PRISM Blog

Since $38 billion has been spent in ecommerce in 2011 so far this year, and that represents an increase of 10% over 2010, now is the time more than ever to invest in a content strategy that makes sense and will be profitable in the short and long haul. 

The Long and Winding Road: The Gamesmanship of Shopping report has been recently released and focuses on what consumers are looking for. One thing is apparent here and that’s while shoppers are warming to the idea of online shopping like never before, they also want to be sure they can finish the process quickly and have the best deal.

There are some interesting statistics here including the fact that: 
• 55% of shoppers say shopping on the web has made them more careful about what they buy
• 49% ask for friend’s input
• 82% are sold on the idea of online shopping
• 60% shop online to find the best deal
• 17% find they are in fact impulsive more so on the Web

What all this points to is the new way of doing business and a clear indication that any content strategy and interactive marketing campaign will need to focus on cost or any deals/coupons rather than any of the methods that worked better in other times. Research from one of the biggest search engines, Yahoo, has some further suggestions that include creating an experience that meshes the online and offline experiences and creating brand trust through the newer models like social media marketing where consumer input is used to design the brand image.  

Although there is still some conjecture about the best metric to use when designing a content strategy that will involve social media marketing, there’s no doubt considering this most recent information that impulse buying isn’t the domain of the online shopper is something to be considered.

• Almost half at 44% said the reason they wouldn’t commit had nothing to do with the cart at all but rather the simple fact that handling and shipping costs were too high.
• Another 27% wanted to make price comparisons.