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The State of Ecommerce 2013: 3 Key Recommendations

By Snap Agency September 27, 2013

It is imperative for ecommerce companies to stay in tune with the latest trending in digital marketing. Failing to do so can quickly wipe out their business. With revenue directly tied to traffic and conversion rates, online retailers must be continually optimizing their online presence to keep pace with competition and the ever-changing search engines. Forrester, an independent market research company, in partnership with Shop.org, recently released a research study on the ecommerce industry. Their findings indicate a greater trend towards mobile optimization and off-site marketing channels.

Paid Search Continues Its Dominance, PLAs Emerge

Ecommerce companies report that they dedicate, on average, 55% of their digital marketing budget to paid search. This marketing channel continues to be the most effective for customer acquisition. This year, Google began to charge for their previously free Product Listing Ads (PLAs). PLAs allow products to appear in rich format on the Google Shopping feed. After initial backlash, online retailers now dedicate 6% of their digital marketing budget to this channel. Additionally, they report a cheaper cost-per-acquisition than traditional paid search. Despite uncertainty as to how PLAs will evolve, it is a marketing channel worth looking in to.

Increase Email Marketing Efforts

Email marketing is the most cost-effective method for keeping and re-engaging existing customers. Furthermore, ecommerce companies report that email is their top traffic source for mobile and tablet devices.

email marketing traffic source

While it has been speculated that email marketing would take a back seat to more interactive outreach channels (i.e., social media), it’s recommended that online retailers increase their email efforts.

Keep an Eye on Mobile Innovations for Ecommerce

More than 20% of ecommerce traffic is funneling from mobile devices. Ecommerce companies continue to invest in paid search, SEO and email marketing for mobile, but they should closely watch another opportunity in this space: mobile couponing. As more and more shoppers turn to their mobile devices, the adoption of mobile couponing could be a marketing method for the future.