Commentary

Just an Online Minute... Christmas in August

As summer 2002 winds down and e-tailers start preparing for the holiday rush, Nielsen//NetRatings has taken a look back at years past and proposed some strategies to consider for the upcoming holiday season.

NetRatings says they saw a significant shift between the 2000 and 2001 holiday shopping season. In 2000, about 24% of retailer ads during the holiday season were aimed at direct marketing as opposed to branding, compared to an average of 40% during the 2001 holiday season. We may see this pattern repeated again during 2002, NetRatings says, as e-tailers look to move products in a challenging economic environment.

NetRatings also says that encouraging online customers to buy offline can improve the lifetime value of the customer - customers who shop in multiple channels tend to spend more, and provide significant value over time. Cross-channel promotions can provide valuable customer intelligence, that links online behavior with offline purchase behavior.

In gearing up for the 2002 holiday season, NetRatings encourages e-tailers to remember that with lowered consumer confidence and the growth of lower-income households shopping online, shoppers online are looking for value.

During the 2001 holiday season, online sales were lost to phenomenal discounts offered at physical stores. This year, e-tailers will have to offer more than 'free shipping' to lure shoppers online, and should also look at efficiencies in promoting online for purchases at physical stores.

So how do they suggest we go about doing all that? NetRatings says that when utilized wisely, well-crafted email marketing campaigns can be both effective and highly cost-effective. Something tells me marketers already knew that.

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