Measuring the ROI of eCommerce initiatives has always been a nebulous job. While logic dictated that online selling would have an impact on offline purchasing, it was difficult to find hard data to
support the belief.
New research commissioned by Channel Intelligence, Inc. and conducted by retail analyst firm Frank Lynn & Associates now provides substance to the suppositions. In an online
survey of 4,000 computer and consumer electronics shoppers who clicked from a manufacturer's to a dealer's Web site, 34.3% said they completed a purchase online, from a catalog, or in a store sometime
within one week of following the link. An additional 22.8% indicated that they planned to purchase the product within 30 days of the initial visit.
"This is the best evidence we've seen of the
value of manufacturer-driven sales leads," says Bob Segal, the Frank Lynn & Associates partner who led the research team. "Most manufacturers and dealers have no idea what happens to online leads
beyond the five to 9% of buyers who make an immediate purchase. This research shows that getting online shoppers to click on the 'Buy It Now' or 'Find It Now' button has a huge, direct impact on
multiple sales channels."
The research was conducted in March, 2003 among visitors to manufacturer websites for 3Com, Altec Lansing, BenQ, Exabyte, Iomega, Lexmark, Monster Cable, Netgear, Proxim,
Sharp Electronics, and Tripp Lite, among others. The manufacturers provide a cross-section of products and price points. All use one or more of Channel Intelligence's services such as Channel Buy
Links and Product Pinpointer, which have sent more than $5 billion in sales leads to the channel since April, 2002.
Survey respondents were shopping for products that averaged $407 in price,
although the actual value of purchases averaged $262. Of the group that purchased within one week, more than 45% said they bought additional products that increased the value of the sale by $125 to
$150 on average. At the same time, less than 1% said they purchased direct from the manufacturer, indicating an overwhelming preference for buying through the channel.
Channel Intelligence
President Alan Fulmer was also happy to have actual data to point to when talking with manufacturers. "Multi-channel marketing is a hot area right now," says Fulmer. "Where once online and offline
were broken into separate territories, with separate goals and reporting structures, more organizations are starting to look at the bigger picture. As long as they make the sale, they're less
concerned about where the sale started and where it was fulfilled. In the end, it's all about satisfying the customer and securing the revenue. That's what we help them do, no matter where the
customer wants to buy."