Back to School E-Commerce

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2 The Retailer s Guide to Back-to-School E-Commerce The Retailer s Guide to Back to School E-Commerce While everyone s still soaking in the summer sunshine, the late bell is ringing for online retailers. Back-to-school shopping is an annual milestone and the second-largest retail event of the year. 1 Jack will look for new cleats for football and a fancy calculator for advanced math. Susie needs books for chemistry and a fashionable outfit for the first day of class. The student starting graduate school is on the hunt for a steal on a new laptop. According to a consumer survey by RetailMeNot, Inc., 44% of back-to-school shoppers plan to purchase items online. 2 It s no surprise they re heading online in droves. What s not to love about avoiding crowded storefronts and the simplicity of browsing, comparing prices and purchasing from the comfort of your couch? But for retailers, all the tasks required to develop an effective back-to-school strategy can sneak up, resulting in e-commerce team panic. To help you stay on top of your planning, we ve rounded up some insights into back-to-school shoppers

3 The Retailer s Guide to Back-to-School E-Commerce They re Budget Conscious Though the economy is in better shape than it was a few years ago, back-to-school shoppers still have budget on their minds. And many of these shoppers head online to look for deals. In fact, 30% of back-to-school shoppers report that online ads helped them in their shopping, and 46% discovered products via marketing s. 3 If you re not planning on providing a special offer, discount or promotion and advertising it aggressively, you may get overlooked. Because this is a revenue-driving season across many verticals, competition is fierce. But it s not necessary to discount so deeply that it hurts your bottom line. Reflect on what your target audience values and raise your hand high to get chosen by offering what s most beneficial to them, such as free shipping or no-hassle returns. And if you advertise on Google, consider highlighting special offers with Google Merchant Promotions (they re free!). 3

4 The Retailer s Guide to Back-to-School E-Commerce They Look Everywhere This crowd searches high and low for the best value and these days, those searches are taking place on mobile. Last year, 44% of smartphone owners researched back-to-school products on their phone and an estimated 29% made a purchase. 4 The mobile phone has become like a personal assistant for researching products, creating shopping lists and redeeming offers. Back-to-school shoppers use mobile phones and tablet devices to do all of the above. Their affinity for multiple devices implies that they ll also use multiple channels to shop, hitting retailer websites, social networks, search engines and comparison shopping engines throughout the purchase journey. Given these characteristics, consistency of promotions and branding across channels and devices is key. Take a step back and evaluate the full picture of your back-to-school campaign. How are mobile devices incorporated? Are your paid search ads optimized for mobile? If you sell on marketplaces, have you considered mobile opportunities? Make sure your offer messaging is clear and consistent across the board; optimize your website landing pages, promotions and promotional text to align with your back-to-school campaign. The shop anywhere, anytime trend is amplified during this season make sure your e-commerce campaigns are seamless! 4

5 The Retailer s Guide to Back-to-School E-Commerce Many Are Googlers The importance of visibility on Google is emphasized during specific shopping seasons. Browsing is no longer limited to the mall. Shoppers browse at home, in between meetings and in transit, and Googling products on the go and at home has become second nature to millions. In fact, Google reports that back-to-school searches grew 45% year over year from May to mid-august in Brainstorm all the ways shoppers might search, and invent a plan of action accordingly. Start the conversation as soon as possible while consumers are still in the research phase by bidding aggressively before August or September (or even earlier). Consider adding a back-to-school sitelink to your AdWords campaigns and tailoring promotional text to convey relevant value and offers. In addition, consider bidding up long tail keywords, those specific queries that cost less and are more likely to convert. For example, a student browsing for calculator is likely to be at the start of the shopping cycle, while one who searches for Texas Instruments Blue Ten-Digit Handheld Calculator knows exactly what she needs. ChannelAdvisor s Inventory Driven Search feature automates the creation of such keywords based on your inventory data. 5

6 The Retailer s Guide to Back-to-School E-Commerce They May Have Just the Thing in Mind What kinds of items are online shoppers looking for? Office supplies, probably not surprisingly, are the big winners, along with clothing. For older students and college students, electronics are popular items this time of year. According to NRF, electronics is the fastest growing category for back-to-school shoppers. 6 For people with long shopping lists covering multiple categories, it can be tempting to head to the mall or a big box store. As an online retailer, how should you stand out and provide value? Don t underestimate the power of free shipping. Two-thirds of back-to-school shoppers say they re more likely to buy from an online retailer that offers free shipping than one that doesn t

7 The Retailer s Guide to Back-to-School E-Commerce Some Stay Loyal to Marketplaces It s no secret that an increasing number of US online shoppers start their product searches on Amazon. Marketplaces have been creating ripples in what was once considered the traditional online path-to-purchase. Many shoppers who once started product searches at large engines like Google and Bing are now hopping directly to Amazon, ebay, Newegg, Sears and other marketplaces to browse. This shift in consumer search trends highlights the fact that retailers with a presence on marketplaces both large and niche have an advantage. If you re on marketplaces, boost your efforts. For example, adapt your ebay listings to include themed keywords, participate in relevant daily deals, and keep your content fresh and up to date. Contact your channel representative to see whether there might be a unique promotional opportunity for your business. Most buyers on marketplaces find their products via the search box, so reuse your paid search keywords to optimize visibility. If you re not currently on a marketplace, the back-to-school period is the perfect time of year to consider these profitable selling channels prior to the holiday season. Many retailers are unaware that some marketplaces cease receiving applications for third-party merchants in the fall to prepare for the busy holiday season.

8 The Retailer s Guide to Back-to-School E-Commerce They re Influenced by Teenagers As the smart phone using, social media literate generation gets older and wiser, they ll be assuming more responsibility and ownership of the back-to-school purchase process, too. More than one in ten parents with kids in high school say that their teenagers influence all of their back-to-school purchases. 8 To attract their attention, consider investing in social media advertising or retail-specific social media promotional opportunities, like Pinterest Rich Pins and Facebook. These channels can help you bring a specific product to the forefront and capture the influx of young buyers mining their networks to see what s cool for school. And for apparel retailers especially, Wanelo and Polyvore could be great social sites for capturing the attention of the most fashionable students. 8

9 The Retailer s Guide to Back-to-School E-Commerce They re in a Rush You ve seen it Christmas wreathes in September and Halloween pop-up stores in August. The retail calendar has time-shifted. Much like these other front-running seasonal milestones, the back-to-school selling season is beginning earlier. According to Google, back-to-school searches are starting as early as May and are peaking in August. 9 Start your planning earlier than you have in the past, and consider allocating additional budget to extend the lifetime of your back-to-school campaigns through September. If you have a little flexibility with your budget, front-loading dollars may be better, but keep close watch on sales and key metrics like site traffic, and pare back or increase spending according to the activity you see. 9

10 Class Dismissed We hope your pens were busy and your brains were humming as we reviewed the unique characteristics of backto-school shoppers. For extra guidance along the way, we re happy to help you out. Give us a call at , or us at info@channeladvisor.com. And for the latest e-commerce insights delivered straight to your inbox, subscribe to ECOMmunicator, our monthly e-newsletter. A+ Get creative, get to planning and take advantage of one of the biggest buying seasons of the year! Be Seen. To learn more: Call UK AU Visit info@channeladvisor.com The global standard for e-commerce leaders. Copyright 2016 ChannelAdvisor Corporation. All rights reserved.