Christmas Day Sales on the Rise

One of the dominant trends that we’ve seen in online activity over Christmas is that popular interest in shopping is higher on Christmas Day than during many of the traditional shopping days preceding it.

Insights for Search for Christmas 2008 shows that web search interest in shopping first peaked around Cyber Monday (07-08th Dec) but compared to the rising trend on Christmas Day, that was at least 10% higher and over 20% higher than online interest on the 21st, 22nd, 23rd and 24th.

Retail related searches rise dramatically in December but pick up incredible momentum over the 24th and 25th and into the traditional Boxing Day sale period. This year, however, the ramp up in seasonal activity appears to be taking place without the prevalence of deep discounting that was so commonplace last year. Arguably, this means more inventory for many top retailers and a longer sales period that can be expected by consumers.

To date, Christmas 2009 appears to be defined not just by the lack of 2008’s fire-sale panic but by online retailer’s improved organisation. Many businesses have extended delivery windows for pre-Christmas Day shopping with cataloguers and pure-play retailers the like of Amazon taking orders for Christmas delivery up to and including December 23rd (or the 24th if you’re within the M25 [1]).

We also believe that there is better and more widespread industry understanding of the size of the opportunity presented by Christmas Day itself. Certainly, few if any, major retail clients have neglected to build their Christmas and Boxing Day sales campaigns in anticipation of increased consumer demand and stock availability. In our opinion, businesses are more adept than ever in targeting consumers with the most relevant and timely offers during the peaks of the holiday period.

A recent Uswitch study found that the average British broadband user now spends an average of 30 hours online each week [2]. With the high levels of search interest in retail and shopping searches before, during and after Christmas Day it seems that a disproportionate amount of this time - if not many more additional hours - will be spent over Christmas in search of great deals and insatiable retail therapy.

[1]Internet Retailing December 18, 2009
[2]Uswitch Study



Posted by Brendan Patterson, UK Retail Team

The Return of Mega Monday?

Last year “Mega” or “Cyber Monday" (December 08) gave UK online retailers a sales lift to the value of £320 million [1] despite an unforeseen shortfall in internet traffic. It is anticipated that the biggest Monday for eCommerce before Christmas this year will be today (November 30) and is forecast to deliver 1,750 online sales a minute [2].

If this year’s "Mega Monday" lives up to expectations then it gives more evidence of the re-growth of consumer confidence following the economic downturn. This comes when in the wider industry the view of Christmas retailing has been typically short on optimism with predictions of small or zero growth. In an interview with the Telegraph, Andrew Higginson Tesco’s second-in command considered that at best Christmas sales would be “flat”[3].

Previously, the dominant theme in many of the predicted best selling items for Christmas was one of affordability for consumers and lower margins for retailers. In October, the Toy Retailers Association’s annual list of the top twelve Christmas toys [4] didn’t feature any items above £50 and focused on relatively inexpensive toys such as Go Go Hamsters/ Zhu Zhu pets.

By the end of November, however, things seem slightly different. The demand and consequent price of the must have Go Go Hamsters has more than quadrupled. Meanwhile, new video game release Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 received a West End premier and smashed all previous sales records.

We have also witnessed trends in relevant search queries on google.co.uk that would seemingly underline a more optimistic view of Christmas 2009. Interest in Christmas gift and shopping related queries has been growing since September while terms typically associated with the slowdown have declined in popularity. For example terms like “Recession” have dropped over 20% from the same period in November 2008.

Searches for “Christmas gift ideas” have risen in popularity by some 26% this year while other generic terms like “gift ideas” have increased by 12%. Shoppers, it would seem, are as interested as ever - if not more so - in researching and finding inspiration for their Xmas purchases.

Online retailers looking to fully address the seasonal opportunity need to account for a more engaged if perhaps equally indecisive Christmas shopper. They also have to be able to differentiate in their strategy between those looking for inspiration when it comes to gift ideas for partners or family members and those who are eager to discover the availability or prices of specific items.

Tweaking ad texts to mention gifts by recipients or competitive price points are effective suggestions for advertisers. Also and as recommended by our colleagues in the US, optimising your website for indecisive shoppers so that they can easily search by recipient, price or interest are advised. Read more about their research and recommendations here.

