Emerging Trends for Retailers

By Sieglinde Friedman

ERA, in its continuing efforts to offer its members the latest research on emerging trends and in concert with Forrester Research, offers 26 new research papers that ERA members may access on the member-only website. Topics include: advertising campaigns that drive web traffic; social media boosting e-business; mobile technology; the importance of affiliate marketing-and many more. These reports underscore ERA’s commitment to its retailers’ ability to increase their revenues, engage in best practices and plan for the future. We encourage all members to take advantage of this significant benefit.

In addition, from time to time there are opportunities for members to join live teleconferences with Forrester researchers to discuss specific trends. We hope you will find this benefit of value. Following are abstracts of two recent Forrester reports.

As more and more consumers turn to the Internet to shop, one of the significant issues affecting retailers is the increase in multichannel consumers. These consumers bring new expectations to shopping and because they demand a reliable and unwavering voice from retailers, chief information officers and channel managers are forced to consider many solutions in order to bridge channels and integrate data and services across customer touch-points; the report “Inevitable Convergence of Retail Channels,” discusses this very issue.

Another recent study, “How to Master Online Merchandising,” discusses the differences between traditional and online merchandising. Online merchandising has more to do with the marketing of a selection of products on a site, and incorporates the tools or technologies that more closely connect to or educate users about a product or group of products. Retailers must improve key elements of the practice, including the overall customer experience, conversion rates and usability. In addition, seven key themes emerged: personalization, customer service, ease of navigation, cross-sells and upsells, real estate optimization, inventory turn optimization and multichannel integration.

ERA also commissioned a study by Winterberry Group, launched at the ERA European Conference. Winterberry Group gathered data on the convergence of direct response television and emerging media and analyzed its continuing impact on multichannel execution efforts. This study clearly illustrates measurable multichannel execution trends from the early part of this decade through the current period, with forward-looking estimates based upon forecast trends including the following interactive categories: affiliate marketing, e-mail, mobile, online display, rich media (including video on demand as video streaming or downloadable technology), search and social networking. Please see the accompanying charts for a synopsis of their findings.

Finally, over the last two years, ERA has created an opportunity to assist members in evaluating the success of their campaigns with the Media Performance Report Card. This program permits members to rate long- and short-form categories including beauty, customer acquisition, service providers, entertainment, fitness/health, hardware, electronics, housewares, ingestibles, self-improvement and financial services. On a monthly basis, each media company grades categories on a scale and the results are available to ERA members.

Research, trend-spotting and data are essential elements to increasing members’ sales, customer satisfaction and retention. From the research noted above to educational sessions to networking, ERA is committed to ensuring that your business is successful.

Sieglinde Friedman is ERA’s vice president, board & strategy. She can be reached at (703) 908-1021 or via e-mail at [email protected].