Retailers are investing heavily in marketing, making it essential to understand the customers they’re trying to reach online. Digital Commerce 360, in partnership with Bizrate Insights, conducted a survey of 1,015 online shoppers in May 2022. Understanding their buying behavior, their response to online advertising, and the role of social media has proven essential.

“Which of the following marketing activities influence your online buying decisions?” Our research reveals that a myriad of marketing activities influence the buying behavior of online shoppers. I was.

Email is still the cornerstone of many marketing initiatives

Email has considerable influence, from general mailings considered influential among 44% to people who are part of the post-purchase communication flow. Online retailers also have the opportunity to leverage the communications that arise from the purchase order. At least one in five of her survey respondents mentioned her influence. This includes offers within order confirmation/shipping emails (23%), leftover items in cart (20%), and restock emails (20%). For shoppers, these act as trust builders for future deliveries. For retailers, it’s about getting shoppers back into buying mode.

Traditional mail, including catalogs, still resonates with online shoppers. I can’t help but be impressed with the performance of such catalogs and other printed materials. Its influence was second only to his 43% of emails. Ads to content accessed online are the most influential at 32%. Search engines, on the other hand, have only half the influence at 17%, and retargeting only at 11%.

From an online advertising perspective, social media influence starts with advertising (21%) and general social media visits (18%). Influencers were the least important of respondents, at 7%. Finally, the impact of texting was her 12% of survey respondents.

Our research shows that online shoppers are more receptive to retail email ads. Online shoppers love receiving frequent marketing emails that lead to high open rates. 72% of online shoppers open email ads at least several times a week, and 43% view them daily or more. This is the ready-to-buy, mature audience and one that grabs the attention of all retailers.

Open rates matter, but it’s the purchases that really matter

Despite high email open rates, most shoppers only make monthly purchases. More aggressive are 2% who buy daily or more, and 16% who buy weekly or several times a week. One of the retailers’ jobs is to convince the 22% of people who never or rarely buy to peruse their emails and take a chance. Overall, however, retailers need to continue optimizing email content, delivery frequency, and strategies to increase recipient purchase frequency.

Saving shoppers money still resonates and drives them to open promotional emails

Online shoppers, and all shoppers, love promotions. Not surprisingly, 62% of survey respondents said he was most likely to open promotional emails. Similarly, messages about free shipping grabbed attention among her 37% of respondents.

The majority of shoppers open order-related communications, suggesting strong sales opportunities. Online shoppers indicated that 52% of these order-related communications were more likely to open shipping and order confirmation. 43% confirm delivery confirmation. Ratings and reviews are important to buyers, but a retailer’s request for buyers to review the items they purchase does not garner the same level of attention. Only 20% of her recipients who completed the survey said they opened it.

Online shoppers have long favored loyalty programs, especially Amazon Prime. This is one of the strong reasons why offers related to loyalty programs have a 40% open rate.

Finally, with retailers investing time in hopes of optimizing their merchandising, interestingly, the new products available now message was strong at 26%. Also popular are restock emails (19%) and seasonal activities (13%). Replenishment ripe for only some categories was likely to open among just 5% of those surveyed.

Keeping an eye on the market is essential given that the market is the focus of retailers and online shoppers. According to our research, 40% of her survey respondents can be affected by marketplace ads. Only 11% pay attention all the time or almost all the time, and 19% say it’s not a problem at all. Sellers should test different marketing and other tactics to assess their performance and adjust accordingly.

Leverage your time on social media with marketing opportunities

Most online shoppers report being socially active (67%), which bodes well for advertisers. Facebook is the social channel most likely to lead to online purchases, with 65% using the platform from a shopping perspective. However, it is possible to buy from many other social media channels such as YouTube, Pinterest and Instagram. Harnessing this potential means understanding the role and marketing usage of each channel to develop the best direct shopping strategy.

Understanding the ‘why’ behind shopping on these social channels is essential. As a starting point, just over half (52%) of those surveyed do not shop on social media. Otherwise, online shoppers are continually looking for new channels to discover products. Those who use social media for shopping have a strong interest in discovery (23%) and being able to try new brands and products (11%). Marketing promotions are attractive across all channels because consumers are always looking to save money. It tops the list of reasons why respondents shop on these platforms (22%). Online shoppers are also time hungry, so convenience can play a role on any channel. And 17% say they already use social media regularly, which is helpful. 6% are prompted on social media platforms, so it’s a top priority.

Retailers face marketing hurdles due to new cookie laws, but our research shows that online shoppers most often make their cookie acceptance choices based on the retailer. Also interesting, like me, 1 in 4 of her always accepts cookies. Be kind to your customers, as this means retailers with strong relationships with shoppers may get more favorable treatment of her cookies.

guidance

Many marketing efforts can influence shoppers, but smart strategy starts with knowing your customers. Free size never applies. Test each tactic with the role in mind and assess the impact on your business. Also, don’t forget to include social opportunities as they are becoming more important to more customers. Retaining customers is the best path to strong lifetime value, so remember to think long-term.

sign up

Stay on top of the latest developments in the e-commerce industry. Sign up for a free subscription to Digital Commerce 360 ​​Retail News.

Follow us on LinkedIn. twitter and Facebook. Be the first to know when Digital Commerce 360 ​​publishes news content.

favorite