile marketing have been growing by leaps and bounds in the last two years. “Mounting evidence points to a broadening awareness that mobile will soon become a necessary way to engage with customers and prospects. Eventually, mobile will take its place as an integral part of marketing solutions, just as digital has become essential to nearly all marketing efforts,” says ABI Research, an emerging technologies research and consulting firm, in a new study entitled “Mobile Market Strategies: Is Your Brand Ready to Engage Mobile Consumers?” The study, including a February survey of 1,003 consumers who use mobile phones, found consumers are warming to the idea of receiving marketing messages on their mobile devices. In February, 45% said they might be willing to receive promotions such as coupons or discounts via mobile if they could specify what they receive, up from 36% in December 2008.Read the full article

94% percent of online retailers use a single text-formatted unsubscribe link in their promotional emails. The new “Responsys Email Unsubscribe Benchmark Study” also reveals another 3% use multiple text links. Why the reliance on text-formatted unsubscribe links? Responsys’ analysis indicates retailers are relying on text for their unsubscribe links in response to approximately half of email users blocking images. Also, because permission email recipients often unsubscribe due to lack of relevance, high frequency and the desire to subscribe from a different email address, Responsys advises online retailers to include multiple email management links in an effort to reduce unsubscribe requests. To read more of the study, click on the link above.Read the full article