Shop.org just recently released Part 2 of their State of Retailing Online report. Don’t worry about searching for it, the price is obscene. But some of the results are still interesting, at least that you can get out of the press release.
Of the 150 online retailing respondents, here are some highlights:
- 88% are prioritizing improving product detail pages.
- 76% are using A/B testing for offers and promotions.
- 91% are using emailing marketing
- 88% are using pay per click advertising
- 67% are using affiliate marketing
- 56% are using comparison shopping engines
- 51% are using search engine optimization
So what…?
As the online retailing world continues to mature I really believe the SMB market is getting left behind. Not too long ago, the Internet was a place that SMB and niche retailers could move into and make a significant difference to their business.
But now, they have dragged their feet long enough to where they are falling further behind the trends.
But if you are one of the few that still wants to make a difference to your business before it is too late, what should you do?
A) Probably redesign your website with someone who is concerned with meeting your business goals, not just designing another website
B) Develop a realistic plan for where the traffic is going to come from – search engines, affiliate marketing, email marketing, etc… BTW – I am stunned that only 51% of the surveyed retailers are using SEO. There is still an opportunity there.
C) Invest in a solid analytics program and analysts. You can use Google Analytics as training wheels, but once you are ready you should swith to Omniture’s SiteCatalyst program (or one of it’s competitors like Coremetrics or Visual Sciences)
