Digital Marketing

Email remains the go-to strategy for retailers to grab their piece of the digital pie — yet efforts don’t always meet their shoppers’ needs.   Three-fourths (76%) of marketers said they rely heavily on email promotions to drive revenue, and one-third said more than half of all emails sent include a promotion or discount, according to a new survey from Coherent Path.  

Mobile display advertising continues to surge, and it’s on pace to claim a significant portion of online advertising revenue.   In fact, more than three-quarters of all online display advertising income will stem from mobile by 2020, according to data from analytics provider by IHS Markit.  

A new kind of makeup consultant is assisting shoppers at Watsons Shanghai.   The health and beauty retailer’s flagship store in Shanghai now features a makeover kiosk. Equipped with the Consultation Mode augmented reality app from YouCam Makeup, the device enables shoppers to try on over 30 different products from their favorite makeup brands, including MaxFactor, Maybelline, and KATE Cosmetics.  

Retailers are increasingly relying on mobility for customer engagement, however their marketing strategies are lagging.    The fourth quarter 2016 marked the first time mobile engagement has trended down as the mobile click-to-open (CTO) rate declined by 12.6% quarter-over-quarter, and 14.4% year-over-year, according “Q4 2016 Email Benchmark Report: The Mobile Engagement Shift,” from Yes Lifecycle Marketing.  

1. The import tax wild card. The Trump administration has floated a new tax policy that would apply a 20% tax on imports from Mexico, as well as other countries with which the United States has a trade deficit. If implemented, this tax could have a disproportionally large negative impact on merchants that export much of the goods they sell — i.e., almost all of our readers.  

Twitter is taking a new approach to “humanize” its business partners’ customer service-based “Direct Messages.”   Twitter’s new feature – “Custom Profiles in Direct Messages” – allows businesses to better emphasize the human element in private conversations, as well as more clearly indicate when a bot is speaking, according to Twitter.   

The increasing use of smartphones has drastically impacted the consumer's path to purchase — and the momentum continues.   Most online U.S. consumers (60%) now use mobile technology for shopping, and two thirds (67%) searched online for additional product information, according to “The Consumer Technology Association's (CTA) Path to Purchase Using Mobile Devices Market Research report.”  

A disruptive retail climate and underperforming categories took their toll on HSN during the fourth quarter.   HSN’s net income was $43.5 million for the quarter, or 82 cents per share, ended December 31, 2016, compared to $59.7 million for the same period last year. This exceeded analysts’ estimates of 74 cents per share.