October 5, 2006
E-tailers Start Christmas Marketing Early
By all accounts, this is going to be another good holiday selling season for online retailers. Consumers are planning to spend more than in the past when making purchases online and they also intend to start shopping earlier. Some already have.
A new study conducted by BizRate Research for Shopzilla and Shop.org found that nearly 20 percent of shoppers plan to start shopping for Christmas earlier this year, with 34.9 percent planning to get started by Halloween.
Online retailers have been quick to encourage the early shopping scenario as the 2006 eHoliday Mood Study research bears out. This year, 62.5 percent of multichannel retailers said that they would start their holiday marketing promotions by November 4.
The type of promotions online retailers plan to run this year differs from years past.
An increasing number will offer shipping promotions. Two years ago, according to Shop.org, only 64 percent of online retailers offered free shipping with conditions. This year, 83 percent will be offering free shipping with strings attached.
Free shipping has become almost a necessity in the online world. Roughly 75 percent of shoppers report free shipping as one of the most important factors in where they decide to buy online.
Nearly 40 percent of retailers plan to rollout “early shopper” discounts this year with 12 percent running this type of program for the first time this holiday season. Another 30.6 percent plan to offer “first time buyer” discounts this year with 13.3 percent testing the promotion for the first time.
Forty-five percent of merchants plan to increase their emphasis on loyalty and affiliate programs this year.
“It is getting very, very expensive to acquire new customers, so you have to hold on to the ones you have,” said Peter Cobb, co-founder of the online handbag and shoe retailer 6PM.com. Members of 6PM’s program get six percent of their order amount converted to points that can used for future purchases.
Retailers are planning on using a number of marketing vehicles to drive web site traffic this year. Almost all online retailers (97.4 percent) will make use of search engine marketing while 73.1 percent will make use of comparison-shopping engines.
Online retailers also plan to make greater use of blogs and RSS feeds (41.6 percent). About eight in 10 are looking to increase sales with viral marketing.
Traditional media to build awareness and move product is still seen by many as a viable method of marketing e-tail. Online retailers plan to make buys in newspapers (44 percent), magazines (52 percent), radio (31.6 percent) and television (26.3 percent).
“Online shoppers have become more diverse than ever in terms of when and how they shop, so retailers must market to the masses this year,” said Helen Malani, chief shopping expert with Shopzilla. “Multichannel retailers plan to maximize their sales by advertising both online and offline this holiday season.”
Discussion Questions: What do you see as the biggest challenges facing online retailers this holiday season? What strategies/tactics from the 2006
eHoliday Mood Study do you believe offer the best prospects for retailers looking to achieve year-over-year sales and profit gains?
BrainTrust
Recent Discussions
Discussion Questions
Poll
Free Shipping, low-price, wide selection and good service. Each of these is critical to an e-tailer’s success, especially during the holiday season where everything becomes even more competitive. In the online world where the next “store” is just a click away, e-taliers must keep their customers happy and loyal. This requires free shipping (or $1 shipping), plus low prices and a wide selection of merchandise. Without this, the e-tailer is seen as a lesser player, and this can carry over to the rest of the year. For online retailers this could mean the death of their business. The holiday season is the measuring stick against which all e-tailers are measured!
As a frequent online shopper (and a retail executive) the best way for E-tailers to increase selling at Christmas (or any other time) is to offer free shipping. The sometimes exorbitant expense of shipping/handling has deterred me from purchases many, many times. I don’t doubt that other consumers share this concern. Also, as it gets closer to Christmas, those E-tailers that offer free expedited shipping are more likely to incur additional sales. It could be that customers, enticed by free second-day delivery, may be willing to pay full retail for many items (foregoing pre-Christmas markdowns).
A huge challenge for retailers is getting Christmas product out there so consumers can purchase it without crossing the line of “pushing Christmas too early.” While consumers may start thinking about and shopping for Christmas before Halloween, that doesn’t necessarily mean they want to see “Christmas” in the stores before Halloween. So, manufacturers and retailers need to think early about production, inventory, and merchandising early but doing the merchandising as “Christmas” may need a different time schedule.
Bottom line; retailers need to be merchants and find ways to sell without pushing the Christmas season down everyone’s throats before the kids have even figured out what to be for Halloween.
One only has to walk the aisles this time of year and listen to customers voice displeasure at full-on Christmas season merchandising, while four aisles over, everything is black and orange, with witches and spider webs strewn about.
You can fill your store, or online site, to the brim with your hottest Holiday season buys and stimulate early Holiday buying without red, green and fake snow.
Have your best and newest merchandise displayed as great merchandise, not Christmas gifts.
It’s Late Fall for crying out loud. Don’t skip this season, embrace it and give shoppers something to be excited about NOW! Enhance their shopping experience TODAY, while the leaves are changing.
Then Thanksgiving/Hannuka/Christmas/Kawanza your heart out on Nov. 1st through the end of December.
Christmas always comes and no one is going to fool customers into thinking the Christmas Holiday season is any closer than it really is. Respect the seasons and you’ll enhance your customers’ shopping experience.
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Free Shipping, low-price, wide selection and good service. Each of these is critical to an e-tailer’s success, especially during the holiday season where everything becomes even more competitive. In the online world where the next “store” is just a click away, e-taliers must keep their customers happy and loyal. This requires free shipping (or $1 shipping), plus low prices and a wide selection of merchandise. Without this, the e-tailer is seen as a lesser player, and this can carry over to the rest of the year. For online retailers this could mean the death of their business. The holiday season is the measuring stick against which all e-tailers are measured!
As a frequent online shopper (and a retail executive) the best way for E-tailers to increase selling at Christmas (or any other time) is to offer free shipping. The sometimes exorbitant expense of shipping/handling has deterred me from purchases many, many times. I don’t doubt that other consumers share this concern. Also, as it gets closer to Christmas, those E-tailers that offer free expedited shipping are more likely to incur additional sales. It could be that customers, enticed by free second-day delivery, may be willing to pay full retail for many items (foregoing pre-Christmas markdowns).
A huge challenge for retailers is getting Christmas product out there so consumers can purchase it without crossing the line of “pushing Christmas too early.” While consumers may start thinking about and shopping for Christmas before Halloween, that doesn’t necessarily mean they want to see “Christmas” in the stores before Halloween. So, manufacturers and retailers need to think early about production, inventory, and merchandising early but doing the merchandising as “Christmas” may need a different time schedule.
Bottom line; retailers need to be merchants and find ways to sell without pushing the Christmas season down everyone’s throats before the kids have even figured out what to be for Halloween.
One only has to walk the aisles this time of year and listen to customers voice displeasure at full-on Christmas season merchandising, while four aisles over, everything is black and orange, with witches and spider webs strewn about.
You can fill your store, or online site, to the brim with your hottest Holiday season buys and stimulate early Holiday buying without red, green and fake snow.
Have your best and newest merchandise displayed as great merchandise, not Christmas gifts.
It’s Late Fall for crying out loud. Don’t skip this season, embrace it and give shoppers something to be excited about NOW! Enhance their shopping experience TODAY, while the leaves are changing.
Then Thanksgiving/Hannuka/Christmas/Kawanza your heart out on Nov. 1st through the end of December.
Christmas always comes and no one is going to fool customers into thinking the Christmas Holiday season is any closer than it really is. Respect the seasons and you’ll enhance your customers’ shopping experience.