[1] Retail Week 09 Dec 2008
[2] NMA 27 Nov 2009
[3] Telegraph 21 Sep 2009
[4] Toys Association 28 Oct 2009


Posted by Brendan Patterson, UK Retail Team

Online Shoppers Can’t Get No Satisfaction

More consumers are turning to the web to shop for and purchase products. As we head into the festive season online retail is expected to account for 20% of all Christmas sales this year [1]. Unfortunately many retail websites haven’t matched the increase in traffic with better site usability and speed. Recent research conducted by Forrester Consulting in the US found that a mere two seconds is the new threshold of an average online shopper’s patience with website loading times. While 40% of shoppers will wait no longer than three seconds before abandoning a retail or travel site [2].

More surprising perhaps than just how elusive online customer engagement has become is the fact that many pure play retailers, those with their bedrock firmly entrenched in the world of eCommerce, are now seen as lagging behind their multichannel counterparts in delivering good online performance. The eRetail Benchmark study conducted by eDigital Research identified traditional retailers as “consistently outperforming their pure play and catalogue rivals online, using multichannel technology and customer service expertise to their advantage” [3].

As reported by Internet Retailing, traditionalist retailer John Lewis was the study's top performing website followed by Marks & Spencer and Next with New Look moving into the top ten sites on account of its “best in class” shopping basket function [3]. The Retail Bulletin and specialist website testing company Sitemorse study of October’s top 50 Retail websites also confirmed similar findings. They noted the lack of pure plays at the upper end of their rankings and gave special recognition to traditional retailer, HMV for their newly overhauled website [4].

The message to all online retailers must surely be that regularly changing, testing and evolving their site is imperative. However, the scale of these changes need not be too drastic, on paper at least. Econsultancy and Red Eye found that relatively straightforward practices such as aligning keywords, calls to action and landing pages plus using compelling and effective calls to action are associated with high levels of customer satisfaction and conversion [5]. Good web analytics can also play its part with segmenting customers, removing bottlenecks and blockages to conversion and identifying key performance indicators being other beneficial actions for online retailers to take [5].

With Christmas just round the corner and for some eCommerce marketers regarding their current online stores with some slight concern, only minor modifications would seem prudent or potentially necessary. Meanwhile those looking to address specific pain points such as the effects of a poor onsite search facility for example, might read about products such as the newly announced Google Commerce Search with some interest. More details were posted by our colleagues in the US here

[1] NMA November 13, 2009
[2] Internet Retailing September 22, 2009
[3] Internet Retailing November 06, 2009
[4] The Retail Bulletin November 02, 2009
[5] Internet Retailing October 09, 2009

Posted by Brendan Patterson, UK Retail Team

Internet Retailing Interview with Peter Fitzgerald, Google UK's Retail Industry Leader

Internet Retailing recently posted a revealing interview with Peter Fitzgerald, Industry Leader at Google UK. View it here:



Posted by Brendan Patterson, UK Retail Team

A Tale of Two Octobers

October has often been a month of economic turmoil; it is the month when both the stock market crashes of 1929 and 1987 took place. Last year, it looked like the global economy was on the precipice of financial meltdown. It was during October that various governments were forced to take shares in numerous large financial institutions.

Refreshingly, 12 months on and October appears to have passed without major incident. The banks look like they will survive, the FTSE 100 is up around 30%, and GDP is expected to be positive in the next quarter.

After a very tough year for retailers, the story seems the same. According to the CBI optimism from UK retailers is the most positive it has been in 2 years. High Street sales have grown modestly in the year to October[1].

However online retail presents a much stronger picture, and is the channel driving growth for a lot of retailers. Argos have reported that 'Check & Reserve' orders have grown 50% and represent 18% of all orders; 42% of orders are now 'multi-channel' [3]. John Lewis reports website sales growing at 29% vs 5% for the overall business for the 12 weeks ended 24th October[4]. It seems there is no stopping UK consumers embracing the internet to browse and shop for products. At Google, UK searches for popular categories such as clothing and Home Entertainment are up 36% and 26% respectively Y/Y. The charts below show how four popular categories are trending as we head into the seasonal peak. In some cases search activity is already greater than peak levels of Christmas 2008.





