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Sarah Stambler's |
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E-Tactics |
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December 17, 2002
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E-COMMERCE: ARE YOU WIRED AND BRANDED FOR SUCCESS?Since this is "shop-until-you-drop" month I thought it would be appropriate to take a look at E-commerce for this month’s issue. It always humors me when new research reports release fresh numbers about how many sales were made online and how many folks are paying their bills electronically. Projections, charts, forecasts. Like we really need these to know that online sales are growing? To me, E-commerce’s success is inevitable. We’d have to do something completely idiotic to halt its ongoing growth and ultimate ubiquitous success. What we can learn from new studies is what spurs E-commerce’s growth. The dot.com explosion we went through a few years back with its attendant media blitzes might have lit the fire. But E-commerce's current growth is more a factor of telecom infrastructure, branding and multi-channel access. If you study the latest research about online behavior it’s clear that what enhances E-commerce’s success is the proliferation of broadband connections. These faster connections breathe new life into the online relationship making it more palatable and engaging. Eventually when dial-up is near dead, E-commerce will certainly be king. Look at these findings and you’ll see why. Broadband Makes the DifferenceA new survey of home broadband users by the Pew Internet & American Life Project shows that the act of getting high-speed Internet access changes Americans' online behavior: They spend more time online, do more things, and do them more often than dial-up Internet users. They also have high levels of satisfaction with the way the Internet helps them connect to family and friends, learn new things, pursue their hobbies, do their jobs, and connect to local organizations. And this is key: Access to these new Internet experiences also changes the way people spend their time. Many report that they spend less time watching television, less time shopping in stores, less time working at their offices, less time reading newspapers, and more time working at home. ComScore Media Metrix finds that while dial-up Internet connections are still dominant in the U.S., 46.0 million (32 percent) of the 142.7 million U.S. Home, Work and College-University Internet users in October 2002 connected to the Internet via broadband This 32 percent of the total U.S. Internet population in October:
Comscore also reports that retail attracted 80 percent of October's 46.0 million broadband Internet surfers whereas dialup drew only 73 percent of 96.6 million dial up users. Branded Brick and Mortars Preferred Over Pure Plays OnlineNua Surveys reports that according to a recent study from Gartner, US Internet users are playing safe this holiday season and purchasing merchandise they’ve already had experience of buying.The study indicates that while Net users seem to feel comfortable purchasing from popular categories such as media, software and clothes, few are willing to take the risk and buy other kinds of products online. Toys, games and video games rank No.1 in holiday buying plans among online buyers, followed by books, clothes/shoes, videos and DVDs, and music CDs or cassettes, respectively. Gartner’s study also reveals that most online shoppers are wary of purchasing from ‘pure play’ Internet retailers. When asked to list the websites where they planned to buy gifts this holiday season, respondents mentioned more than 70 merchants, however, just four of these were pure play Internet merchants. Nonetheless, the two most frequently mentioned sites for purchases were pure play retailers. Around 22 percent of shoppers referred to Amazon.com, while eBary.com was cited by 11 percent of online holiday gift buyers. Nielsen//NetRatings
Top 15 Shopping Destinations, Excluding Travel
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Brand or Channel |
Unique Audience |
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1. eBay |
11,984 |
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2. Amazon |
10,242 |
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3. Yahoo! Shopping |
7,391 |
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4. MSN Shopping |
3,128 |
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5. Wal-Mart Stores |
2,786 |
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6. BestBuy.com |
2,158 |
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7. AOL Shopping |
1,976 |
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8. Columbiahouse.com |
1,836 |
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9. ToysRUs |
1,792 |
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10. DealTime |
1,783 |
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11. Dell Computer |
1,747 |
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12. Hallmark |
1,723 |
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13. Target |
1,670 |
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14. Sears |
1,565 |
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15. Barnesandnoble.com |
1,480 |
Source: Nielsen//NetRatings
TWO
HOT INDICATORS FOR
E-COMMERCE SUCCESS:
Online Coupons Are a Hit With US Consumers
Nearly 20 percent of US Internet users have redeemed a coupon online, eMarketer reported on 12/03/02.
According to Burst!,19 percent of Net users in America have used net coupons.
Nearly 27 percent of those in households making USD100,000 or more have redeemed coupons online.
Around 33 percent of households making between USD35,000 and USD49,000 per annum also say they would redeem coupons via the Net.
Credit Card Users Key to Holiday Success
Retailers looking for a boost this holiday season may want to focus on those shoppers who will be using credit cards most as a means of payment. That's according to a report from BIGresearch.
The credit card users have higher incomes and will spend more this year than last, as 66.9% say they will spend more or the same as they did last year versus 61.2% of non-credit card users. In addition, 59.5% say they will take advantage of holiday sales to buy gifts for themselves but don't look for them the weekend after Thanksgiving, as 53.9% say they won't or usually don't shop at that time.
Other differences between credit card users and non-credit card shoppers are that credit card users favor name brand merchandise more. When it comes to stores shopped most often for women's clothing, Wal-Mart, JC Penney, Kohl's, Dillard's, Sears, and Target top the list of stores credit card users will shop most often. Another key attribute of credit card users is they are more loyal. Their customer lifetime value- the length of time they say they have shopped most often at a store is 8.97 years versus 7.86 for non-credit users.
QUICK STATS
Q3 Email Marketing Trend Report from DoubleClick found that after a significant dip in second-quarter performance metrics, including open rates, click-through rates and high bounce-back rates, third-quarter metrics have returned to 2001 levels. Click here to view.These click through rates are three or four times higher than the ones reported by Opt-in News that we placed in our E-Tactics Gallery in October – see What's the Average CTR
Want
to Know Which Search Engine is Which?
Many engines are just carbon copies of another with a different logo on
top. This chart by guru Bruce Clay shows clearly how these engines are
related to one another.
http://www.bruceclay.com/searchenginechart.pdf
And Last But
Not Least…
Try FROOGLE – GOOGLE’s new shopping portal Unlike Yahoo, with actual sites selling goods, FROOGLE indexes the best
deals on the web across many sites. Try it at www.froogle.com
Happy
Holidays
Keep the Faith
And Call Us When You Need Us
Sarah Stambler
& the E-Tactics
Team
In This Issue
E-Commerce:
Are You Wired And Branded for Success?
Broadband Makes the Difference
Branded Brick and Mortars Preferred Over Pure Plays Online
Nielsen/
NetRatings Top 15 Shopping Destinations
Two
Hot Indicators For
E-Commerce Success:
Online Coupons Are a Hit With US Consumers
Credit Card Users Key to Holiday Success
Quick Stats
Q3 Email Marketing Trend Report
Want to Know Which Search Engine is Which?
And Last but Not Least...
Want to learn more about us? Please visit our site at: www.e-tactics.com
Or write:
Sarah Stambler
Phone: (212) 222-1713
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The E-TACTICS LETTER, (ISSN 1542-2623) is published 12 times a year by E-Tactics, Inc. an electronic marketing and publishing firm established in 1984 that specializes in the creative use of electronic media in the design and implementation of customer driven marketing, research and publication strategies.
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