123-reg.co.uk

News from IMRG who brand themselves as ‘the voice of e-tail’ shows that while online shopping continues to rise, the way people shop online is changing.

Almost aping the traditional high street shopper, online shoppers take longer onsite, browsing, researching and comparing products far more than they did five years ago. The result of which is online conversion rates in the UK have fallen by 55% over the past five years. In 2006, the average online conversion rate for retailers in the IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index was 8.4%, but that figure has dropped to 3.8% now.

The trend is being labelled as ‘online purchasing’ compared to ‘online shopping’. With the increase in social shopping expected to contine the ability to convert browsers into buyers is possibly the biggest challenge to online marketeers in the months ahead. While gimmicks, offers and products will bring in would-be customers, online shops will have to think far more about their calls to actions and enticements to buy if they are to convert that traffic.

Have your conversion rates fallen? What are you doing to combat this?

Share and Enjoy

Comments

The latest Top 50 e-Retailers report from IMRG and Experian Hitwise sees no change in the top 2 (Amazon and Argos leading the way) but there are a few changes in rank and one new entry into the top 10.

With the summer upon us it was travel sites who improved most over the last quarter with each of the major travel brands (including Thomson in 10th position) making a rise compared to May 2011 rankings and the sector making up 1 in 5 of the top 50.

Yet, while getting away was popular so was just getting out. Both Odeon (37th) and Vue (44th) returned to the top 50 after a short stint outside. Interestingly, home entertainment-type retailers (other than Amazon) were amongst the hardest hit by the season, with sites like Play.com, HMV and Game all dropping in the rankings.

So the figures perhaps reflect more seasonal changes than specific trends in online buying but of note are some new names making big impressions on the e-commerce sector. The online offering from fashion-retailer Next overtook Tesco in this last quarter and in July alone accounted for 1 in ever 11 visits for online fashion. In the same sector Matalan is making massive inroads too, having quadrupled traffic to its site over the past three years to record levels last month that lifted it to 40th spot. Year on year the biggest risers have been House of Fraser (up 20 places), Sainsbury’s and Ikea (both up 12 spots).

Interestingly,in the multi-channel era, online only offerings such as Amazon UK (1st), Play.com (6th), Expedia (14th) and ASOS (19th) continue to compete strongly alongside big high-street brands who have moved online.

Thinking of starting your own online offering? Our eshop range come with options for every size of venture and with a drag and drop interface are easy to get to grips with and get online with. Compare the range here.

Share and Enjoy

Comments

This month’s figures from the IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index reveal that online shopping just gets stronger and stronger. £5.3 billion was spent online during May according to the report which is a year-on-year increase of 18% and up 2% on an already impressive April.

However, with economic times pinching it appears big money purchases, which helped fuel the original trend for online buying, are not doing as well as so called ‘low-ticket’ items sales of which are booming.

As people’s social trends change due to economic pressures so different sectors seem to be benefiting from online sales. Stay at home entertainment is growing with the alcohol sector growing to an average order reaching £161, which is up a massive 25% on May 2010. Staying-in every night also makes people want to make the most of when they do leave the house so it is no surprise then to find the average travel spend online soaring to £869 a year.

To date, £25.7 billion has been spent online during 2011. That is in stark contrast to figures released by the British Retail Consortium earlier this month, which showed that, despite a surge for the Royal Wedding and Easter holidays, high street sales were down 0.3% year-on-year and down 2.1% on April 2011.

Are you spending more online? Are you selling online? Our Eshop range offers everything you need to be selling online via a professional looking shop with a few clicks and our InstantSite Pro and SiteFusion offerings have ecommerce functionality that is simple to set up too.

Share and Enjoy

Comments

Your mum may have done it, your nan may still be doing it but the chances are, if you are in the 25-34 age group you are doing it more than most.

Yes, traditional coupon collectors were seen with scissors in hand cutting cereal boxes and pages from magazines to grab their money-off vouchers, but the modern ‘couponer’ uses a mouse to cut and paste their discounts.

