As e-commerce and affiliate marketing continues to gather momentum worldwide Penny Mather, Marketing Director at LinkShare, analyses the best performing sectors in LinkShare’s network and reveals four emerging trends that will be significant to retail in 2012.
Overall it seems that despite the tough economic situation, online retailers have fared better than their offline counterparts, as consumers continue to shift their spend from offline to online. In November the IMRG reported that British shoppers spent more that £7bn online.
1. Growth of the luxury market
This year we’ve seen luxury brands truly embrace affiliate marketing. It has been a year when the consumer perception of value has shifted. Despite squeezed disposable income, premium brands such as Karen Millen and Reiss have seen a huge growth in spend during 2011[2]. Luxury brands are learning that special offers aren’t necessarily tied to low price and this trend is set to continue into 2012. Consumers’ are trading up to branded goods, choosing an investment piece at the right price, rather than just picking the lowest priced item. Affiliate programmes in the luxury sector can ensure exposure in locations where consumers seek out information or opinion to shape their shopping decisions, while still protecting the brand.
2. Blurring the boundaries
Mobile vouchers (m-vouchers), location-based services and geo-targeting brought the online world to the high street in 2011. Initiatives such as John Lewis’ free WiFi and QR code trial and eBay’s pop-up shop near Oxford Street show that offline marketers are starting to view on and offline shopping as far more integrated. In a recent survey of 1,000 consumers by LinkShare, 41 per cent said they have purchased something online they would never previously thought of buying, because of a voucher or offer, revealing that a well-timed and well-placed offer can sway buying behaviour significantly. This means that marketers and retailers planning for 2012 must have the entire consumer buying journey, both on and offline, in mind. Retailers must strive to understand their consumers’ journeys better in both the physical and digital world as this trend grows. Affiliates will be critical to achieving this holistic view of buying behaviour.
3. Social marketing
Social marketing has really taken off in earnest in 2011. There are a lot of solutions available that are helping brands measure the value of their fans and the Return on Investment on their social marketing activities. One study by Hitwise found that one fan equaled 20 more site visits. The more data that becomes available, the more brands will be able to justify spending on social activity in 2012. Marketers and retailers cannot assume that consumers are visiting their website as a first port-of-call. It may be their Facebook page or a peer review that initially grabs them. This will be key for affiliates as they look to distinguish themselves from competitors and continue to drive traffic in the coming year, and working with an affiliate network will allow brands access to these specialised affiliates.
4. Trying out the latest technologies
There have been huge advances in technology this year in everything from social applications, mobile technology and analytics to measure it all. 2012 will be a year of experimentation for marketers and retailers. They will have to be shrewd about how they attribute their marketing spend to take advantage of new technology, but maintain current conversations. Affiliates will play an increasingly important role both in maintaining current presence online and driving new online activity in this increasingly complex social and mobile world. Using an affiliate network provides marketers with customer data and insight helping marketers understand how their customers and competitors customers like to shop, and offers brands a test-bed for new technologies, such as m-vouchers, without requiring the budget commitments of a self-run programme.
Reflecting on e-tail success in 2011, leading affiliate marketing network LinkShare UK reveals its network of over 280 brands has seen 38 per cent year-over-year growth in sales, far out-pacing overall e-commerce growth which the IMRG tracks at just 18 per cent.
Penny Mather, Marketing Director at LinkShare comments: “It is now becoming outdated to see on and offline marketing activity as separate. Consumers go on a non-linear journey when making a decision what to buy and may touch the on and offline worlds several time in a variety of ways before making a decision to purchase an item. As marketers and retailers become more savvy to this we expect them to invest in solutions that ensure their brand has a multichannel and varied online presence, including mobile and social sites, to keep them front of mind whatever their target audience is doing online. Affiliate marketing is well placed to provide these services and we expect a wide variety of brands to invest in the space in 2012.”
By Penny Mather
Marketing Director
LinkShare
blog.linkshare.co.uk
