Solomozone

The Every Day Digital

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  • Mobile Extends Holiday Season Shopping

    Adobe Digital Index, reported an increase of 12.7 percent, with online sales at USD 83 billion for the holiday Season, making the season better than expected, where the online sales were expected to grow at 11 percent Year-Over-Year. As reported by Adobe Digital Index,  “It wasn’t until the very end of the season that we saw a significant surge in sales, which drove the 12.7 percent year-over-year growth. Phone traffic exceeding desktop traffic some days was one of the drivers of that growth.”

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    The online sales during December were propelled by “buy online, pick up in-store” option offered by  retailers. With the service, the concerns around product availability were mitigated, extending the shopping season until the very end.

    “During the last couple of years, there was a lot of talk about retailers trying to spread out the holiday season,” White said. “This year, they really weren’t able to get the buying started that much earlier, but they were able to keep it going longer into the Christmas week.”

    Mobile Phones were at 39 percent of visits and 17 percent of sales during holiday 2015, which is more than the share of sales and traffic driven by tablets. However, share of sales from tablets at 44 percent from mobile devices in comparison with share of visits at 24 percent reveals a higher conversion rate for tablet users.

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    ADI reveals that search and referral sources were the key drivers of traffic at nearly 57 percent, for holiday season with email and display advertising gaining momentum.

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    The most buzzed brands among Big Box retail and eCommerce, maintained the velocity of social mentions, however Social Media was not an important source of online traffic. Social Media buzz is seen important for audience engagement and generating awareness,however, search and affiliate sources are the critical channels for driving online traffic, making for an approximate 60 percent of online traffic. Email and Display advertising are the fastest growing channels for online traffic.

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    Thanksgiving Day was the fastest growing Sales Day with Cyber Monday being the biggest for Online sales. Limited time Deals were the highlight of Retail sales strategy as product view rates for Out of stock products were high. The Deals available for different categories varied throughout the season, with discounts on electronics being the highest during Thanksgiving, while for Apparel discounts were available throughout the season.

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  • Top Ten Publishers And Four Elements of Viral Posts

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    According to Shareablee, media publishers accounted for 1.5 billion total social actions  in December (likes, comments, shares, retweets, dislikes), with 728 million actions on Instagram, 667 million actions on Facebook, 52 million on Twitter, and 17 million on YouTube (excluding views), for the US market.

    Instagram drove Bleacher Report’s 44 percent growth in total social actions, driven by a  mix of comedy and inspiration.

    Nature, Entertainment, Fashion, News and Sports are the leading categories for share of voice, with social media actions being the key metric.

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    Here are Four Elements from BuzzSumo that make for Viral Posts based on a study of 1 Million posts.

    Using an Influencer can make the difference for your posts getting shared.

    Create posts that combine some of the elements mentioned in the Content Amplification Grid below. The posts that often use elements that are emotionally charging and surprising are often shared more than the ones that do not evoke an emotion.

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    Include Images, video, and Quotes to Tell your story.

    Tasty, an extension of BuzzFeed food has generated over 300 actions per thousand fans with Video posts.

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    Write Headlines that combine more than one or two elements.

    Checklist For Viral posts
    • Does the content have an emotional element?
    • Does the post include shareable content types, such as facts, images, and quotes?
    • Is the topic one that resonates with your audience? Is it trending?
    • Is the format one that works well with your audience - such as practical tips or a quiz?
    • Does the post require your audiences to interact?
    • Do you have an Influencer that can amplify your     content?
    • Do you know the key engagement metric to measure the success of your post?

     

  • Online and Non-store Holiday Season Sales Grew By 9 percent

    NRFAccording to National Retail Federation, Online and other Non-store holiday season sales grew by 9 percent to USD 105 billion. Holiday sales in 2015 increased 3 percent to USD 626.1 billion. NRF’s  earlier forecast of total growth, including online sales, was at 3.7 percent reaching USD 630.5 Billion dollars.

    “Make no mistake about it, this was a tough holiday season for the industry. Weather, inventory challenges, advances in consumer technology and the deep discounts that started earlier in the season and that have carried into January presented stiff headwinds as retailers competed with one another and their own bottom line,” said NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay. “Despite these factors, the industry rallied, consumers responded and sales still grew at a healthy rate, which is a huge testament to the resilience, knowledge and expertise of our retail leadership.”

