• Travel industry hit with the biggest drop in online purchasing by 6%, non-travel online economy dropped 1%
• Sales trends through the third quarter of 09 mirror last year and show no growth
• All income segments showing declines in e-commerce spending, however the 18-44 age group is purchasing more versus year ago, particularly in the high income segment (+10%)
• The impact of higher consumer debt means consumers have less ability to spend on discretionary items
• Unemployment/job security continues to be a top concern among all consumers (less of an issue in Canada so we may benefit from more discretionary spending)
• The Books & Magazines category was a top performer in Q3 ’09, and will be one to watch as we head into the holiday season, followed by Consumer Electronics and Sports & Fitness (marginally up)
• Consumers buy online from 1 – 3 trusted websites (up YoY by ~2 sites)
• Pure play sites accounted for nearly six of every ten e-commerce dollars spent in Q3 2009, their highest share on record
• Invitation-only e-luxury sites are flourishing
• PayPal B2C Market Share has grown steadily over the past four years to almost 10% of B2C Transactions; 2008 Holiday-promotions drove an increase in PayPal dollar share for retailers
• Coupon sites continue to grow in importance during these tough economic times, and as we saw in Q4 2008 we‟ll likely see visits and UVs spike in Q4 2009
• Savvy Smartphone users are shopping using mobile (no real numbers available)
• Sites offering free shipping will see greatest lift in online conversion
• Busiest online shopping day of the year will be Dec 14, 2009

Dear reader, if you come across the same type of data for Canada, please comment.

Thanks comScore!

The game-changing news is that Apple has done away with copy protection technology known as digital-rights management or DRM. “DRM-free” means music can be copied an unlimited number of times, to any device. It remains to be seen if this change in business model drives net new paying customers to iTunes (or those previously known as the pirates).

The 6th Innoversity Summit hits Toronto on March 9 and 10, 2009 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. The summit is dedicated to promoting innovation, creativity and diversity.

The Innoversity Summit brings together hundreds of thinkers, doers and influencers from media, culture, public service, community, academia, the private sector and elsewhere. A number of great panels are scheduled for both days.

On Monday, March 9th at 3:45 join me and my panelists at “The Virtuous Circle” for a heated discussion on cross-platform success and failures.

Moderator:
Marina Mann, Digital Marketing Strategist

Speakers:
Jeff Leake, Director of Music Program, XM Satellite Radio
McLean Greaves, VP of Interactive, Zoomer Media
Ryan Trotman, Director of Digital, CTV Music & Youth Services
Ray Philipose, VP Strategy & Product Development, Canwest Digital Media

You can register for a day pass or for a-la-cart attendance starting at $20.  Onsite registration is on the 700 level of the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, South Building, beginning at 7:30 am on Monday, March 9, 2009.

Onli

According to comScore, “Upcoming ‘Cyber Monday’ Represents Strong Historical Bellwether for Total Holiday Season E-Commerce Spending.”

“The Monday after Thanksgiving, popularly known as “Cyber Monday,” represents the first significant spike in online spending activity for the holiday season. The phenomenon results from Cyber Monday being the first working day following the Thanksgiving holiday and the fact that purchases from work still account for approximately half of all e-commerce spending.”

comScore reported a 4% decline versus the same period last year. But in total, Black Friday totaled $534 million or represents 1% in growth over last year. Now that’s a little bit of good news!

The proposed partnership deal, first announced in June 2008, would have allowed Yahoo to display ads from Google and then take a portion of the revenue.  Google’s current share of the online ad market is estimated to be as high as 70 percent, with Yahoo controlling 20 percent and Microsoft controlling between 8 percent and 10 percent.  If a deal between Google and Yahoo were to go through, Google would have ended up controlling 90 percent of the search advertising market – a prospect that scared many marketers and advertisers.  The outcome would have invariably meant, higher prices, and worse: Yahoo inventory at Google prices!  Moreover, because Google’s search results generate higher revenue than Yahoo, the latter was planning to exit search marketing all together and essentially outsource it’s advertising to Google. If only the U.S. Department of Justice was as diligent at regulating financial services…

Read more about the saga on CNET: http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10082800-93.html

Where can we expect growth?

