BY Rachel Cagle
Do you need to give your client an example of a benefit of advertising online? Start with asking them this: How often do e‑commerce shoppers make online purchases? According to a report by Episerver, 26% of these shoppers make at least one online purchase on a weekly basis. That is a 3% increase from last year. While this growth shows great promise for online retailers, there’s still one problem: More retailers are offering e‑commerce options every year, increasing the number of competitors in your client's industry. So, how can your clients continue to attract attention and retain online customers in a sea of similar offerings?
“To get ahead, brands and retailers must implement dynamic, integrated content marketing and customer experience strategies that forge personal, emotional connections with shoppers beyond transactions,” says Episerver.
Reenforcing the Benefit of Advertising Online
Search
Your client's typical online shoppers may not have specific products in mind when they begin their buying jounrey. However, a benefit of advertising online is that more than 30% of consumers’ first stop on their buying journey is Google or other search engines. According to AudienceSCAN profiles available at AdMall from SalesFuel, only 18.6% of E‑Commerce Devotees will ever venture past the first page of search results. If your clients aren’t keeping their search strategies up-to-date, their content will not end up on the first page of search engines' results. If they're not on the first page of results, they’ll have less of a chance of being found by online shoppers and their sales will decrease as a result.
Social
Additionally, 12% of online shoppers who begin their buyer's journey without a specific product in mind while browsing will turn to a company’s social media page. Another 11% will try the company’s actual website first instead. Yet another benefit of advertising online is that, not only is social media an excellent place to actively forge personal connections with customers, it’s also a medium ripe with advertising opportunities. EPiserver reports that 63% of online shoppers have clicked on social media ads. Direct purchases from ads on social media sites have been made by 33% of e‑commerce shoppers. And it’s not just ads that drive sales. Influencer posts on social media sites have encouraged 52% of online shoppers to click on their posts and 31% to make direct purchases from the influencer's promoted company. Not surprisingly, younger shoppers (ages 37 and below) have been found to be more receptive to social commerce than those ages 38 and older.
What other resources do E‑Commerce Devotees use when preparing to make a purchase and what other forms of advertising sway them? Look up their audience profile on AudienceSCAN in AdMall by SalesFuel to find out.
