The day before yesterday, the retail world was all abuzz with news about Click Frenzy day, an event designed to spur online sales from e-commerce retailers. The event might have been a little too successful. So many eager shoppers logged on to hunt for deals that the website crashed, making one thing clear: Australians are passionate about online shopping and about using the web to find gifts for their loved ones. But it’s not only about selling goods online. E-commerce is just the beginning of this year’s retail Christmas story. And retailers who want to make the most of the season have to be ready.
Many retailers still pursue two separate strategies, one for the web, one for physical stores. Others think that the web competes with their brick and mortar operations. But the evolving Australian consumer doesn’t think (or shop) that way. This season, Australian shoppers are going online and off using a variety of mobile devices to get the most for their dollar. They’re going “clicks and mortar,” in a multiscreen way. It’s a shopping strategy designed to maximize value and convenience--and for retailers who understand this, it’s also an enormous opportunity.
Let’s look at the numbers: web skeptics point out that while e-commerce is expanding, more than 95% of Aussie purchases still occur offline. But that’s not the whole picture. 55% of Australians consult the web to research their purchases, even if they ultimately decide to purchase offline. At Google, we’ve seen shopping-related searches increase 20% year on year, meaning this Christmas will be the biggest online Christmas ever. And with roughly 40% of shopping searches now coming from smartphones or tablets, it’s not just about desktop: retailers who leave mobile shoppers out in the cold this Christmas stand to lose out.
To put these numbers in perspective, for every ten crisply wrapped gifts you see under your Christmas tree on the 25th, six will have touched the web in some way: one will have been purchased online outright, while the other five giftgivers will have consulted the web for ideas, to compare prices or locate retail outlets. And there’s a good chance that mobile played a role, too--maybe your sister Sue used her tablet to browse the local department store’s goods, or Dad fired up his smartphone to see when the neighborhood electronics store opens.
As a retailer, you want as many of those prezzies under the tree as possible to come from your store. You can do this in two ways. First, embrace multiple screens. It’s no longer enough to have a desktop website: you have to be found on mobile, too. Consumers are using smartphones and tablets to shop, and if Sue can’t browse your inventory from her tablet, or Dad can’t find your store’s address quickly and easily on his smartphone, they’ll go somewhere else.
Increasingly, larger retailers are choosing to meet this demand with sophisticated mobile e-commerce offerings. Electronics chain The Good Guys, for example, have optimised their site separately for both tablet and smartphone shoppers, allowing device-savvy consumers to interact with the screen that best fits their needs at the time. Meanwhile, smaller outfits can also get in on the game by starting with a simple mobile friendly website that displays trading hours and store location, connecting shoppers on the go with your storefront.
Second, use your online presence to complement your offline presence. Instead of “bricks and mortar,” think “clicks and mortar”: use the multi-screen web to drive foot traffic to and sales in your physical stores. Consider Dean Salakas, owner of Australia’s biggest party supply store The Party People. Since opening his online operation — including a website that included e-commerce capabilities as well as search advertising campaigns — not only have web orders increased to account for 54% of his sales (as you might expect), but he’s also seen traffic to his physical stores rise dramatically too. He’s even been able to open a second retail outlet, which Dean attributes to demand generated from his website and from search advertising.
If you’re a retailer who has yet to go “clicks and mortar,” it’s not too late. Google sees shopping searches increase through Christmas Eve Day, and mobile queries actually peak the week before Christmas. But don’t delay--as every eager child (and retailer) knows, Christmas only comes once a year.
Posted by Ross McDonald, Industry Leader for Retail & Local, Google Australia
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