Broadband now 88% of UK internet connections

The latest figures from the Office of National Statistics show that nearly 9 in 10 of UK internet connections are broadband. This is great news for those us who design websites. But there are still 39% of households that don't have internet access; merchants can't ignore old-fashioned media yet.

Royal Mail study: home shopping still rising

The annual Home Shopping Tracker Study 2007 from the Royal Mail puts some flesh onto the theory that ecommerce is growing the overall size of the home shopping market. 61% of the population - the highest recorded - now shop from home, and two fifths shop online. In addition, customers ordering online spend 25% more if they browse a catalogue first.

At Digivate we've always predicted that ecommerce would add to home shopping and not cannibalise it. Nice to see that we were right!

Consumer advocates take the reins

Primark announced today that it won't set up a Facebook group. Why is this a story? An existing Facebook group - "The Primark Appreciation Society", set up by Oxford Broookes student Sophie Bellchambers - is deemed by Primark to be "...of far more value than anything we could do."

Primark recognise that independent advocates have more credibility than official campaigns. This is part of the 'Open Brand' trend that is both terrifying and exciting: get it right and your customers will promote you for nothing, but get it wrong and your errors will be spread far and wide.

Comet launches video demonstrations

Comet has created about150 product demonstration videos in a bid to help shoppers choose what to buy this Christmas. It will be interesting to see if the initiative lasts longer than Dabs TV which launched about 4 yeas ago but fizzled soon after. (The announcer's voice is very annoying to me, but perhaps I'm in a minority.)

Now that YouTube has made watching video online a normal activity, I predict that Comet will find the videos both watched and helpful sales tools. How would you get product demonstration videos onto your site?

US electronics buyers get more satisfaction online

Most consumers prefer to research electronics online but buy in a store. US based Consumer Reports (similar to the UK's Which? magazine) surveyed 90,000 US consumers about their electronics buying preferences. The majority found shopping online more satisfying than visiting shops due to the wider choice and better prices. But most still go to a store to complete the purchase.

This survey reinforces the idea that most actual buying will remain on the high street. But it also highlights why retailers need excellent websites that provide all the answers researchers are looking for. Why is it better? What is the difference? How will it make MY life easier? If shoppers can't find the answers they want on your site then they'll keep looking and you may lose a customer.

Half of US web users will buy online this Christmas

A survey by Burst Media has found a dramatic increase in the percentage of US web users expecting to shop online this Christmas season - in 2006 37.6% bought online and this year 50.7% plan to buy something from the internet.

I wonder what are the equivalent figures for the UK?

Why you need to have an "open brand"

Kelly Mooney, a thoughtful analyst of marketing trends, has identified and named the "open brand" as a crucial strategy for success. The concept - set out in detail on her microsite - refers to the idea that the brand leaders of tomorrow will embrace dialogue with consumers enabled by the internet, and move away from old ideas of controlling a brand.

Fascinating stuff. What are the implications for your brand?

Amazon launch widget

Amazon have launched a range of 16 widgets that can be added to any website. Sales made via clicks on a widget earn the site owner up to 10% commission.

We think: This development is yet another pointer to the future of selling online - etailers will increasingly use tiny elements on other sites (ie widgets) to drive traffic into the buying process on the etailer's own site.

"Spoiled shoppers" expect cross-channel integration

A survey of 5,000 US shoppers provides numbers to support the feeling that modern shoppers expect a high level of integration between retail channels.

For example;
* 57% want to be able to return or exchange at a store items bought online or by telephone
* 65% want to be able to change or cancel orders in a different channel to the one used to place the order

Full integration is tough, but retailers can no longer afford to duck the issue. I'm looking forward to the day when all retailers' websites allow me to search for which local store has stock of the product I want.

Print still alive and kicking

A survey of US 'millennials' (13-24 year olds) by the Harrison Group for Deloitte has found that despite their massive use of new media, the millennial generation still enjoy reading magazines and watching TV.

This comes as no surprise: reading print is still easier than reading a screen. The lesson is that a business strategy needs to combine all possible channels, including print.

Ofcom: over-50s are quarter of web users

Ofcom's 2007 report into the UK communications market has plenty of stats to chew on. What struck me were the figures on 'silver surfers' - the over-50s comprise a quarter of web users and account for 30% of all time online. 16% of over-65s use the internet.

It is time to lay to rest the myth that only businesses with younger customers need a web strategy!

Large study proves online advertising increases offline sales

US web behaviour monitor ComScore & search engine Yahoo! have released the results of a large scale study that demonstrates the link between online advertising and buying in stores. 175,000 consumers were tracked over 9 months, with some being exposed to online advertising from the five brands in the study.