    The US Commerce Department placed the growth estimate at a decline of 0.2 percent, for December retail sales seasonally adjusted month-to-month and increased 2.2 percent unadjusted year-over-year. Though there is more to the data as pointed out by the Chief Economist for NRF. While on the surface trends may appear softer than expected, according to NRF Chief Economist Jack Kleinhenz the rise in November retail sales is actually very much in line with the events shaping the 2015 holiday shopping season. Sales in November excluding autos, gas and restaurants increased 0.5 percent seasonally adjusted over the previous month and 3.0 percent unadjusted year-over-year.

    “The growth in November really does point to a healthy consumer who at the end of the day will help retailers see solid growth, despite the economic and environmental challenges.” Jack Kleinhenz, NRF Chief Economist

     

     

     

  • Are Messaging Apps The Next Frontier For Omnichannel Retail?

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    According to an Apple Press Release, “In the two weeks ending January 3, customers spent over USD 1.1 Billion on apps and in-app purchases, setting back-to-back weekly records for traffic and purchases. January 1, 2016 marked the biggest day in App Store history with customers spending over USD 144 million. It broke the previous single-day record set just a week earlier on Christmas Day.”

    According to L2 Digital IQ Research, Beauty brands in China, effectively use WeChat for marketing programs with customized features. The adoption for features such as links to e-tailer store, provide an opportunity for retailers to be present where the audiences are.

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    Messaging campaigns are seen to increase engagement and retention rates, according to a research report, In-app campaigns increase engagement and retention.

    Four Ways Brands Can Target Omnichannel Shopper On Messaging Apps
    Personalize Your Messaging For Engagement

    Brands can combine messaging features for personalized offers and engagement on Messaging Apps. This can be done with location-based targeting or personalized rewards. The messaging apps provide retailers an additional channel to increase chances of interaction without leaving the messaging  app. According to Urban Airship, Brands can increase the engagement with App notifications that are served within a context. An example is a messaging campaign, for PGA Tour app that serves Geo-location relevant messages making for an exclusive experience. Retailer Brands can choose the right messaging app depending on the popularity of the app with the target audience.

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    For fans at a tournament, the PGA Tour app features context-driven notifications using beacons. As attendees entered the grounds, they received a Welcome notification leading them to a landing page with scheduled tee times. Beacons throughout the grounds triggered messages aimed at streamlining the fan experience from skipping lunch lines, to offering transport schedules as the day wrapped up.

    Offer Shopping Convenience With Messaging

    Asda

    ASDA’s app features a mobile-enabled low price guarantee, shopping lists optimized for maximum in-store efficiency.  ASDA’s engaging design uses visual tiles to help consumers connect with the brand through recipes, in-line video and offers. Like Starbucks’ app, ASDA’s Message Center serves as a hub for great user experiences. Nearly 25 percent of transactions are reported to take place on mobile apps for some of the retailers who prioritize mobile apps. Integrating Retail Mobile App with the popular messaging app can help retailers create customized offers.

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    Referral Marketing With Messaging

    Brands can look at using campaigns that aim to sign-up customers with a referral marketing program. The marketing impact  of referral program in reaching new audiences is multi-fold. Deep linking your retail app with messaging app, can help audiences sign up and refer audiences in a click.

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    Reward Customers With Messaging

    Brands that run a rewards program can look at incentivizing spend with rewards features that let audiences sign up for offers that are credited to customers account. Another way to reward audiences is featuring discounts, previews and sales for engaged audiences. Retailers that are targeting the messaging apps users can look at offering specific rewards such as “Follow the Story and Earn Reward Points”.

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    Nordstrom

    To tackle the Omnichannel retail challenge, segmenting shoppers that are app only as opposed to in-store, browser-based and other devices. Customizing offers for app only audiences, requires retailers to look at mobile shopper journey for features such as digital assistants, price comparison and product locator within the messaging app and deep linking of apps for mobile transactions. Brands that are looking at creating Shopper convenience for InStore can offer services such as Click and Hold where shoppers can view products at a reserve price, prior to purchases. Engaging high value audiences on messaging apps can help them decide what shoppers are really looking for.

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