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The digital era is proving that if you’re going to stay in the game; you’ve really got to be in the know. This means that marketers need to stay on top of emerging marketing technologies and opportunities as well as strive to understand their audience and competitors. So it’s no wonder that with the threat of disruptive technologies raining in on his territory, everyone’s favorite flying archer has turned to automated reporting dashboards to visualize his most important metrics including competitive intelligence and market share.
From measuring his social game to competing applications, Cupid uses his performance dashboard to find insights, strategize and make the most optimized decisions for his business. A quick peek at his dashboard and we can see he’s keeping a watchful eye on his competitor’s app. Index scores.
After watching retail giants fall short in meeting consumer expectations of fast and free delivery, easy shopping experiences and one-click purchases, he knows that even in love, swiping and instant matches are a real threat to his traditional business model. Just take the retail industry as an example, while the big man in red was busy at his workshop, eCommerce was booming.
The JDA/Centiro Customer Pulse 2016 Report revealed that retailers who could not keep up with demands of convenience were getting left behind at an astonishing rate. Customer experience has become a key factor in attracting and retaining holiday shoppers who expect smooth, quick, and reliable services. Restrictions such as minimum order thresholds turned 31% of online shoppers away from certain retailers, shared the report. Additionally, convenience driven features such as Click and collect services are on the rise at 54% this year, and pain points like long wait times have become a factor that has the potential to threatens a retailer’s reputation, even in the long run.
All this goes to show that consumers are demanding a new kind of experience. One where they expect to exert minimal effort for maximum gain. Now, with Valentine’s day just around the corner, there is no time to wait for matchmakers and retailers to get their digital strategy right. To help them, Bing, has very graciously shared some vital stats to understanding how love sick shoppers are getting ready for the holiday and what retailers can do to connect with them this year.
Bing estimates that a whopping 19.7 billion was spent on Valentine’s day alone in 2016 with only a little over half of US adults reporting that they celebrate the holiday. However, it’s not only love struck participants who are shopping. Coworkers, family, friends and even pets, who average $26 per gift, can expect something special this year – especially as the concept of ‘Galentine’s day’ gains traction.
Bing even shared when to advertise and when to expect buyers to purchase. Unlike for other holidays, where shoppers hit the shelves far in advance, Valentine’s day searches are highest 2 weeks before the big day – so save your campaign budget for the right moment.
Retailers, don’t forget to make sure your mobile game is ready – last year alone, 48% of online shoppers searched for gift ideas with their mobile device – that’s a 40% lift from the previous year.
The metrics mentioned above can all go into a powerful dashboard to help retailers really gauge performance and make wise decisions for the future. So, to build the ultimate holiday dashboard for ecommerce (that can be used at any stage of the year), make sure you include important metrics such as:
eCommerce
Customer Experience
Campaigns & Channels
To really take your report to the next level, add context to your dashboard in order to provide readers with the information they need to correctly interpret performance metrics.
Compare your current performance to that of specific historical time periods such as other holidays. For example, you could compare the current peak-Valentine’s period to that of last year, and also previous years. Year over year (YOY) performance might be a much better indicator of success than simply comparing your data to the last given reporting period.
But don’t stop there, add goals to give consumers a tangible target to meet. Additionally, use your findings on performance from this year to help you to benchmark your performance and set goals for next year. Likewise, storytelling snippets are ideal for providing consumers with quick takeaways and can be used to quickly describe how much better you’re doing this year than last!
Retailers, we’d love to hear from you! Which metrics will you be using this Valentine’s day to prepare your marketing strategy and measure performance?
Sweetspot Marketing Director. Wakeboarder & travel enthusiast. Communication Studies graduate of Texas State University, San Marcos.
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