The Social Retail Competition [Infographic]


Social media is critical for customer engagement in today’s retail marketplace. In fact, most retailers heavily invest in Facebook and Twitter.In a review of Average Engagement — which factors in the number of likes, comments, shares and impressions — Target, Walmart and JCPenney are the top three brands consumers interact with on social channels.

Who’s Driving Shopping Traffic For Retail Sites? [Infographic]



With the help of peer reviews and sharing capabilities on social media sites, consumers can offer online retailers feedback on which products are “hot.” Facebook users are more likely to share content from a retailer’s site with their peers and engage in same-session sales conversion.

Although retailers engage with Facebook more than other social media sites, they have increased interest in Pinterest in 2012, according to recent research findings. This infographic, courtesy of RichRelevance, compares the amount of web site traffic retailers receive via Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter.

What’s Content Have To Do With It? Everything! By Fatima D. Lora, Assistant EditorHave you ever read a customer review or product description that really stood out? How about the product images ― did the photographs entice you to make the purchase? If so, that lure likely was the result of various content marketing strategies designed to help boost customer engagement and conversion rates. When researching a product, I think most consumers prefer, and trust, user-generated content such as blogs and YouTube videos. Apparently Ugg Australia thinks so, too. The retailer has created the user-based Ugg Creative Council, a group of eight bloggers, photographers and tastemakers covering an array of topics including art, fashion, food, music and travel. The goal is to foster and share the creative spirit while exploring areas of passion in a quest to inspire others.   One of the eight participants, Sarah Hutchinson, is a passionate Uggs products buyer and wrote about the council in her blog: she explained how excited she is to be part of the project, and offered a link to her first post. Nancy Mamann, Ugg Marketing VP, describes the council’s content to be “truly reflective of each individual ― with the group’s contributions directly reflecting the company’s strategy.” That strategy, according to Mamann, is to expand customer perception and understanding for Ugg products through the lens of influential tastemakers. Advance Auto Parts, a multichannel auto parts dealer, also added user-generated content to its marketing mix. In a recent webinar, Howard Blumenthal, E-Commerce Platform Solutions Director for Advance Auto Parts, discussed how the company increased product review content by 700% after implementing PowerReviews’ Essential Social Suite. This tool helps companies promote, reward and measure customer engagement and content generation in the service of business objectives. Blumenthal said that the Advance Auto Parts e-Commerce site originally did not carry product photos. This was a problem for consumers who needed an auto part but were unsure of its name. By adding photos and integrating the Facebook sharing option to the product reviews, Advance Auto Parts achieved a 141% growth in reviews posted to Facebook. “It’s all about getting people more engaged,” said Blumenthal, “and thinking of Advance Auto Parts as top-of-mind.” I agree with Blumenthal: What more could a brand want? You know the famous saying, “If you build it, they will come?” Well, when it comes to content, that’s not too far from the truth. I cannot wait to hear about more retailers fully emerging themselves with similarly successful engagement strategies through the use of content marketing. Follow Fatima on Twitter: @FatimaDLora
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What’s Content Have To Do With It? Everything!

By Fatima D. Lora, Assistant Editor
Have you ever read a customer review or product description that really stood out? How about the product images ― did the photographs entice you to make the purchase? If so, that lure likely was the result of various content marketing strategies designed to help boost customer engagement and conversion rates.

When researching a product, I think most consumers prefer, and trust, user-generated content such as blogs and YouTube videos. Apparently Ugg Australia thinks so, too. The retailer has created the user-based Ugg Creative Council, a group of eight bloggers, photographers and tastemakers covering an array of topics including art, fashion, food, music and travel. The goal is to foster and share the creative spirit while exploring areas of passion in a quest to inspire others.  

One of the eight participants, Sarah Hutchinson, is a passionate Uggs products buyer and wrote about the council in her blog: she explained how excited she is to be part of the project, and offered a link to her first post.

Nancy Mamann, Ugg Marketing VP, describes the council’s content to be “truly reflective of each individual ― with the group’s contributions directly reflecting the company’s strategy.” That strategy, according to Mamann, is to expand customer perception and understanding for Ugg products through the lens of influential tastemakers.


Advance Auto Parts, a multichannel auto parts dealer, also added user-generated content to its marketing mix. In a recent webinar, Howard Blumenthal, E-Commerce Platform Solutions Director for Advance Auto Parts, discussed how the company increased product review content by 700% after implementing PowerReviews’ Essential Social Suite. This tool helps companies promote, reward and measure customer engagement and content generation in the service of business objectives.

Blumenthal said that the Advance Auto Parts e-Commerce site originally did not carry product photos. This was a problem for consumers who needed an auto part but were unsure of its name. By adding photos and integrating the Facebook sharing option to the product reviews, Advance Auto Parts achieved a 141% growth in reviews posted to Facebook. “It’s all about getting people more engaged,” said Blumenthal, “and thinking of Advance Auto Parts as top-of-mind.”

I agree with Blumenthal: What more could a brand want?

You know the famous saying, “If you build it, they will come?” Well, when it comes to content, that’s not too far from the truth. I cannot wait to hear about more retailers fully emerging themselves with similarly successful engagement strategies through the use of content marketing.


Follow Fatima on Twitter: @FatimaDLora

Intent to Buy Cartoon: #10 Stores



Every time a consumer visits a site, they have a two-way conversation with that brand, sharing important clues about their interests and intent throughout the session. By listening closely and paying attention to these silent clues, such as scroll patterns and dwell time, retailers can delight customers at every turn, and avoid cart abandonment. - Dan Darnell, VP Marketing, Baynote.

Using Social Media To Make Shopping Decisions [Infographic]



Today’s shoppers are highly dependent on peer reviews. U.S. consumers are using social networking sites, both online and in-store, to help make shopping decisions. In fact, 73% of consumers said Facebook influenced a recent store visit, followed by Google reviews (38%) and Groupon (35%).

This infographic, courtesy of Empathica, highlights a recent survey of more than 6,500 U.S. shoppers.