Retailers, are you making the most of online?

Mar 18th, 2014

Have you bought something online recently or have you used the web to research a product before committing to a purchase? Perhaps you’ve consulted online product review sites, read blogs or watched an ‘unboxing’ on YouTube before flashing the plastic? Maybe you’ve ‘liked’ your favourite brand on Facebook or tweeted about a particularly positive or negative customer service experience


You may have even left feedback after a spot of online shopping in the form of a review, blog or customer survey. The chances are you have done at least one of these things at some point. And if you have, you’re not alone.

Indeed, with the average UK shopper set to spend £1,174 online in 2015 (up from £1,071 in 2014), the world of e-retail is evolving at a rapid pace. And it’s clear that online shopping consists of more than customers clicking a ‘buy’ button and retailers popping parcels in the post. While ‘brick and mortar’ stores are still a vital part of the shopping landscape, it’s important to realise that the entire retail experience – from browsing, to price and spec comparison, to seeking expert and consumer advice, to returning unsuitable items – exists online now too.

The trend toward retail companies setting up shop online has not gone unnoticed here at Click Consult. And with more companies than ever taking their trade to cyberspace, we believe it’s vital that retailers know how to make their business distinctive and efficient online. To this end, we have released a new guide, entitled Digital Marketing Trends to Boost Your Retail Company’s Revenue, designed to help retailers navigate their way through the (sometimes slippery) aisles of e-retailing, enhance their digital marketing strategies and, ultimately, boost their revenue.


The growth of m-commerce

As technology has evolved, mobile devices have become increasingly ubiquitous. According to a recent TNS study commissioned by Google, smartphone usage has increased to 68% in 2014, from 62% in 2013. And it’s not just phones getting us connected on-the-go, tablet computers have become the latest must-have piece of internet-enabled kit. In fact, E-marketer research shows that one third of the UK population are now using tablets and tablet commerce is expected to triple this year to reach £4.74 billion.

With these hi-tech gadgets becoming mass market products, a significant number of people are routinely performing online tasks, which were once confined to desktops, on mobile devices. The table below, taken from “The State of Retailing Online 2013: Marketing and Merchandising”, showing the percentage of emails opened on mobile phone or tablet devices, demonstrates this.

The retail industry has been considerably affected by the move to mobile. The number of people shopping online using smartphone and tablet devices has grown year-on-year and, according to the TNS study, almost one third (32%) of UK consumers make a monthly purchase on their smartphones.

It’s clear that online retailers cannot afford to ignore the rise of mobile commerce if they are to succeed. On the hunt for the best deals on the highstreet and online, consumers are armed with the most powerful weapons available since the dawn of retail. If they are to open your marketing emails, click on your ads, follow your calls-to-action and purchase your products, you need to ensure that your email templates and website are viewable and fully-functional on smaller screens.

Digital Marketing Trends to Boost Your Company’s Revenue provides practical advice on how retailers can optimise their users’ experiences and increase engagement and conversion rates by creating mobile optimised email campaigns and a mobile responsive website.


Abandoned baskets

Abandoned shopping baskets are a sad sight for any retailer and, unfortunately, cyberspace is littered with them. Shoppers go online, select products, click ‘add to basket’ and, then sadly, leave your site. Perhaps, they were interrupted by a phone call, their internet signal died, they found a better deal elsewhere or they are simply waiting until pay day to press ‘place order’. Whatever their reason, they’ve left your website and you have no way of knowing if they’ll ever return and achieve the esteemed ‘customer’ status.

Digital Marketing Trends to Boost Your Company’s Revenue will show you how targeted advertising can improve your chances of getting distracted shoppers back to your website and through the sales funnel.


Other tips and tricks

There are many other techniques you can adopt to improve your online retail presence. For example, are you aware of the many benefits that introducing a ‘click and collect’ service or marrying up organic and paid search campaigns can have on your company’s commercial goals? Do you know the advantages of keeping your brand identity consistent or the merits of using social media to tell, develop and spread the story of your brand? Our downloadable guide to e-retail can help you to get to grips with all of these topics and make easily-implementable changes to improve your chance of success in the online arena.

If that wasn’t enough to whet your appetite, our free downloadable guide is also filled with bite-sized chunks of wisdom on areas such as:

  • conversion rate optimisation
  • e-retail websites’ navigation bar
  • Google+ Local
  • Google’s Product Listing Ads (PLAs)
  • paid search
  • email campaigns
  • customer review platforms
  • quality content
  • video production
  • analytics

Here at Click, we have a rich history of helping retailers maximise their online revenue. As a result, our search marketing experts have a strong understanding of the developments, benefits and barriers that are unique to the world of e-retail and are ready to light the way for retail companies migrating online.


Facebook Twitter Instagram Linkedin Youtube