With rising petrol prices, it’s no wonder more and more people are turning to the Internet to do their shopping. According to an American cross-channel retailing expert, by 2012, almost half of all retail purchases will in one way or another involve the Internet. Whether that be to initially compare prices before going to a store, or simply making the whole decision and transaction online.
But it’s not only greener attitudes that are pushing Internet sales onward and upward. People are beginning to trust the methods of payment online as shopping over the Internet is becoming more and more common place.Third party payment systems such as PayPal,which are engineered to assist with making payments over the Internet along with retailer guarantee’s of delivery, ensure that consumers feel comfortable with purchasing over the web. Businesses are also now giving people return options for their purchased goods with no return fee for delivery.
The Hitwise Industry Snapshot Report for Shopping and Classifieds details in terms of visits, the top ten websites for Shopping and classifieds for the month of February,2008. At number one we have eBay, holding 29.57% share of the market.
Far be it for me to harp on and on about SEO but The Hitwise Report revealed that,’42.39% of all visits to the online ‘Shopping and Classifieds’ industry went to the top 10 websites for the month of February, 2008. 48.10% went to the top 20 websites and 63.24% went to the top 100 websites.
The report, Multi-channel Retailing, ACRS Secondary Research Report, August 2007 released by the Australian Centre for Retail Studies revealed that 86% of all store catalogues included a URL and 80% of retailers are using email to promote their business and advertise promotions. As noted earlier, many retailers now offer easy return offers for online purchases. 87% of retailers accept returns in-store for online purchases.
The ACRS Secondary Research Report references Shop.org which states that 34% of consumers use a minimum of three channels when making a purchase. These consumers who use multiple channels spend up to ten times more than those consumers that use a single-channel when shopping.
Of course, the presence of a ‘real’ store can not always prevail over online, and nor should it. Some things are better experienced in the flesh. However some items such as electronics are a great seller online. People know what they want and they know they can get it at a reasonable price too.
An online presence is vital to maintaining consumers, even if you are not selling online. Multiple channels are now an important way to inform, retain and excite your customers with the retail experience you provide. Of course, no-one can ignore the decrease in labour costs when selling online either. Especially when it’s through a third party website.
www.OfferMe.com.au has engaged it’s growing number of supporters through facebook, blogs and its pre-launch site. By acknowledging the significance of online presence, not just through your own website, doors open and awareness becomes viral. Something the Internet can do for your business at minimal cost.
The Internet has become a great tool for retail businesses. If used in the right capacity, it can generate more business than using traditional modes of marketing and advertising.
Author: Katie Preston
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Consumer trends making it hard for businesses to keep up
There was a time when being in big business meant having access to technology to keep ahead of your consumers with the power to ‘wow’ them with technological advancements. These days, consumers have access to cutting edge technology and the gap between consumer and business technology is narrowing.
With Facebook and YouTube page views increasing by as much as 40% over the past two years, its no wonder we are seeing an increase in businesses having a strong social networking presence. The USC Annenburg School’s Digital future report ,2007 revealed that 80% of people saw the Internet as the most valuable and trusted source of information, over all other types of media such as television, newspapers and radio.
The report going on to prove that the king of social networking sites is Facebook. With 250 K new registrations daily and more than 50% of their users returning every day, it has become a must-have for businesses.
Facebooks success would have to be at least partly due to its early acknowledgement that the user could change and add applications to the social networking site that would only increase user activity and give individuals the power to customise their profiles. By giving the user the power, they opened up social networking sites to a whole new world of personalised features with an incredible potential for successful and targeted advertising.
When comparing Facebook and MySpace, we can see why consumers prefer using Facebook. Firstly, there are less intrusive ads on the web page. The ‘friends’ section of the page is prominent and stands out. It also offers a strong sense of security for users. People can share their lives with their peers and don’t have to worry about spammers.
Widgets are fun mini applications that can be added to your web page, social profile or blog. These widgets can link your page to other favourite sites.Another goldmine for businesses on social networking sites. For example, lets look at BBC News. They have their own Facebook and also clips within YouTube. By not relying solely on their website and having a direct link to their social networking sites on their web page, they increase the amount of people who view their news features. Their presence is strengthened by having a social networking presence.