When the numbers come in at the end of this quarter, we can expect growth in niche social networks that are targeted towards specific customer segments. For example, one site I’m watching is SegaZone, a UK social network launched in early 2008 and is aimed at the over 50s demo.

ROI opportunities outside of online Advertising are also gaining results. eCommerce, reverse pyramid revenue for members and innovative affiliate models represent the biggest uptake.

How much should we spend?

In terms of budget allocation, ultimately, getting involved in social media is a trade-off between time and resources invested versus the value added. As the industry is maturing, measuring the success of social media has become more important, but a lack of industry standards often makes it hard to understand exactly what to measure. Without demonstrable results, it’s difficult to justify increasing budget for social media campaigns. However, achieving successful outcomes often requires significant investment in the first place. Before you decide what to do and how much to spend, I suggest monitoring a few campaigns.

What’s the best way to monitor socail media campaigns?

Monitoring social media campaigns can also be referred to as buzz monitoring. You need to do some creative thinking to effectively buzz monitor, but there are some tools that allow companies to measure social media in terms of both popularity and influence. Initiatives such as MeasurementCamp (a collaborative project involving leading industry experts) aim to create a set of open source resources to measure social media communications online and offline. Hitwise, comScore and Alexa provide useful metrics for measuring volume and reach, and tools such as Onalytica Influence Monitor, Magpie/BrandWatch and Nielsen Buzzmetrics work well for measuring influence.

Try Microblogging?

Strategically and tactically, microblogging is an excellent and cost effective way to do some social media impact and influence testing.  As you may know microblogging is gaining ground as sites such as Twitter, Jaiku, Pownce and now Plurk become more popular. Pick a savvy brand/customer champion, have her or him start microblogging, supported by a campaign, and monitor the following KPI’s:
• Volume of inbound links generated

• Improved search rankings and search engine visibility

• Measure short term customer loyalty through repeat users and time spent on site

• Number of customer questions answered and reduction in call centre costs

• Browser to buyer conversion and corresponding jumps in sales

• Measure referrals to landing pages & product pages

• Monistor traffic spikes

(Drop me a note to let me know how it goes! )
Finally, don’t forget success from social media can also be viewed in terms of intangible benefits, such the value gained from direct relationships with customers and potential for innovation by tapping into the “wisdom of crowds”. A good example is how Starbucks tapped into the idea of co-creating products with their customers, by launching “My Starbucks Ideas.” More on this in my next post.

In terms of Web Strategy, if we plan ahead our vulnerability to variables is greatly reduced.

After the dot-bomb in 2001, many Fortune 1000 C level exec’s believed the Internet was a fad (I know because at Organic, we pitched all of them:).

Wait-and-see companies had communications websites. The leaders invested well, but handed over leadership to IT teams which created it’s own complications.

Now organizations are maturing their Web Channel by looking at it from a business perspective. As a result, strategic planning is critical to increasing productivity, creating value for your customers, retaining talent, generating more revenues and cutting costs.

Unfortunately, because many exec’s see themselves as non-technical – small, medium & large corporations seem to be approaching Web Channel Marketing from a tactical perspective. For example:

• The Board of Directors wants management to reduce costs and increase revenue by growing eCommerce sales/or reducing costs, but are not willing to make a significant investment due to lack of ROI

• Our website is confusing and hard to navigate – we’re not sure if our website is a communications tool or a sales/transactional tool – our BRAND is suffering as a result

• We have a channel conflict in terms of pricing and our Web supply chain is separate from our Retail supply-chain

• Management doesn’t understand the technology in place or realize how underlying Web infrastructure will impact the overall business

• We have too much content, too much demand for publishing content all over the place – our website reflects how our organization is structured, not what our customer wants

• Business teams complain that IT can’t get it done

• The Call-Centre CRM is separate from our website Customer Care and “My Account” support systems

• Sales and Product Marketing teams are focused on off-line product launches & marketing – there’s little common vision between the website and what’s being communicated on the street

• Processes are a mystery and things get done by a small group of people with next to no documentation

• We don’t understand the online customer experience – we’re lacking customer insights

• I’m sure I’ve missed a few…

If your company’s had a website for a few years, you know your website has become the confluence of your organization. If you’re going to WIN, teams must work cross-functionally because you’re talking to every type of customer you have, directly, one-on-one, every day via your website and you have everything to loose.

