Data from high street retailers shows that they have to position their brands online if they are to make any progress. Ecommerce is worth £68bn in the UK this year (Ofcom, July 2012) a growth of £10bn (12.4%) in the last year. In comparison the high street is still struggling with the latest ONS report stating 2.4% year on year growth indicating that consumers are spending more but on the web.
A new report from Adobe Digital Index on the value of repeat customers indicates that particularly during the Christmas period returning and repeat purchasers are funding the sales growth for companies. Repeat and returning customers spend up to 25% more with brands they trust than with general shopping. So where are you spending your hard earned marketing budget, new customer acquisition or customer loyalty?
Something close to 40% of average digital marketing budget is spent on new customer acquisition which only returns around 8% of revenues. These new customers are the repeat customers of tomorrow but only if you look after them properly.
So should you scrap your marketing plans? Not necessarily but if you haven’t considered how you are retaining customers then you’re missing out on a big piece of the pie! Ecommerce consumers are particularly quick to change allegiances as it is easy to search for the latest deals, however if consumers feel they will get the best service, quality and price for their demographic then they will retain loyalty and stop looking elsewhere.
Developing digital marketing initiatives to retain customers includes loyalty schemes, strong customer services, new product offerings and a variety of promotions; however if the actual buying process isn’t the best it will count for nothing as consumers speak with their mouse clicks.
Some of our clients have seen above average growth with Really Wild Clothing converting 59% more customers from the same amount of visitors and the number of items purchased increasing by 125%. By investing in the site, making the user experience easier, the ecommerce engine smoother and the overall feel of the site slicker they are going to see the period through Christmas in a much better position.
Does your business have the same outlook?
