Public Relations & Social Marketing Insight

Robert Moore from RJMetrics took this a step further, identifying that 11 percent (110,000) of the top 1M websites on the internet by Alexa traffic ranking are eCommerce sites and calculating the distribution of these websites in total numbers as well as by share of retail sales, and came up with some very interesting results shown in the table below.

From this research, we know that the top 1% (Amazon, eBay, Walmart among them) of the top visited eCommerce sites on the Internet are capturing 34% of total sales. This is unsurprising for such big companies, with huge brands, and huge marketing dollars backing them. We call this the “fat head” (vs. long tail) of eCommerce stores and it is a very elite group. In the mid tier, eCommerce stores that break into the top 500,000 in Alexa rankings make up 51% of the total businesses and 63% of total revenue, still a very healthy showing....

Shipping charges kill conversions. Statistic: 28% of shoppers will abandon their shopping cart if presented with unexpected shipping costs. Account creation also kills conversions.Discounts will win back your customers.The Statistic: 54% of shoppers will purchase products left in shopping carts, if those products are offered at a lower price...

While recovering from the holiday rush, retailers can look back at this season’s trends to discover new ways to fuel customer engagement and drive loyalty in the next year. Using real-time analytics, SAP uncovered a wealth of insights about consumers’ attitudes and desires that retailers can use all year long.

We have found that simply listening to what people are already saying provides powerful insights into their attitudes and behaviors. And consumers had plenty to say this holiday season: Shoppers shared their opinions and chronicled their actions with more than 28 million mentions online, an 8% increase over last year, according to SAP analytics.

Holiday shoppers tweeted more than 28 million mentions about their gift purchases- up 8% YoY via @SAP_Retail

Using social media analytics, we combed through the social chatter this holiday season to discover what consumers said – and what they actually did. We found some interesting trends, revealing consumers’ changing tactics and suggesting retailers must respond with different strategies of their own....

As shopping shifts to the web and mobile, retailers need to be increasingly mindful of the different e-commerce channels and how their services and sites stack up against those of competitors, and the industry at large. 

A few key performance indicators, or KPIs, allow retailers to benchmark themselves in specific areas of online commerce. Identifying the right areas for improvement can help businesses adjust and capture a larger share of the e-commerce and retail market.

With the advancing age, marketing and shopping trends are advancing too. 2015 is expected to set all new trends in ecommerce. Marketers need to be aware of these ecommerce trends in 2015 so as to remain visible amidst strict competitioyn.

With increasing technology and gadgets, ecommerce is reaching almost everyone. People are feeling more comfortable while buying products online and getting them on their door steps. So, let’s look at the key ecommerce trends in 2015....

The value of eCommerce in the US is expected to climb 15.5% this year to US$304.1 billion. What does this tell us about the changing shopping habits of Americans?...

There was a time when group buying virtually snatched the popularity away from all other e-commerce models. But that day is long gone. Today, group buying is anything but sought after.

The falling popularity of group buying as an e-commerce model both saddens and surprises me and I never stop wondering what actually went wrong.

In this article, I attempt to piece together all the findings that my research in this area has led to. I do hope once the dots are all connected, the reason behind group buying and its fall from popularity won’t remain a mystery to us....

According to eMarketer’s latest forecasts, worldwide business-to-consumer (B2C) ecommerce sales will increase by 20.1% this year to reach $1.500 trillion. Growth will come primarily from the rapidly expanding online and mobile user bases in emerging markets, increases in mcommerce sales, advancing shipping and payment options, and the push into new international markets by major brands.

In 2014, for the first time, consumers in Asia-Pacific will spend more on ecommerce purchases than those in North America, making it the largest regional ecommerce market in the world. This year alone, B2C ecommerce sales are expected to reach $525.2 billion in the region, compared with $482.6 billion in North America....

Adobe has released its 2014 Digital Index Online Shopping Forecast for this year’s holiday season, with a visual summary in video form and highlights in the graphs below.

Adobe data predicts online prices will hit rock bottom on Thanksgiving Day, lower than any other day during the holiday season.

Record sales of $1.35 billion are expected on Thanksgiving Day, a 27 percent increase over last year. Sales on Cyber Monday are forecasted to be $2.6 billion, an increase of 15 percent.

Black Friday is predicted to be the fastest growing online sales day of the year at $2.48 billion, an increase of 28 percent.

And what will consumers be buying? Social media buzz for Apple’s iPhone 6 and 6+, Sony’s PlayStation 4, Fitbits and Disney’s ‘Frozen’ dolls are driving early interest.