When we look at who is purchasing what online, it is no surprise that websites like Amazon.com have come up with a way to show browsers what items people bought after they purchased specific products and where they went to on the site after they purchased. There are also customer reviews and discussions so people can ask what others think of certain products. As we all know, no form of advertising beats customer referral!
Facebook is a business’s heavily artillery if you know how to use it. One of Facebook’s features is a mini-feed. It gives you a list of the current Facebook activity by those who are your friends on Facebook. So if someone became a fan of your site, anyone who is friends with the person who became a fan will be notified. When they log in it will read, ‘John became a fan of OfferMe.’ If a friend has reviewed a restaurant, it would state, ‘Alex has reviewed yummy restaurant and has given it 4 stars.’
Every day more and more businesses log on to Facebook and take a vital business step and set up an account. Nutella is a prime example of how you can use your Facebook page to make your customers interact with your brand. www.OfferMe.com.au now have a Facebook page and we encourage people to come join us and be apart of our network. It is constantly being updated with news feeds and images so check it out! We also welcome you to post your own comments and images on our site.
Social networking sites for business is not just a trendy fad. The type of interaction between users on Facebook is priceless. It’s true what they say, money can’t buy everything.
Author: Katie Preston
With Facebook and YouTube page views increasing by as much as 40% over the past two years, its no wonder we are seeing an increase in businesses having a strong social networking presence. The USC Annenburg School’s Digital future report ,2007 revealed that 80% of people saw the Internet as the most valuable and trusted source of information, over all other types of media such as television, newspapers and radio.
The report going on to prove that the king of social networking sites is Facebook. With 250 K new registrations daily and more than 50% of their users returning every day, it has become a must-have for businesses.
Facebooks success would have to be at least partly due to its early acknowledgement that the user could change and add applications to the social networking site that would only increase user activity and give individuals the power to customise their profiles. By giving the user the power, they opened up social networking sites to a whole new world of personalised features with an incredible potential for successful and targeted advertising.
When comparing Facebook and MySpace, we can see why consumers prefer using Facebook. Firstly, there are less intrusive ads on the web page. The ‘friends’ section of the page is prominent and stands out. It also offers a strong sense of security for users. People can share their lives with their peers and don’t have to worry about spammers.
Widgets are fun mini applications that can be added to your web page, social profile or blog. These widgets can link your page to other favourite sites.Another goldmine for businesses on social networking sites. For example, lets look at BBC News. They have their own Facebook and also clips within YouTube. By not relying solely on their website and having a direct link to their social networking sites on their web page, they increase the amount of people who view their news features. Their presence is strengthened by having a social networking presence.
When we look at who is purchasing what online, it is no surprise that websites like Amazon.com have come up with a way to show browsers what items people bought after they purchased specific products and where they went to on the site after they purchased. There are also customer reviews and discussions so people can ask what others think of certain products. As we all know, no form of advertising beats customer referral!
Facebook is a business’s heavily artillery if you know how to use it. One of Facebook’s features is a mini-feed. It gives you a list of the current Facebook activity by those who are your friends on Facebook. So if someone became a fan of your site, anyone who is friends with the person who became a fan will be notified. When they log in it will read, ‘John became a fan of OfferMe.’ If a friend has reviewed a restaurant, it would state, ‘Alex has reviewed yummy restaurant and has given it 4 stars.’
Every day more and more businesses log on to Facebook and take a vital business step and set up an account. Nutella is a prime example of how you can use your Facebook page to make your customers interact with your brand. www.OfferMe.com.au now have a Facebook page and we encourage people to come join us and be apart of our network. It is constantly being updated with news feeds and images so check it out! We also welcome you to post your own comments and images on our site.
Social networking sites for business is not just a trendy fad. The type of interaction between users on Facebook is priceless. It’s true what they say, money can’t buy everything.
Author: Katie Preston
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