Online Retailers Celebrate a Strong Holiday Season
January 07, 04
Online retailers had one very merry Christmas with customers expressing greater satisfaction resulting in strong growth during the holiday season.
The last eHoliday Mood study by Shop.org/BizRate 2003 shows that consumers that made their holiday purchases online were pleased with their online shopping experiences.
89 percent of shoppers were somewhat or very satisfied with their online buying experience, up from 84 percent last year.
This good vibe brought a 25 percent or higher revenue increase to 59 percent of retailers and 30 percent reported revenue increases of 50 percent or more.
Free shipping remains the king of online marketing promotions. Free shipping with conditions was cited by 59 percent of merchants as their most successful marketing promotions, followed by an online-only sale (27 percent), and free shipping with no conditions (24 percent)
Retailers found that promotions by email continue to work. Email was the clear leader among retailers for getting their promotions in front of shoppers, with 86 percent citing their own email promotions as one of their most successful marketing vehicles.
“Shoppers are clearly reading their messages, as 38 percent of merchants stated their email open rates had increased significantly or somewhat from last year,” the report says.
Search engines and affiliate marketing help retailers find customers. Throughout all four phases of the eHoliday Mood Study, search engine marketing and affiliate marketing remained the second and third most successful marketing vehicle for retailers.
According to the survey, for the entire holiday season, 58 percent of merchants cited search engine marketing as their most successful marketing vehicle.
“Online retailing is clearly seeing strong momentum based on this successful holiday season,” says Scott Silverman, Executive Director of Shop.org. “Online retailers are becoming more sophisticated in their marketing and merchandising efforts, as they continue to be integrated into their companies’ overall operations. This benefits both retailers and their customers”.