Does Your Online Presence Matter to You?
With the holidays upon us, it’s time to reflect. Is your business poised to weather this holiday season, even among increased competition and consumer discretion?
The National Retail Federation reports that more than 90 percent of consumers research a product online prior to making a purchase in a store. Moreover, 92.5 percent of adults said they regularly or occasionally research products online before buying them in a store, according to BIGresearch. A Harris Interactive survey reported that 90 percent of those surveyed say they have a better overall shopping experience when they research products online before shopping in-store.
In today’s marketplace, having a well defined, user friendly, relevant online presence is necessary to drive both online and offline sale. As consumers look online first, the content they find greatly determines brand preference. The problem is the content consumers find today often leaves them wanting more. In fact, nearly one quarter of consumers said their biggest online shopping frustration is purchased items having no resemblance to the image on the Internet (Opinion Research Corporation).
To generate high quality content and relevant user applications, retailers must rely on industry leaders like MyWebGrocer to deliver the tools necessary to engage consumers. In addition, retailers need to turn to their advertisers and communicate the pivotal role engaging online product content plays in driving their in-store results.
Just as retailers have done with in-store merchandising over the years (such as product packaging, POP signage and sales training), retailers should solicit advertisers to provide rich product-centric content they can use to more effectively merchandise their products online. This is a smarter, more leveraged approach than attempting to create original high-quality product content. As an added benefit for both retailers and advertisers, consumers depend on content hot spots like recipe engines and site features like MyWebGrocer’s featured product merchandising module for product information that’s easy and reliable to find.
For advertisers, the small investment required to create and deliver rich, product-centric content to advertise products online should be viewed in the context of better aligning marketing spend with the reality of how today’s consumers shop. The online product page is arguably the most important single point of research. MyWebGrocer’s advertising network promotes consistent placement of manufacturer-driven content in front of shoppers each place a product is sold, allowing them to augment their brand directly at the online point of sale.
As a first priority, retailers need to focus on enhancing their online presence. On top of product research, consumers acknowledge that 24-hour shopping convenience is one of the main reasons why they choose to buy online. Additionally, shoppers’ other top reasons for buying online instead of in stores include not wanting to fight crowds, easy price comparisons, free shipping and promotions and spending online to save on high gas prices.
“Whether [consumers] make those holiday purchases online or in stores, the Internet will have a tremendous influence,” says Helen Malani, Shopzilla’s Online Shopping Expert.
There is no substitute for a great in-store shopping experience, but savvy retailers and advertisers are recognizing the enormous value of an enhanced online presence and the role it plays in driving sales, regardless of where shoppers prefer to shop.
Rachel
Tags: MyWebGrocer, National Retail Federation, Online Advertising, Online Grocery Shopping, retailer websites
