According to The Compete Online Shopper Intelligence study, over 80 million consumers use shopping comparison sites every month. Sites like Cnet, Bizrate, and Yahoo! Shopping each attract over 20 million shoppers.  Only 6% of consumers surveyed as part of the study indicated that they conducted no research prior to their last online purchase. 

From instant price comparisons, to first hand consumer reviews, to video demonstrations, shoppers are taking advantage of this wealth of information. Consumers depend on search engines more than other resources to help them shop online.  When shopping online, 3 out of 5 shoppers said that they always or often use search engines.  More consumers use search engines than they do coupon sites, retailer emails, consumer reviews, or shopping comparison sites.

The study finds that the differences in consumer behavior across various industries have vast implications for retailers within each sector. Sales assistants, both in store and on web chat, are utilized by online shoe shoppers more than any other shoppers.  Online kitchenware & household appliance purchasers are among the most reliant on in store product displays.

In the apparel industry, only 1 out of 10 apparel shoppers stated that they used a search engine for their last online purchase.  Instead, they rely on retailer emails and catalogs to learn about products.  That means consumers are more likely to purchase from apparel retailers they have purchased from in the past and are less likely to discover new retailers.

Electronic shoppers, on the other hand, actively seek out new products and manufactures, says the report.  Search engines, professional reviews, social generated reviews, and recommendations from family and friends were among the top 5 resources used.  Electronic manufactures can reach and influence these consumers more easily though a variety of media.

It is essential, says the report, for retailers to understand how consumers in their space shop online, in order to effectively retain and acquire customers. Retailers should understand their particular customer niche and develop strategies unique to them, concludes the report.

“The Compete Online Shopper Intelligence study,” conducted by Compete.com.  Web.  March 2010.

Ad-ology Research recently updated their Industry Marketing Insights report for Full-Service Restaurants. The following are the predicted Top 5 Opportunities/Challenges from the report for this industry for the upcoming 12 months:

• Full service restaurants are promoting their green practices, such as reduced energy use, to appeal to consumers.
• Politicians and thought leaders are calling attention to the level of sodium in restaurant food.
• Restaurants, including full service, experienced at least a 3.9% drop in consumer visits in 2009 but anticipate some improvement in 2010.
• Locally-sourced produce and meats, along with concern for sustainability, remain top concerns in 2010.
• Full-service restaurants must promote value meals to compete in the new economy.

The Industry Marketing Insights report for Full-Service Restaurants is available on Ad-ology.com (Research Store) for $195 USD with local market data for any U.S. market.

[Source: Ad-ology Research. March12, 2010]

More than ever, large companies are focused on cutting costs and measuring performance. At the same time, Chief Marketing Officers  (CMOs) are struggling to adopt best marketing campaign management (MCM) principles. This topic is the focus of a new book Data-Driven Marketing – the 15 Metrics Everyone in Marketing Should Know by, Mark Jeffery, senior lecturer of technology at the Kellogg School, Northwestern University.

Jeffery’s research shows that “four out of five senior marketing executives have not adopted best-practice marketing campaign management.” For the most part, Jeffery had studied companies with an average marketing budget of $400 million. At these companies, senior managers are not using business cases or  return on investment (ROI) metrics to make funding decisions. Here’s why these businesses are not adopting strict measures to use in making funding decisions:

• Senior managers use instinct and ‘gut feel’:  63%
• Lack employees to track and analyze data: 64%
• Organization lacks knowledge on topics such as ROI, net present value (NPV) and customer lifetime value (CLTV): 50%

Jeffery classifies the steps necessary to achieve effective MCM as follows:

• Defined:  The organization establishes processes and procedures to achieve stated goals
• Intermediate: The organization is centralizing marketing resources and developing specific metrics for measuring investments and outcomes
• Advanced: The organization is  tracking and monitoring investments and results and then acting on the data as it becomes available.

It should come as little surprise that achieving the advanced level of MCM “provides real results to a firm’s bottom line,” said Jeffery.  As more companies tighten the funds flow, look for marketing departments to invest in better ways to measure outcome.

[Source: Kellogg School Study Finds CMOs Still Struggling to Make Marketing Campaigns and ROI Transparent. Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. 2 March 2010. Web. 11. March 2010]

Marketers continue to seek the best mix of media formats to reach consumers. While much is made of the growth prospects of new media and the multiple ways in which online video can influence prospective purchasers, consumers spend a significant portion of their day listening to radio. To date, radio’s reach continues to overshadow online when it comes to  capturing a share of consume time.  Nielsen indicates the following breakout for how consumers spend time with media (concurrent use):

• Live TV 67%
• Broadcast radio 18%
• Internet  11%
• Newspapers 3%
• Magazines 1%

Who spends the most time listening to the radio on a daily basis? According to Nielsen, the demographics point to men, middle-aged, and well educated consumers:

• Men (79%) Women (75%)
• Ages 18-34 (79%) Ages 35-54 (81%) Ages 55+ (70%)
• High school or less (69%) Some college (78%)  College degree (79%) Advanced degree (82%)

The study findings indicate that the typical radio consumer spends 80+ minutes a day listening in. Consumers who listen the most are well-educated, employed and enjoy a higher income.  An additional advantage offered by radio is that consumers cannot time shift their attention as they do with TV. A well-crafted marketing message or sponsorship of a program that consumers regularly listen to might be well-received as they drive to or from work. Radio should continue to be an important part of every marketer’s media mix.

[Source: How U.S. Adults Use Radio & Other Forms of Audio: an Observational Study. Nielsen. 2009. Web. 10 March 2010]