2012 was a booming year for the digital side of marketing. In this type of industry we as marketers have to be on top of the fast paced evolution of social platforms, SEO tactics, Google’s algorithm, design technique, and much more. Although it can become overwhelming, it has been an exciting year for the interactive side of marketing. As for 2013, I predict this to be a year of interactive priority.
New study by Hybris has found that 8 in 10 B2B procurers would opt for a supplier that offers online ordering over an equal supplier that only offers print catalog ordering. The top advantages for the option of e-commerce from a supplier is that it allows them to do business with suppliers at their own convenience (89.4%), saves them time (84.6%), and enables them to be better informed about the state of their order (80.7%).
When it comes down to shopping online, users tend to engage with brands through social media to keep up with special offers and new products. Bizrite Insights has done a survey revealing that among online shoppers using Pinterest, 70% engage this way in order to get inspiration on what to buy. Only 17% of Facebook users report the same. 43% of Pinterest users are more likely to say they use the site in order to engage with a retailer and brand, only 24% of Facebook users can say the same.
With the holiday season approaching, many businesses are making sure they are prepared in every way. Are you prepared for the mobile use of your consumers? This is not the first thing most store owners take into consideration. The Pew Internet Project did a study on how customers used their mobile phones while shopping. They have found that over half of adult cell phone owners used their phone during the 2011 holiday season to seek help with purchasing decisions. 38% of mobile users called a friend... Continue Reading
According to the Atlanta TV station, WXIA, Georgia will now require residents to pay an 8% online sales tax. Georgia will become the 10th state to require an online sales tax, and shopping at sites that don’t collect will result in a “use tax” paid to the Georgia Dept. of Revenue. So how does this affect your small business? Allow me to offer some advice Users are used to paying tax online First, you shouldn’t panic – this isn’t the end of the world or your online sales. Shoppers... Continue Reading
According to Nielsen, the majority of U.S. consumers have smartphones. Of those who have smartphones, 47% of them reported using shopping apps. About 45M smartphone owners claimed they used apps in the Shopping/Commerce category during June 2012. Companies like eBay and Amazon have created top apps, drawing 13M and 12M unique users, respectively. Groupon and LivingSocial reported having 10M consumers using their apps during June 2012. Don Kellogg, Director of Nielsen’sTelecom Insights, maintained... Continue Reading
It should come as no surprise that smartphone users are constantly interacting with their device – sending emails, checking social media, sharing photos, downloading apps, and checking websites. But when shopping and viewing retailers, do you use a mobile site, or an app? Nielsen conducted research from this past holiday season with 5,000 metered smartphone users and discovered that users prefer a mobile website over branded apps. However, users who downloaded the app spent more time in the... Continue Reading
With Apple’s 3rd generation iPad selling out out of pre-order in just 4 days I believe it is safe to say that tablets are here to stay. The rise in popularity of these devices has retailers scratching their heads trying to determine how they can make their sites more friendly to iPad/tablet users.
Developing a iPad app or special web version of your commerce site can improve conversions from these users but it will come at a high cost. Below is a list of the top 10 things to consider to make your existing ecommerce site iPad friendly.
Continued from Part 1: Why Landing Pages Rock! There are two requirements for successful landing pages: a specific source of traffic and a defined goal. A specific source of traffic is necessary because you have to be able to control who hits your landing page. You can’t very well target a page to a particular audience if you have no idea who is seeing it. Some examples of traffic sources would be a pay per click ad, a banner ad, a sponsored link, etc. A defined goal is the other necessary... Continue Reading
When a visitor first lands on your website, the page they hit is technically a landing page. But in the world of interactive marketing, “landing page” refers to a page that is designed specifically for one campaign that is separate from the rest of your website. Landing pages work so well because you can target your page to speak to one specific audience and lead them to complete one specific action on your site. By maintaining a consistent message from the moment you piqued someone’s interest... Continue Reading