A YouGov survey of over 2,000 online British adults, commissioned by CouponCoupon.co.uk, reveals that women, those aged between 25-34 years and those living in Wales, are making the biggest savings by tapping into the benefits of coupon, discount and voucher codes. There’s money to be saved too. the respondents reported on average a saving of over £300 per year thanks to coupons, discount and voucher codes.

Coupons have a big effect on spending habits too: 28% of women said they are more likely to shop with a retailer they have a coupon for than one they don’t, (a figure slightly lower at 22% for the male respondents).

Are your shopping habits influenced by coupon codes?

Share and Enjoy

Comments

The latest figures from the IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index suggest that mobile technology and the desire simply to shop more online means even hotter days and more time outside didn’t stall the growth of e-commerce in April this year.

With the Royal Wedding, a bumper-pack of bank holidays and plenty of sunshine, there was plenty to keep UK shoppers happy and they responded by spending £5.2 billion online – up 19% on April 2010 and equivalent to £84  per person.

The hottest April since 1910 saw many parties and barbecues leading to alcohol sales seeing the most significant growth – 55% year-on-year. Clothes too with sales up 32% on 2010 and 8% on March 2011. Unsurprisingly, home and garden spends were also up 14% year-on-year and 11% month-on-month.

However, with the home-based fun came a decline in one sector. Travel saw an 8% drop from March and a lowly 1% increase in online sales compared to April last year.

Did you spend more online in April?

Share and Enjoy

Comments

The European Union’s amended Privacy and Electronic Communications Directive comes into force in just over a week on 26th May 2011. With it comes a much under-reported change in the way web administrators can use the information they collect about their visitors.

It what has been labelled ‘the cookie law’ the directive has yet to be be given a formal route into English law but still technically affects all those in the UK under European law. The key aspect is that collecting information via cookies should no longer be done covertly. Simply because a visitor’s browser allows cookies should not be taken to mean they agree to their information being collected.

As a result, The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has issued a briefing note setting out guidelines on how not to fall foul of the directive.  Advice on how to lawfully collect and use cookie information is set out in the document, aimed at bridging the gap until the Government bring in formal legislation.

While the position is not perfect it would appear the caution suggested by the ICO briefing note is a sensible step to follow until a new statue clarifies the exact position.

Do you think the Directive goes too far? Do the ICOs suggestions play too much into the hands of the regulators?

Share and Enjoy

Comments

Smartphones are our future so we keep getting told and a recent survey reported recently in New Media Age suggests the UK consumer is embracing App technology as a way of purchasing, ordering and simply spending money online.

In fact the the research conducted by OnePoll on behalf of the marketing firm The Bio Agency, found that owners in the UK are spending £581 million a year via downloaded apps. The report suggested 20 per cent of UK smartphone users purchased goods by using applications with a spending average over £33 per person.

3,000 UK residents were surveyed with nearly 80 per cent indicating convenience as the major reason for conducting m-commerce. With the recent high profile marketing of Apps from Tesco and Waitrose amongst others it is not surprising the the biggest average spend  (over £75 a month) came in the grocery sector, with travel tickets not too far behind at over £56 a month.

It certainly appears that m-commerce is set to continue driving forward and change the way we do business.

Did you know you can purchase domain names using your phone with 123-reg? Our iPhone app is the perfect way of ensuring those quirky domain names don’t evade your grasp just because you are on the move.

Share and Enjoy

Comments

A new survey from Harris Interactive and commissioned by online customer experience management firm Tealeaf, has revealed that the number of people completing commercial transactions via their mobile in the UK topped 10 million last year. Yet whilst many chose the method for convenience and ease, a massive 83% of them reported experiencing problems when trying to transact online.

The novelty of mobile purchasing, booking and ordering may soon begin to wear off and with such high incidences of errors, many may choose to turn their back on m-commerce before it has really begun. The survey suggests that 23% of online UK consumers conducted a mobile transaction last year and that 75% could see no reason why a mobile transaction can’t be completed first time. To hammer home the need to make sure systems work correctly 66% reported they would be less likely to buy from a brand following a poor mobile experience.

