In a recent survey of 1,000 online shoppers of whom 68 percent shop online for personal reasons more than once a month, the e-tailing group found that the largest group of respondents, 43 percent, spend more than $1,000 online annually. Another large group of respondents, 38 percent, spend between $500 and $749 per year. Below are some other noteworthy findings of the survey, which was sponsored by Doubleclick Performics. * 70 percent of respondents shop multiple Web sites to find the best deal prior to making purchases * rewards customers who belong to two or more programs are less likely to focus on price; instead, they
E-Commerce
E-commerce sales will hit $131 billion this year, according to an eMarketer estimate from earlier this month. Whatโs more, the online research firm estimates that annual compound growth for retail e-commerce sales will slow down to 17.5 percent annually for the years 2006 through 2011, compared to 24.7 percent growth from 2003-2005. Existing online buyers, however, will fuel growth by spending more online. The following compound annual growth rates from the eMarketer survey follow. * online shoppers: 3.2 percent (2006-2011); 7.9 percent (2003-2005) * online buyers: 3.5 percent (2006-2011); 11.8 percent (2003-2005) * Internet users: 2.7 percent (2006-2011); 6.7 percent (2003-2005). For more information, go to <a href="http://www.emarketer.com"
In the intensive session I led during the ACCM in Boston on May 21, the overriding theme was that search engines judge a siteโs worth on its inbound links. Translation: No links = no rankings. Blogs, meanwhile, are great at attracting links from the blogosphere, because bloggers are rather cliquish and mostly tend to link to each other. So youโll earn links as a blog that you wouldnโt normally earn otherwise. Nonetheless, intentionally work to boost your link popularity; donโt just expect links to your blog to come on their own. One of the best ways to do this is by building relationships with
This is my 21st go-round attending ACCM, the Annual Conference for Catalog and Multichannel Merchants (did I get that whole thing right?), being held May 21-23 in Boston. For my first 18, I was part of the assorted parent companies that co-sponsored the event with the DMA. But for the past two, as a press attendee and not a part-host, Iโve picked up a different perspective on this event as well as on some other conferences. Actually, I take that back: This year, Iโm sort of a part-host again on the other side of the partnership since I was recently named chairman/editor of the
Although far from new, polls are a greater part of the American fabric than ever before. Consumers have become more comfortable with polls conducted via e-mail, on Web sites and via text messages (as much as I loathe the show, two quick words come to mind here: โAmerican Idolโ). In fact, itโs pretty rare these days when weโre not subjected to some sort of poll at least once a week, sometimes even once a day. But thatโs not necessarily a bad thing. Polls arenโt like those delightful 6:30 p.m. telemarketing calls we often have to answer with a mouthful of pasta. Theyโre there; you
Itโs perhaps surprising to see people so attentive to their work at a company known for emptying out when thereโs good surf to be found at a Southern Californian beach not five minutes away. But a walk through the Ventura, Calif.-based headquarters of Patagonia reveals a close-knit staff readily engaged in designing, testing and marketing this outdoor catalogerโs apparel and gear. Then again, perhaps itโs not all that surprising, given that the catalogโs founder, Yvon Chouinard, in his book โLet My People Go Surfing,โ (The Penguin Press, 2005) wrote: โWork had to be enjoyable on a daily basis. We all had to
For years now, Garnet Hill, a Franconia, N.H.-based apparel and home furnishings cataloger, has placed follow-up calls whenever customers encounter a problem with the company. Specifically, 24 to 48 hours after a customer complaint, Garnet Hill calls the customer and casually asks how the problem was handled and if it was resolved. Smart and sensitive upselling techniques make Garnet Hillโs customers feel cared about. Liberal employee discounts have its employees wearing the clothing and using the products it sells, so itโs easy for them to personalize the experience. This โtouchy-feelyโ group has products open and laying around so reps literally can get their
With the much dreaded postal rate increase taking effect this month, hopefully by now most catalogers have made at least some of the adjustments needed to continue to grow โ or at least survive. As weโre in the heart of the industryโs conference season, many have been feasting on scores of postal cost-cutting tips coming from presentations, special emergency sessions and the media. For our part, after breaking the news on our Web site (www.CatalogSuccess.com) about the Postal Regulatory Commissionโs punishing catalog rate increase that was more or less hidden in its rate recommendation to the U.S. Postal Serviceโs Board of Governors,
Scratching your head over the interaction between your online and offline marketing efforts? Not sure how much to advertise online? Unclear of the true impact of your catalog mailings? Youโre not alone. This column wonโt completely solve these puzzles, but itโll offer some relevant ideas. How Much to Advertise First, assume youโve already established your high-level financial goals, either for your online program or for the business as a whole. Such goals should be specific, numeric and time-based. Be sure the whole team understands and buys into these goals, and works toward meeting them each week. Typical goals are profit-and-loss-based, and include a revenue
At the turn of this century, cataloging โ and all retailing for that matter โ was revolutionized by the emergence of e-commerce. Shopping at home became easier than ever, and consumers warmed up to the concept of wielding their purchasing power with the click of a mouse. Today, so many orders are coming in online that itโs becoming difficult for some catalogers to recall the times when they were all but completely reliant on their call centers for order-taking. Your Web site, however, isnโt just a vehicle through which orders can be taken and processed more efficiently; itโs a powerful data-gathering tool that an