Overall retail sales rose 0.4% last month, which only represents half of the increase that most analysts anticipated. An interesting item to note was a chart that gave side-by-side results of January consumer spending for “General-Merchandise Stores.” Overall sales for January 2012 compared to January 2011 showed an increase of 5.8%. Online sales for the same segment and period showed an increase of 12.7%.
Of the 15 sectors analyzed, only one showed a negative net growth in January 2012 over 2011 (in brick-and-mortar locations)- and that was Consumer Electronics and Appliances. However, when online sales were analyzed for the same sector, it showed an increase of 3.2%.
No one needs to further preach the importance of a retailer having an eCommerce presence; that sermon has been preached many times before. However, too many times the conversation stops there and once the site is developed- some assume a “sit-and-watch” approach. Getting an eCommerce platform up is, unfortunately, the easy part. Once the site is built and deployed- the hands on, dirty part of the job begins: marketing. Companies need to develop a sound plan for SEO to make sure when keywords are typed in to Google, their widget is found. Sound strategies for email marketing, PPC, retargeting, Performance reviews, and Social Marketing need to be created and deployed.
The last decade has seen a year-over-year decrease in the importance of a brick-and-mortar location in favor of being online. Though the need for a physical location will never completely go away, being online gives your store the ability to offer a 24/7 operation to all points on the map. That alone is elementary in thinking; the post-graduate course in that education is figuring out a strategy that lets people 1000 miles (or more) away from your nearest location that you exist.
InteractOne has been eCommerce Marketing Specialists for well over a decade with experience in getting our clients “front-page” results in search engine results. We are a turn-key operation that can not only get your Magento eCommerce project deployed, but also partner with you to get your company noticed from all corners.