Glenn Lalich

Retail Trends: The Unstoppable Search for Free Shipping

Posted on April 1, 2010 by Glenn Lalich

From years of tracking promotions, we know that free shipping incentives have risen steadily across all consumer retail sectors.  On the offline side, our MarketTrends studies show that 24% of apparel catalog campaigns included a free shipping incentive in 2009, up from 21% in 2008.  Similar growth was seen in non-apparel catalogs.  

For online, the story has been much the same, but the data is more telling. In addition to retail competitive activity, search data also helps us gauge consumer interest and intent with regard to free shipping.  And today’s shoppers are very interested in free delivery, and more so every year.  

General Searches for Free Shipping     

Below is the five-year trend for searches on the term “free shipping”. While the year-end holidays are the peak season, it’s clear that such searches have grown steadily year-over-year, accelerating significantly in recession-plagued 2008 and 2009.    

Google searches for “free shipping”    

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Smarter Searches:  Actionable Information    

Searches strictly on the term “free shipping” are by far the most common, but two popular variations are “free shipping coupon” and “free shipping code.” While the search volume for the simpler “free shipping” is much higher, the “coupon” and “code” variations have seen their own dramatic rise. What’s most significant about these terms is that they show how more searchers are seeking actionable information regarding free shipping, specifically the code needed for checkout.  This type of growing search sophistication is even more pronounced in the next section.  

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PM Digital’s Holiday 2009 Rewind Study Released

Posted on March 2, 2010 by Glenn Lalich

This year’s report on paid search performance underscores dramatic improvements for retailers in Holiday 2009 compared to 2008.

PM Digital’s 4Q & Holiday 2009 Rewind report has been released with a look at paid search performance for retailers during the 2009 holiday season.  And as the study quickly points out, what a difference a year makes.  With 12 months’ distance from the bleakness of late 2008—a season in which e-commerce holiday sales actually dropped—online shoppers in 2009 seemed ready to buy with a renewed commitment to enjoy the holidays.

While research firm comScore cited 5% growth for online retailers, PM Digital’s clients saw paid search demand grow 19% on average.  Clicks, conversion and average order value were all up.

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Black Friday Search Trends, Past and Present

Posted on November 13, 2009 by Glenn Lalich

“Black Friday” search data from Hitwise underscores how consumers are increasingly plugged-in to online retail research and deal hunting.

I sat in on a good session from Hitwise Research Director Heather Doughtery this week that looked back at Black Friday 2008 and offered some preliminary stats for Black Friday 2009. The findings are fairly predictable and mirror what we know from our own data:  consumers are researching earlier and looking for deals.  The bigger question for this season is to what degree the economy and unemployment will accelerate the thrifty, marketing-savvy behaviors already in play.  Below are a few takeaways:

Black Friday searches start earlier each year. Per Hitwise, early “Black Friday” searches in 2006 started the week ending 9/30; for 2009 those same searches started the week ending 8/8.  At this rate, “Christmas in July” may lose its oxymoron status by next year.  Of course we’re talking searches, not purchases.  But unless a retailer is sitting on headline-grabbing price reductions for late in the season, capturing mindshare early is crucial.  Consumers need to know where the good deals are coming from, and a retailer may have to expend more effort now if they haven’t laid the groundwork already.

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Keyword Research Tools Guide, Part 2: A Look at Compete

Posted on September 24, 2009 by Glenn Lalich

Compete LogoAs the next installment in our ongoing review of resources for online marketers, below is Part 2 of our Keyword Research Tools Guide.  Part 1 of this series focused on Hitwise and comScore Marketer, so this time out we’ll take a look at Compete, the last of the three major search term products that focus on post-click data.

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Offline to Online: Using Print Catalogs to Boost Social Marketing

Posted on September 3, 2009 by Glenn Lalich
FetchDog-Small

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It’s no secret that more retailers are using social networking platforms like Facebook and Twitter to further engage consumers with their brands. Emails and websites remain the primary agents for promoting social media initiatives, but marketers with print catalogs can also leverage their offline assets to get customers to log-on and sign-up. Here are recent examples of six marketers, ranging from FetchDog to Bliss, that are using catalogs to seek out new friends, fans and followers.

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Keyword Research Tools Guide, Part 1: comScore Marketer and Hitwise

Posted on September 1, 2009 by Glenn Lalich

Clients often ask about the differences between search intelligence products.  To that end, here is Part 1 of our Keyword Research Tools Guide, designed to provide a quick overview of methodology, output and relative strengths for some of the key resources available to search marketers.

This initial write-up focuses on Hitwise and comScore Marketer, two of the major players that report on post-click data (i.e. not just ads served, but ads clicked).

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Email Watch: Be Thrifty, Buy Play-Doh

Posted on August 20, 2009 by Glenn Lalich

PM_Digital_Orb_Play-DohIt’s not every day that a retailer encourages customers to try yard sales, thrift stores and comparison shopping to get their children ready for school, but that’s what HasbroToyShop does in a new email tracked this week. Clearly Hasbro, the #2 toy seller behind Mattel, has been thinking creatively about their customers’ experiences in challenging times, along with ways to sell more Play-Doh. Here’s a recap, along with a few takeaways.

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The (Still Small) State of Retail Mobile Apps

Posted on July 29, 2009 by Glenn Lalich

retailappsApple celebrated 1.5 billion app downloads last week, but that heady number doesn’t tell the whole story of the one-year old App Store. It took Apple nine months to reach 1 billion app downloads. It took only three months to add another 500 million. That’s remarkable.

Take it as a given that most apps are faddish and have a short shelf life (think cowbells, lighters, “1,001 Pick Up Lines”). There are also apps that have expanded our perception of what is possible, like identifying a song almost anywhere using Shazam, or distinguishing a color on-the-fly using Benjamin Moore’s ben Color Capture. These are potent, uniquely mobile experiences. Apps in one form or another are here to stay.

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