All this should provide some optimism for retailers on the verge of the busy Christmas trading period. As we look to the festive season, it is seems that ~30% Y/Y growth is the benchmark to set.

Amazon's recently reported third quarter results. International sales (which include UK, DE, FR & JP) were up 33% on the same period last year. The company has forecast growth next quarter to be between 21-36% compared to 2008[2].

What targets have you set for your website this Christmas? And how can you capitalise on the growth opportunity presented by online (eCommerce) over the festive period? For those new to online advertising a Google Adwords account can be set up in minutes and will allow you to place a targeted message alongside search results. Go to www.google.co.uk/Adwords to learn more.

For those already well versed in paid search advertising, Google tools such as Insights for Search can show what new terms users are searching for, and help you target your marketing activity. While the Search Based Keyword Tool can help identify gaps in your keyword coverage. Get in touch with your Google representative for more help.

[1] “UK retailers’ optimism at two-year high” Norma Cohen, FT.com, October 27 2009
[2] Amazon Investor Relations
[3] “Half-year results for the 26 weeks ended 29 August 2009” Home Retail Group, October 21 2009
[4[ John Lewis Partnership


Posted by Jonathan Marsh, UK Retail Team

The Added Benefits of Advertising Discount Vouchers

As recent research has highlighted, there are increasing benefits from advertising discount vouchers and deals that you might offer. With 58% of consumers stating they are more likely to visit a retail site where discount vouchers or coupons are available[1], you can take advantage of this additional traffic and ensure your ads contain the most attractive offers to users in the run up to Christmas. According to Hitwise in the last year alone searches for discount vouchers have grown by 47.5%[2]. But what other benefits are there?

1) The potential to attract new customers: 31% of internet coupon users state that they have started only using them in the last 12 months, while 50% of the same respondents say coupons influence them to try new products[1]. 39% of the same respondents said they are more likely to click on an online ad where coupons are available[1].

2) Increased brand loyalty and repeat purchases: 57% of respondents say companies offering vouchers and coupons care about keeping them as a customer[3].

3) Increased customer acquisition: 70% of users say they are more likely to provide information such as names and email addresses for a discount coupon[3].

4) Increased sales at Christmas: According to a Deloitte 2008 survey, 62% of respondents planned to buy gift vouchers, making it the 6th most popular gift idea[4]. As highlighted in data for 2008 from Google Insights, searches on voucher related terms begin a steady rise in the lead up to Christmas from early November.



With user behaviour changing during the economic downturn, consumers are increasingly moving online to find the best deals. Providing any unique selling points in your ad texts is a key method for making your ads stand out from your competitors and attracting increased sales and traffic during the Christmas period. In the last year alone there has been significant growth in voucher searches for ever more specific deals and discounts. Last year UK internet users searched for 8,300 variations of search terms containing the words 'voucher' or 'vouchers', but in the first 6 months of this year the figure has risen to 34,200[2].

If you are offering any discount vouchers this year, then be sure to add in branded search terms such as ‘brand voucher’ into your account before the late November/early December peak. Such terms will typically have higher CTRs and conversion rates. Use your Analytics Ecommerce data to identify potential keywords that triggered your ads last year. By running a Non Paid Keywords report you can see which keywords converted for you previously that you don’t currently have in your account.

[1]"Internet-printable coupons significantly increase customer engagement" Internet Retailing, October 2, 2009
[2]"Voucher searches up 47.5% in a year" Robin Goad, Hitwise Intelligence, August, 2009
[3]"Online 'Coupon Clickers' Number 36 Million" Retailer Daily, July, 2008
[4]Top 15 Holiday Gift Items that UK Consumers Plan to Purchase eMarketer, November, 2008

Posted by Ewan Aparicio, Dublin Retail Team

Close the Gaps in Your Christmas Campaigns with GCN

With only three pay days left till Christmas and the economic recovery still at a fledgling stage, shoppers have already started to think about what to fill their Christmas stockings with. Christmas search queries tend to start early and with bargain hunting also driving interest this year, their frequency has started growing as early as September.

