The end of the year is busy season for many industries, but retailers specifically rely on the holidays to drive business. The last two months of the year can account for up to 40 percent of total annual retail sales, so merchants must be on top of their game if they want to meet their projected forecasts.
Advertising is one strategy merchants can use to generate exposure among holiday shoppers and encourage viewers to buy at their store instead of a competitor’s. Display ads can assist merchants with highlighting relevant products at competitive prices, promoting their services and simply getting their brand out there in front of consumers.
On top of that, Web-based advertising has never been more influential. Consumers are using their mobile devices and desktop computers now more than ever before as shopping companions, so inserting brand messages into the process early enables retailers to remain top-of-mind among consumers. A recent report from the National Retail Federation (NRF) suggested that digital sales will grow between 13 and 15 percent to as much as $82 billion this holiday season, illustrating how many transactions will occur via online storefronts.
Of course, consumers aren’t just using mobile and online channels to buy retail products. A significant amount of time is also spent researching and planning purchases, which may be the ideal opportunity for advertisers to reach their target audience.
For example, 27 percent of customers found a shopping website or first heard about a specific product from email messages, according to a recent YesMail survey. A separate report from PricewaterhouseCoopers also found that as many as 83 percent of consumers refer to online channels to research retail products before they buy them.
Utilizing email advertising to engage retail customers
Email is one of the most common means consumers use to communicate, as millions of Americans have email accounts and access them via their phones and Web-based browsers every day. Utilizing email advertising to engage these individuals essentially takes advantage of this channel to convey a relevant brand message.
Several retailers are already investing heavily in advertising, with many making use of real-time bidding (RTB) platforms as well to improve the relevance of their campaigns. One recent report from Casale Media even found that retailers were the biggest RTB spenders for the first half of 2013, illustrating the value they see in advertising and RTB.
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