The results were conclusive. Store sales were an average 41% higher for the consumers who'd seen both display and search ads for the tracked brands. For every incremental $1 spent online, $6 was spent in a store. The group exposed to online advertising looked at an average of six more pages while researching online compared to the group that didn't see the ads.

What does this mean? It shows that brands must operate both on- and offline to maximise the effectiveness of their promotional spend. And that consumers are using the web to "pre-shop" so even if you don't think you will sell much online, you still need a website (and online ads to drive traffic to the that site) to catch these researchers.

Asda to sell clothes online

Asda has announced that it will sell the George range online from February 2008.

It is getting harder and harder for UK retailers to claim that "our customers aren't online" or "our prices are too low to sell online" or even "we have so many stores that our customers don't need to buy from us online". All these are excuses I've heard in the past.

Wal-Mart adds reviews

US retail giant Wal-Mart (owners of UK's Asda) has just added customer review functionality to its website, in response to customer requests.

Few UK retailers have dared to add customer reviews despite mountains of evidence that customer love reviews, that reviews reduce returns rates and that most reviewers give high ratings to most products. I wish I knew what was holding UK retailers back!

Over half of UK shoppers value reviews

A recent survey by US review provider Bazaarvoice has found that 53% of UK shoppers have more trust for retailers if their sites include consumer reviews. This is significantly lower than in the US, where 78% felt the same way.

I personally love reviews and when I researching any potential purchase of an unfamiliar or expensive item rely on reviews to guide me.

Action: Add reviews to your site. If your products aren't really appropriate for reviews (furniture, for example) then show reviews of your customer service.

Mobiles get comparative shopping edge

US mobile phone provider Sprint Nextel has launched a product search service for GPS enabled mobiles that allows users to find suitable local stores. GPS enabled mobiles are becoming standard in the US since the FCC ruled that mobile companies have to provide location details in the event of an emergency call. This has lead to a drop in the price of GPS chips and experts agree that sooner or later mobiles in all countries will include GPS features.

If consumers start to use this kind of service then it will bring the same relentless price pressure seen online into high street stores. It will also bring promotional opportunities for retailers to use hyper-targeted keyword search advertising.

Action: If you haven't already started getting your store inventory into an accessible format, do so now. Whether consumers are searching at home using postcodes or on the move with GPS, retailers will need to be able to provide shop by shop stock and price data.

Searchers spend 10% more on electronics

Research by Yahoo! and ChannelForce has shown that US buyers of TVs and cameras spent 10% more if they had searched online first than if they'd just walked into a store.

This shows that the informed customer will, on average, spend more money than the uninformed customer.

Action: make sure that your website clearly explains why the more expensive products are worth the extra expense.

Why customer reviews improve profits

US retailer Petco Animal Supplies has revealed that customer reviews reduce return rates by an average of 20%, and that more reviews means even lower return rates. Products with more than 50 reviews have a 65% lower return rate than products with no reviews.

Action: even if reviews aren't as relevant to your product area as for others, you should still have customer service reviews. Potential customers can't get too much information to help them decide to buy from you. And if you're scared of what your customers might write then you need to improve your customer service!

US survey: web essential to most women

A survey of 1,800 women by US publisher BurstMedia shows that over half of women turn to the internet first when researching products and two thirds say that their lives would be disrupted if they didn't have online access for a week.

Even amongst the over 65s 31.8% turn to the internet first for product research - showing that there are no age segments where the internet is unimportant.

Action: even if you can't sell your products online, you should ensure that you have a comprehensive website.

PwC: 'nearly all under 55 will buy online in 2011'

A report by PriceWaterhouseCoopers provides some hard numbers for the general feeling that ecommerce has plenty of growth left.

PwC surveyed 1,500 consumers and studied online penetration by product category to come to their conclusions. They cite three reasons why ecommerce will continue to grow rapidly:

1) As web-savvy youngsters age they'll bring their online habits with them
2) At all ages there is a sizeable group intending to start buying online soon
3) Greater online confidence means consumers will tend to increase the variety of categories they buy & the size of each purchase

Overall PwC predict that online sales (excluding eBay & travel) will account for 10% of retail spend by 2011.

Action:

1) Remember that 10% is the average across all sectors. Some sectors are already seeing significant high street impact from online sales - cameras being a good example, with Jessops announcing the closure of 25% of its stores this week.

2) Don't wait until your online competitors have the size and strength to hurt you, as it may be too late. Why isn't Jessops selling more cameras and prints online? They didn't start early enough.