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Tag: Shop.org

  • Cyber Monday Attracting More Than 100 Million Americans

    More than 106.9 million Americans plan to shop online today during Cyber Monday, up significantly from the 96.5 million who shopped on the same day last year, according to a new survey by Bigresearch conducted for Shop.org.

    A survey released last week found that nearly nine in ten (88.2%) retailers will have a special promotion for Cyber Monday, growing each year since 2007, when 72.2 percent planned promotions.

     

    Chart: Holiday 2010 – Millions of People Who Shop on Cyber Monday

     
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    Holiday 2010 - Millions of People Who Shop on Cyber Monday

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    “As the official kick-off to the online holiday shopping season, Cyber Monday shoppers will scour the internet looking for holiday gifts from a variety of retailers, making sure to take note of specific prices and deals which offer them holiday savings,” said Joan Broughton, Interim Executive Director of Shop.org.

    “Hundreds of retailers have already announced special Cyber Monday promotions ranging from free shipping offers to flash sales lasting only an hour or two. When it comes to Cyber Monday deals, shoppers know they can’t lose this year.”

    While the majority of Cyber Monday shoppers will shop from their home computer (89.5%, or 96 million people), a growing number of people this year say they will shop via their smartphone on Cyber Monday. More than seven million people (6.9%) will use a mobile device for Cyber Monday shopping, nearly double the estimated 4 million who shopped that way last year (3.8%). Additionally, slightly fewer people will shop on Cyber Monday from work this year (12.1% vs. 13.5% last year). A Shop.org survey released last week estimated that 70 million Americans would shop from work at some point during the holiday season.

    “Mobile shopping gives parents the opportunity to keep their children’s and family members’ wandering eyes away from the computer screen as they search for the perfect holiday gift,” said Phil Rist, Executive Vice President, Strategic Initiatives, BIGresearch.

    “When deciding which Cyber Monday deals to take advantage of, many shoppers will use their mobile device to comparison shop, find the best prices, or read customer reviews to help them make their final purchase.”

    While many retailers expect to see sales and traffic spike over lunch hours, Cyber Monday shoppers plan to go online throughout the day. According to the survey, 44.2 percent of Cyber Monday shoppers plan to hit the web early in the morning, with more one-third (37.5%) planning to shop in the late morning. Additionally, over one-fourth of Cyber Monday shoppers (28.5%) will shop in the early evening.

     

  • More Online Retailers Focusing On Mobile Strategies

    The popularity of mobile applications among consumers is driving online retailers to speed up their mobile marketing initiatives, according to a new study from Forrester Research and Shop.org.

    Nearly three-quarters (74%) of online retailers currently have or are developing a mobile strategy. One in five have a mobile strategy already in place.

    "It’s imperative for online retailers to stay on top of what their customers want and these days it’s all mobile all the time," said Scott Silverman, Executive Director, Shop.org.

    "Mobile commerce has tremendous potential and will no doubt grow to become a significant part of overall sales volume in years to come. Whether to increase customer satisfaction, grow their brand or drive traffic and sales, online retailers are in this game to stay."

    Online retailers with mobile strategies:

    *Are investing in features that support the cross-channel experience. Product and price information, store information, and coupons to support the in-store experience are among the most popular features that retailers are offering consumers.

    *Have varied level of investment. While respondents anticipated spending on average $170,000 on their mobile sites this year, large multichannel retailers are spending several times that amount, while smaller online pure plays on average are investing much less.

    *Are experiencing modest gains. Retailers reported that their mobile browsers are generating a little less than three percent of overall site traffic and just two percent of revenue.

    "Mobile investment is modest now, but we see that it will pick up in the future, especially among the biggest brands that have already invested significant amounts in their mobile operations," said Sucharita Mulpuru, Vice President, Principal Analyst, Forrester Research, and lead author of the report.

    Marketing tactics such as paid search, email and affiliate marketing command the biggest percentage of an online retailers’ marketing budget. According to the report, retailers are spending nearly 40% of their marketing budget on paid search.

    Listening to customers is the most significant objective for social tools according to respondents, with 80 percent of retailers reporting that they are pursuing social strategies to experiment and learn. And while 28 percent noted that social marketing has helped grow their business, direct sales from social tactics are not widely measured.