Even in the digital age, direct mail is enjoying an amazing renaissance. You may have noticed this yourself if you have checked your mailbox lately. Legacy brands and upstart direct-to-consumer players alike are using the channel to attract new customers, reactivate lapsed ones, and communicate with existing ones… and usually use a combination of these methods.
Seventy percent of online shoppers abandon their carts during checkout (this represents an astounding amount of lost sales!). This from a recent study of more than 1,000 consumers by Splitit, an installment payment solution, and Google Consumer Surveys, which revealed findings that should be directional for retailers struggling with cart abandonment. Retailers should pay close attention to cart abandonment to better capitalize on the surging eCommerce market, expected to see nearly 60% growth in sales by 2022.
A recently released study of over 2,500 students from the University of Mississippi and Purdue University, conducted by MNI Targeted Media, reveals insightful nuggets about both the purchasing behaviors and media consumption habits of the post-millennial generation better known as Generation Z. Advertisers should pay close attention to this group, born between 1995 and 2012, that’s currently a quarter of the U.S. population and is expected to account for 40% of all consumers by 2020.
A recent Cowen and Company survey of 2,700 millennials uncovered compelling findings about how millennials complete purchases from brands discovered on Facebook, demonstrating that marketers looking to drive direct sales from social media with the millennial market should consider additional media channels.
NEMOA, the National Etailing and Mailing Organization of America, brought together hundreds of e-commerce and direct marketing professionals from a wide variety of backgrounds for its annual Spring Summit in Boston last week. Media Horizons was pleased attend the conference as a gold sponsor.
A plethora of ideas were shared and discussed by many thought leaders.
Here are our Top 10 Takeaways from the Spring Summit:
It’s no secret that magazines and print advertising have been in a state of consolidation.
Jann Wenner just sold a controlling interest in Rolling Stone. Rodale was acquired by Hearst and Time Inc. was purchased by Meredith, with downsizing likely after both transactions close. And some of the best-known magazines around, including Gourmet, Ladies’ Home Journal, and Life have ceased printing altogether or been significantly refocused.
However, there are signs of life.
With the arrival of 2017, we look back and reflect on some of the defining marketing trends and media habits throughout the past year. While we saw a surge in influencer marketing, a shift in the landscape of streaming video consumption, and proof that consumers’ continue to place their trust in traditional media, one thing’s for sure: the marketing landscape is ever-changing.
But what strategies and tactics will influence marketing in 2017? A number of Media Horizons’ thought leaders share their perspective on what’s in store for brands and marketers in the year ahead.
Flashback to a decade ago and the term “subscription box” was essentially non-existent. At a time when the majority of retail existed through local brick-and-mortar stores and home delivery from postal-mailed catalogs, the explosion of online shopping has since transformed the industry, giving way to entirely new retail sub-industries, including the rapid emergence of the subscription box industry.
Summer is in full swing but it’s not too late to finalize your back-to-school marketing campaigns. While students are already dreading their return to the classroom, back to school is a competitive season for advertisers – second only to the holiday shopping season – and retailers must plan accordinly in order to see success.
After dismal sales in the first half of 2016, retailers have something to look forward to in the second half of the year. According to eMarketer, back-to-school sales are projected to increase a modest 2.6% to reach nearly $828 billion.
On April 21, Google rolled out yet another mobile-friendly update with the goal of making it easier for users to get relevant, high-quality search results optimized for their mobile devices.
The new update will rank sites that are not mobile optimized even lower than before to incentivize publishers and ecommerce companies to design with mobile in mind.
The changes are a win for consumers who perform more searches on mobile devices than on desktop computers, according to Google.
For businesses, the message Google is sending is loud and clear: update your site according to their mobile-friendly standards, or risk losing website traffic to your competitors who have.
