Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
APRIL 7, 2008
But only if the reviews are believable.
Shopping is a separate activity for most Internet users—sometimes leading to a purchase, sometimes not—but it is a key step in the decision to buy.
According to a report from BazaarVoice, an online ratings facilitator, and JupiterResearch, whether they intend to buy online or off, online shoppers in the UK find other people’s ratings and reviews, price comparisons and product images to be the useful features on retailers’ sites.
However, trust in customer reviews online was highest only when the pros and cons of a product were given, or when both positive and negative reviews were shown.
Lisa Phillips, senior analyst at eMarkter, said that online marketing tools such as search and online videos ranked far down the list for two possible reasons.
First, the survey asked about retailers’ Web sites specifically, where shoppers may have landed after using an outside search engine. "If the retailer had done its search engine optimization thoroughly, the shopper/searcher would land on the product page, not the retailer’s home page," Ms. Phillips said.
She also pointed out that the survey was co-sponsored by a company that offers online ratings tools, which may have affected the 70% response rate for “ratings and reviews.”
A separate recent report from search conversion agency Tamar, conducted by YouGov, found that young UK men were most influenced by negative product reviews (59%), while fewer young women (47%) took negative reviews by other shoppers as seriously.
The UK is Europe’s most advanced e-commerce market, according to the country's Office of National Statistics.
eMarketer estimates that 77% of all UK Internet users ages 14-plus will buy something online in 2008. Individuals will spend an average of £1,921 ($3,798) online, a 21% increase over 2007.
Who do consumers trust?
Increasingly, each other.
According the Edelman “Trust Barometer,” consumers feel the most credible source for information about a company—and by inference, products— is a “person like themselves.”
Now with social shopping sites, product blogs and online ratings and reviews, consumers have the means to communicate their opinions about products and companies to tens of thousands of other consumers “like themselves” at a critical point in the sales cycle—the beginning.
“While blogs and customer ratings and reviews have long been a familiar part of the Internet commercial landscape,” says Jeff Grau, eMarketer Senior Analyst and author of the new report, Consumer Interactions: Social Shopping, Blogs and Reviews, “over the past two years social shopping sites have emerged as another way for customers to share product experiences and opinions.”
Social shopping sites attempt to replicate the emotional and social aspects of real-world shopping—such as strolling through mall stores with friends or swapping product stories at the office with colleagues.
“The sites typically provide tools for users to download photos of interesting products found on retail Web sites to their profile page or blog. Users then share and discuss their findings with the community,” says Mr. Grau. “To buy an item, a shopper simply clicks through on the product photo to the retailer’s Web site, where the purchase is made.”
And shoppers do click.
According to the “Social Networking Sites: Defining Advertising Opportunities in a Competitive Landscape” report from JupiterResearch, online social network users were three times more likely to trust their peers’ opinions over advertising when making purchase decisions.
A survey from the IBM Institute for Business Value found that the two leading reasons why people contribute content to social shopping sites are the need to feel part of a community (31%) and recognition from peers (28%).
“Today, marketers are increasingly reaching out to the growing number of online consumers who take their shopping cues from peers by targeting influential product reviewers, bloggers and social shoppers,” says Mr. Grau.
Tesco Finds Customers Want Mobile Ads
Banner advertising on cell phones is reaching its target, especially female heads of households, according to the retailer's mobile arm
Tesco Mobile has embraced mobile advertising after concluding its customers are hungry for ads on their phones.
The mobile virtual network operator has been trialling a WAP advertising portal since May 2007, which Tesco said has displayed strong month-on-month growth, gaining 300,000 unique visitors in December.
Banner advertising served up on the portal delivered a click-through rate to tailored WAP campaign sites of between three and seven per cent, said Tesco. Brands advertising on the portal included Bee Movie, ITV, Nivea and Teletext.
Tesco said the user-base of the portal has a strong segment of female household budget owners with an average age of 36—a demographic it said is particularly valuable for fast-moving consumer goods such as toiletries and cleaning products.
According to a survey commissioned by Tesco, more than half (60 per cent) of portal users are female and the same percentage said they visit the portal at least once a month, while 69 per cent claimed they would click on a relevant advert.
Ashley Schofield, head of customer management at Tesco Mobile, said in a statement: "Our customers are showing a real appetite for more products and services through the mobile internet. Delivering more great experiences and value through our portal is a priority for this year."
A new study by PhoCusWright found that although online travel sales have soared, the travel agency distribution channel is still a big part of the industry and represents 41% of all travel booked in the U.S.
Despite the meteoric rise of online travel sales, the travel agency distribution channel represents a large and dynamic opportunity accounting for nearly $110 billion in sales, or 41 percent of all travel booked in the United States, PhoCusWright research says in a new report. The study included interviews with 1,900 agents involved with ASTA, ARC and CLIA.
PhoCusWright says the study presents the first definitive sizing and analysis of the complex and dynamic agency channel. “Facing significant upheaval in their industry, many in the agency community have responded strategically, tactically and - most of all - aggressively to adapt, survive and succeed,” the report says. “The GDS, for example, has long been a mainstay of the typical travel agency, but key segments of the agency community are turning away from the GDS to supplier websites and other online tools to research and book product.” PhoCusWright projects that 21 percent of all travel agency sales will be booked online by 2009.