market roundup


Google pushes businesses to update sites or lose traffic


Over 50% of search queries worldwide are now carried out on mobile devices, according to Google. When a search is carried out on a phone or tablet, Google places the mobile-friendly sites higher up the list than those that are not. Online stores and retail website that look good on a desktop PC but aren’t smartphone compatible could see their visitor numbers dwindling. Darren Bevington, owner of Pebble Stack, which is a web designer


for small businesses, commented: “All website owners should take a couple of minutes out of their day to have a look at how their site measures up, and whether or not it could be losing them business.” Using Google’s ‘Mobile Friendly Test’ at https://goo.gl/G74onj,


retailers can simply enter the URL address of their site to assess the extent to which it is mobile-compatible.


Cards linked to mobile apps experience rise in activity rates


A recent study from Juniper Research found that more than 3 billion loyalty cards will operate as mobile-only or be integrated into mobile apps by 2020, up from 1.4 billion last year. The report, titled Mobile & Online Coupons: Redemption, Loyalty & Consumer Engagement 2015-2020, found that brands and retailers are increasingly responding to consumer demand for mobile integration, with many now offering customers the opportunity to store their


loyalty cards within a dedicated digital wallet. Crucially, the research argued that the improved targeting and personalisation made possible by digital coupons was leading to greater activity rates, thereby resolving a key failing of traditional schemes where the lack of relevant offers had resulted in a downturn in usage. Source: www.juniperresearch.com


Retailers fail to maximise the potential of Facebook


Combatting slow high street growth


The BRC-KPMG retail sales monitor has revealed slow growth on the high street with a 0.1% rise in like-for-like sales. Sharon Forder, senior director marketing, EMEA at eCommerce


platform provider Demandware commented: “As discounts dropped off this month, it comes as no surprise that consumers are holding off paying the label price. Shoppers are continuing to look around and price compare both in-store and online, and mobile phones and tablets enable power to remain with the consumer. As retailers battle to keep up, it’s the consumers that shape what products they demand, what price they’re being sold at and how they are being delivered. "Driving sales is about influencing what products consumers are buying, tailoring your showroom (in-store and online) and knowing what your consumers want. Brands need to put themselves where consumers are, and with 77% of millennials in the UK driven to checkout by social sources, it's now or never if retailers want to have a chance of influencing their audiences. By not stepping up on social integration and offering personalised shopping experiences, retailers are missing out on crucial opportunities to engage.”


A study of 50 clothing, footwear and accessories retailers with Facebook pages reported that few were fully utilising their social media presence. • 24 of the 50 retailers surveyed provided no easily accessible contact information on their Facebook pages • 86% of retailers had direct messaging enabled but 18 of 50 did not respond to a direct message sent through the platform • 56% of the retailers lacked customer service information on their Facebook pages • During the festive period, 52% of the 50 retailers chose not to use a typically festive cover image, and left the same image up over the holiday period Amanda Haxton, social media consultant at Practicology, said:


“Consumers expect the same experience, product knowledge and service when they engage with your brand on a social platform as they would if they were speaking to a member of staff in a store. Brands need to rise to this social media challenge; capitalising on the increased opportunities for interactions and customer service which once were only possible via email, phone or in a physical store.” Source: www.practicology.com


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