ONLINE & SOCIAL MEDIA INSIGHT UPDATE APRIL 2013

Shopping online is up, but spending online is down

More people shopped online in February, but each spent less, on average, than they have for more than four years, new figures suggest. For while online sales were up by 13%, according to the IMRG-Capgemini eRetail Sales Index, the average spend was at its lowest since October 2008. Average basket values were down across all categories except gifts (up by 36%), health and beauty (up by 8%) and lingerie (up by 9%), with all probably boosted by the Valentines Day effect. Although mobile sales jumped 184 per cent on a year earlier, this represents a significant slowdown on February 2012 when sales grew 304 per cent year-on-year and the index warned that there has been a notable dip in the level of growth over the past few months. Conversion rates, however, have risen and now remain consistent, reaching 2.3 per cent last month and IMRGs Chief Information Officer Tina Spooner believes this is a positive sign of the strength of m-commerce. Spooner commented: The mobile growth rate has slowed by around a third over the last 3 months or so compared with 2012, which is perhaps inevitable after the boom in tablet sales last year that has no doubt driven it. As the use of mobile devices as internet portals has also become widespread, it has turned mobile into a viable sales channel as evidenced by the rise in conversion rate.

Morrisons enters talks with online grocer Ocado

Morrisons confirmed it is to launch online grocery next year and is in discussions with online grocer Ocado to license its software. The grocer stated that it will launch an online grocery offer by January 2014, however said the launch of an online grocery offer was not dependent on the outcome of discussions with the Hatfield-based etailer. The move follows a two year process of learning from its team embedded at Fresh Direct, the New York based business in which it bought a 10% stake in 2011. Ocado itself has reported a 14.4% year-on-year increase in sales to 185.5m in the first quarter of the year buoyed by new customers, with average orders per week growing 12% to 130,995 year-on-year in the 12 weeks to February 24.

Tablet retail search volumes surge 238% during fourth quarter of 2012
Retail search volumes rose 14% in the fourth quarter of 2012 as the British Retail Consortium (BRC)Google Online Retail Monitor split out the growth rates of both tablet and smartphone retail searches for the first time. The BRC said search volumes on tablet devices surpassed those on any other device, increasing 238% compared with 76% growth on smartphone devices. Helen Dickinson, director general of the British Retail Consortium, said: This strong growth shows how online retail really came of age in 2012. Its playing an increasingly significant role at every stage of the customer journey, especially when researching items and comparing prices both at home and on the move.

Facebook tests targeted advertising on News Feed

The targeted system, Facebook Exchange (FBX), was introduced last year as a way for businesses to show adverts that are most likely to be relevant to potential customers according to their browsing interests. This system - which so far has only been used on the right-hand side of a users Facebook page - is key to the business model of a company that derives roughly 84 per cent of its revenue from advertising. Facebook, however, is now launching what it calls a small alpha test of Facebook Exchange within users News Feeds, initially carried out with only a few selected advertisers. The targeted News Feed adverts will initially be available only on desktops but not on smartphones and tablets. A study last year by Pew Research Center said that 68 per cent of internet users disapprove of targeted advertising because they dont like having their online behaviour tracked and analysed.

ONLINE & SOCIAL MEDIA INSIGHT UPDATE APRIL 2013

Facebook brings threaded comments & replies to pages
After experimenting with the feature for months, Facebook is introducing threaded Page replies; an addition the company says will improve conversations across the social network. "You and your readers will have the ability to reply directly to comments left on your Page content and start conversation threads, which will make it easier for you to interact directly with individual readers and keep relevant conversations connected," writes Vadim Lavrusik in a post announcing the rollout. Even better, Facebook says replies carry another benefit: the most engaging and active discussions will automatically rise to the top of your page. Beginning July 10th, replies and conversation threads will be turned on for all pages and popular accounts with over 10,000 followers.

4G could boost UK retail by 1.8bn

Super-fast network 4G could boost the UK retail sector by 1.8 billion, new research reveals. Representing a 113 per cent year-on-year rise in mobile shopping, the introduction of 4G will compliment changing consumer behaviour, according to online marketplace eBay, which commissioned analyst firm Conlumino to conduct the survey. Using your mobile to shop is increasingly popular with 55 per cent of over 2,000 respondents saying they use their smartphone more now to shop online than the same time last year, though only one in 10 use their phone to complete the customer journey and make a purchase. Consumers today want convenience and speed, said Olivier Ropars, Senior Director of m-Commerce at eBay Europe. Retailers must act now and think about the virtual shop window, to turn this huge opportunity into an exciting reality. An omnichannel approach is key to making this happen and with universal 4G on the horizon; retailers cant afford to stand still. SO WHAT SHOULD WE DO? 1. As mobile operators begin to roll out 4G networks across the UK, promising speeds several times faster than have been possible with existing 3G connections, the way in which shoppers interact with their mobile devices will never be the same again. There has been a growing trend of consumers using their mobiles and tablets within stores to research and compare products, though until now, the numbers of shoppers using their mobile device to actually complete a purchase has been significantly lower. As connections become faster and more stable however, expect to see conversion numbers increase significantly as consumer confidence in m-commerce grows. As CPM prepares its online-auditing product, we must be mindful of not only how effectively our clients products can be located on traditional desktop displays running full versions of websites but also on mirror sites specifically customised for mobile and tablet devices. Online availability will soon be as important as physical stock on store shelves and we need to make sure we are on the front foot when thinking of ways we can help influence this. 2. The introduction of threaded comments on Facebook presents CPM with a previously paralleled opportunity to engage directly with our clients consumers. Prior to this development, when a Facebook user posted a comment (be it positive or negative) onto a Brands page, if then multiple users replied to this comment, by the time the Brands Facebook admin came to reply to the original comment it could become lost within the noise and the chance to resolve a potential grievance could be missed. Threaded comments allow for no confusion regarding who a comment is aimed towards and prevent posts being missed on popular topics where there are many users replying. While the development does have some other implications (i.e. posts are no longer displayed chronologically but instead the most popular comments take precedence), we should be making sure our clients are aware of this feature and trialling it where appropriate as the potential for improved grievance and complaint handling is readily apparent.