While 63% of people used their mobile for shopping the variety and diverse nature of the internet is also reflected in other m-commerce uses. Financial transactions (37%) and travel bookings (34%) are also popular uses and on average, mobile shoppers completed 4.4 transactions on a mobile device per month. Interestingly, there was a fairly even split between transactions using an app (43%) and internet browser (41%).

Yet expectations of those users appears high. Common problems reported included error messages (34%) and navigation difficulties (24%) and 13% said they would switch to a competitor’s app or website if they experienced problems. Also, worryingly for the whole industry, 9% would vow never to conduct a mobile transaction ever again and 61% said they would tell their friends and family about the problems they encountered, and discourage them from using that app/website or doing business with the company.

The survey was conducted online within the United States and Great Britain  between February 9-11, 2011 among 2,469 U.S. adults ages 18+ and between February 9-14, 2011 among 2,228 Great Britain adults ages 16+.

Have you had a bad m-commerce experience?

Share and Enjoy

Comments

A new report today suggests that new technologies and perhaps a change of direction for online fraudsters have online card fraud under control.

With checkout software producers and card issuers having invested a lot of money in recent years to combat fraudsters they will be pleased with today’s report from the UK Cards Association that reveals card fraud has fallen to the lowest level since 2000.

Total card fraud losses on UK debit and credit cards fell to a 10-year low in 2010to £365.4m, down 17%on the previous year. Meanwhile, despite what some sections of the media may have us believe, online banking fraud losses were down 22 per cent in the same period.

Ironically, in our ever-advancing technological world it seems the criminals may have reverted to more traditional methods. The one blip in the figures reported is an increase of 22% in the amount lost through cards being intercepted in the post.

While online security still needs to be a high-profile issue to consider – using SSLs etc – it does seem the organisations who have been working hard to combat the potential issues are beginning to have an impact.

Do you think more steps should be taken to combat online fraud?

Share and Enjoy

Comments

A new study from  Shoppercentric suggests men are more likely to use social media to shop while women prefer to use social media to interact with others, with the male gender apparently embracing social media as a whole than their female counterparts.

The headline figures in the report revealed:

• 38% of men own a smartphone compared to just 29% of women.
• While 56% of those surveyed use Facebook a gender gap is evident with 60% of women Facebook users compared to just 52% of men.

Shopping is where the gender difference is really highlighted with men much more likely to choose ecommerce than women.

• 14% of men said they shopped using apps, but only 8% of women do – although this is partly off-set by the different uptake of smartphones across the genders.
• In the hunt for a bargain, 27% of male shoppers admitted to using price comparison sites, while only 19% of women do.

Interestingly, while the internet may offer an easier direct route direct to brands for the consumer, the traditional choice of going to a shop stocking a range of brands is still favoured – even online. 75% of those surveyed said they had visited retail websites, but only 33% said they had gone to brand websites.

The figures offer a useful insight for marketeers looking at the best way to connect with potential customers. Of some concern is that while two thirds would buy online, only 6% were likely to do so social media. This may be due to the lack of opportunity at present and the early evolution of ecommerce via social media but is something retailers need to consider addressing.

In terms of social media, the main reasons given for customers connecting with brands was found to be:

• 32% – finding out something new
• 23% – for brands to connect with them
• 24% – to be sold something by brands
• 12% – for brands or retailers to help them have fun

Revealingly, more than half (54%) of people thought brands or retailers used social media to sell more products, while 43% thought it was “because everyone else is”.

The report also highlighted the reasons consumers chose to follow brands on social media:

• 32% – feel part of a group
• 29% – to be part of a forum
• 10% – for discounts or promotions
• 6% – to complain

The tone of social media should also be considered given the results of age group and their use of brand engagement through social networks. The strongest age group was revealed as 16-24 year olds at 38% but within the 35-44 year old bracket (18%) and 45-54 (8%) and 55+(0%) there is clearly work to be done to get them to embrace brand offerings via social media, particularly when 56% of the 55+ age group said they could not see the point of social networking.

While some of the results may not be surprising, the breakdown of how different age-groups and genders use social media to interact could and should help brands develop their own social media policies.

Do you buck the trend? Do these results surprise you?

Share and Enjoy

Comments