Often, in our haste to fix these problem we miss the opportunity to look at solutions in the context of a long term plan of action designed to WIN aka: Strategy. Here are a few tips:

• Start thinking about your website as a “Web Channel” and build it out with the same strategic thinking and investment you would for a new channel

• Integrate your Web Channel Strategy into your overall corporate strategy – don’t use the website simply an execution of your corporate strategy

• Set realistic short term and stretch targets – then measure everything!

• Plan to hire a VP or GM with Digital Marketing and IT experience – without a senior exec at the helm making change and WINNING takes much longer

• Organize your Web related IT staff under your new VP – otherwise, you’ll spend too much time and money on territorial wars and bad infrastructure decisions that cut deep into the bottom line

• Appoint a cross-functional Web steering committee and an operations evangelist who’s job is to facilitate processes across the organization – don’t let your VP get sucked into this job, keep her focused on strategy and driving Web Channel ROI

• Hire one or more Interactive Agencies – by keeping your Web team focused on the BRAND and managing Agency partnerships – you’ll reduce costs and get to market faster

• Invest in User Experience expertise, do User Testing and make everyone in your organization a Quality Assurance agent

If you’d like some research on how companies like Target and Macy’s have organized their Web Channel Strategy and Operations, email me marina at marinamann dot com and I’d be happy to share data.

Here are some trends and tactics to remember as you plan your holiday promotions. Assuming, of course, your webstore features and functionality are in place.

A quick list to note

• Holiday merchandising is critical!
• Sale of online gift cards will represent a substantial uptake this year
• Key word marketing or Search marketing is the number 1 traffic driver of online gift giving (search marketing can represent up to 30% uplift in conversion)
• Manage customer frustration by informing your customers of holiday product order and shipping deadlines
• Promoting free shipping!

Online Merchandising Tactics

• Limited-time special will create a sense of urgency to drive conversion (i.e. one day only sale)
• Drive higher average order value with “Give more, save more” promotions
• Merchandise using search landing pages – do not send your customer to your homepage (landing pages show higher ranking & conversion)
• Recommend products for the “gift challenged” (i.e. great gift for under $50)
• Cross-sell to increase order value of those customers who are buying
• Use the calendar approach to promote countdown to Xmas and cut offs dates for shipping
• Gift finder tools work for the struggling gift giver
• Promote last minute shopping across channels – buy online and pick up in store

For the Time Saver customer more concerned with saving time, than saving money

• Market to the convenience minded customer by employing a gifting section of your website
• Merchandise your gift cards as best you can and make them easy to buy (1 page check out for gift cards is the ultimate objective)
• Suggest conveniences for last minute customers – promote your easy return policy
• Feature hot holiday gifts – reinforce that the gifter is giving the right gift
• Monitor live chat in real-time to see what your customers are having problems with and fix it immediately

For the Information Seeking customer

• Use paid Search to capitalize on 66% of customers who will search online for information (up 55% from last year)
• Peer to peer information is a key driver (fire up the blog with interesting topics to encourage your customers to discuss recommendations)
• Merchandise and promote last minute gift ideas
• As we get closer to Xmas focus on driving customers in-store

Gifting tools to monitor

• Multiple ship to’s
• Use wish lists + drive the sharing of wish lists

Email Strategies

• Targeted email campaigns are key drivers for gifting traffic – email works!
• Promote gift cards though targeted email
• Frequency is valuable (use an average of 3 emails per customer over Xmas season)
• Create email incentives to drive customers to think about Xmas early (try a secret sale for select customers)
• Consider a friends and family email promo for registered or prospect customers (give your customers a reason to shop online)
• Promote free shipping (again!)

Finally, take advantage of prospect collection in high traffic season, so come January, you’re ready with your targeted emails to drive conversion… Didn’t get what you wanted for Xmas? Buy it for yourself.

Happy selling!