New York, New York (PRWEB) July 12, 2017
Today, eTail and its partners released three research papers as part of a series of retail benchmark reports spanning the SMB, mid-market, and enterprise sectors within the industry. The results analyzed in these reports were gathered from responses to a survey delivered to global retail executives who are members of the eTail community who had gathered to discuss the state of the industry at eTail West in February 2017.
Staying Strong in the Digital Arena, the SMB report sponsored by Cogeco Peer 1, details how SMBs are mitigating risk and rising to meet the evolving challenges of selling online. The findings indicate that SMBs rely heavily on web and mobile presences—even those with brick-and-mortar locations—but face a range of security risks as digital predators target them. Key statistics from the survey include:
- 63% of SMB respondents are operating multichannel businesses, with both physical stores and ecommerce platforms playing a part in their business model
- Nearly half of SMBs are making over 50% of their overall sales through online purchases
- Over half of SMBs are most concerned by interruptions to their site availability
The eTail West 2017 SMB Report is available here.
Aligning Customer Content with Retail Success, the mid-market report sponsored by TurnTo, provides insight into why leading brands are adopting user-generated content (UGC) as a core marketing strategy. Retailers who have invested in UGC are seeing improvements across metrics, including conversions, customer loyalty, and customer advocacy. Key statistics from the survey include:
- 50% of retailers consider UGC and other forms of content the most important contributors to brand distinction—12% more than for promotions, including discounts and free shipping.
- 72% of retailers claim UGC increases sales and conversions; 76% claim UGC increases loyalty
- 96% of mid-market retailers agree that UGC encourages consumers to engage with their brands
The eTail West 2017 Mid-Market Report is available here.
Driving Cross-Channel Experiences with Intelligent Consumer Data, the enterprise report sponsored by both Aprimo and ChannelAdvisor, shows how enterprise retailers are taking an evolving approach to personalization throughout the customer journey. The study finds that retailers who have intelligent data about their customers achieve better results across more of their channels. Key statistics from the survey include:
- Almost half of enterprise retailers rate their ability to personalize mobile apps (42%), in-store (41%), print (40%) channels as above average or excellent.
- Over half of enterprise retailers’ rank SEO and SEM (68%), online display (61%), and email marketing (53%) as one of their top-three marketing spends in 2017.
- 92% of retailers have seen an increase in their need for content, but 45% of retailers rate their ability personalize content on email as below average or poor.
The eTail West 2017 Enterprise Report is available here.
ABOUT WBR DIGITAL
---------------------------------
WBR Digital connects solution providers to their target audiences with year-round online branding and engagement lead generation campaigns. We are a team of content specialists, marketers, and advisors with a passion for powerful marketing. We believe in demand generation with a creative twist. We believe in the power of content to engage audiences. And we believe in campaigns that deliver results.
ABOUT ETAIL
---------------------------------
Launched in 1999, eTail has been dedicated to supporting the growth of the retail industry ever since. What started off as 100 people in a room discussing where this sector is headed, has lead to 2000 senior-level eCommerce executives being inspired whilst learning and developing their company as well as their careers.
ABOUT COGECO
---------------------------------
Cogeco Peer 1 is a global provider of ICT services such as colocation, network connectivity, managed hosting, cloud services and managed IT services. With 16 data centers, extensive FastFiber Network ® and more than 50 points-of-presence in North America and Europe combined, Cogeco Peer 1 is a trusted partner to businesses small, medium and large, providing the ability to access, move, manage and store mission-critical data worldwide, backed by superior customer support.
ABOUT TURNTO
---------------------------------
TurnTo provides next generation customer content solutions to top merchants and brands. With four innovative products that work beautifully together – Ratings & Reviews, Community Q&A, Visual Reviews, and Checkout Comments – TurnTo delivers greater conversion lift, better SEO, and deeper merchandising insights. eCommerce leaders like Saks Fifth Avenue, Newegg, Sur La Table, GNC, Cole Haan, Jockey, and Clarins rely on TurnTo for their customer-voice programs.
ABOUT APRIMO
---------------------------------
Aprimo’s powerful marketing operations technology gives marketers’ the advantage by helping deliver more quality campaigns in market on time and on plan.
ABOUT CHANNEL ADVISOR
---------------------------------
ChannelAdvisor has been on the front lines of e-commerce since 2001, helping retailers and branded manufacturers manage more listings, reach more consumers and sell more products than ever before. We’ve grown from a small company in a young industry to an industry leader at the forefront of a global revolution — with thousands of clients and billions of dollars in transactional revenue flowing through our platform every year. And the things that grew to define the ChannelAdvisor brand over the last 15 years — constant innovation, leading technology, proven results and experienced people — are still our guiding principles as we take retailers and brands into the future of e-commerce.