Retailers looking to get ahead of the curve and roll out their Christmas campaigns early shouldn’t overlook the opportunity presented by the Google Content Network (GCN). Using the Content Network can supplement your search campaigns and stimulate extra demand and awareness. Many of the thousands of shopping sites available on the network have CPCs lower than search, which can drive your conversions at a more desirable CPA.

GCN serves more than 6 billion impressions a day globally which provides fantastic volume for advertisers, but the key questions are how does GCN convert and how cost effective is it? Google’s study [1] indicates that the median content/search CPA ratio for advertisers in all sectors was 97.4% and for average advertiser, GCN clicks are 28% cheaper than search. The discount CPC effect is due to Smart Pricing which automatically reduces CPC bids for certain pages depending on how likely they are to convert.

Conversions and volumes in retail subcategories differ. These metrics, however, are often augmented as shoppers start to browse for gifts and visit sites devoted to key Christmas product areas such as toys, games, music and jewellery.
With GCN’s targeting modus operandi being fundamentally different to search, and with GCN awareness being lower than that of search, here are our top tips for advertising on the Google Content Network - an opportunity to expose your brand to 29 million unique UK users:

1. Build a common theme in each ad group. With contextual targeting, we analyse all of your keywords and ad text in an ad group, then match the ad to sites in our network. Having very specific keyword lists in your ad groups avoids targeting ambiguity. You should also ensure that your ad text closely matches the theme that you have outlined in your keyword list.

2. Create direct and complementary ad groups. If you are selling glasses your direct ad group could contain keywords such as glasses or frames while your complementary ad groups could target related sites about glasses cases or other accessories. Many ad groups ensure that you target larger pools of potential buyers.

When brainstorming for complementary ad groups the new Wonder Wheel tool can help you discover other related themes. This tool is available in the left sidebar on Google Search.

3. Include negative keywords at set up to ensure that your ads are not showing on irrelevant sites. This will ensure high quality of traffic and good CTR, which is critical for achieving good performance history and building your GCN Quality score.

4. Exclude sites and categories that you do not want your ads to appear on.
Categories would be groups of websites with a common theme such as ‘Crime & Emergency’.

5. Bidding is a crucial factor in GCN. In order to enable our system to work out which sites are the most suitable for your ads, set bids relatively high to begin with and then lower them after history has been accrued. Most content sites and products display only two or three contextual ads per page, so monitor your CPC and average position as it has an impact on CTR. If you set bids too low on the Content Network, it will take a long time for your ads to reach the right sites.

6. As a rule of thumb allow at least 2 weeks before checking results as the system needs time to accrue performance data. The first few days of data may not reflect the campaign’s full potential and may provide you with misleading data.

7. After the initial few weeks of your campaign, pull a Placement Performance Report which will give you data on the sites where your ads are appearing. This report can help you to identify sites which are performing well and those which perform poorly or are irrelevant. Exclude sites where you do not want your ads to show with the Site Exclusion tool.

Once you find your high-performing sites, you can control and adjust your bids on them directly. Test if by increasing volume on these sites (i.e. increasing bids), the corresponding increase in conversions justifies a proportionately higher CPC.

8. If you do not use a bid management solution to manage your bids, consider testing Conversion Optimiser, a CPA bid management solution enabling advertisers to maximise their ROI. Although its entry threshold is 15 conversions in 30 days, launch it on a campaign which has accrued a high volume of conversions. Higher volume gives the system more substance and room to manoeuvre.

Whichever retail category is your focus, a GCN campaign can be a cost effective way to drive incremental conversions. GCN targeting is also fundamentally different from that of search. As an auction model, the system requires time to accrue the relevant data needed to optimise your campaign. Implementing these suggestions is the first step to making your GCN campaign a success. Not unlike other digital media outlets, GCN campaigns require testing. We recommend starting your GCN campaign early, so that you can begin testing and have a well-optimised campaign prepared for the peak Christmas season. Starting soon will ensure your brand’s exposure as people are likely to browse and spread their shopping between now and Christmas.

We hope that you found these tips useful. Please email us if you have any questions or feedback.

[1]Google Whitepaper November 2008


Posted by Anna Prolejko, UK Retail Team

Measuring Up Your Keywords and Conversions

As legend has it over 2,200 years ago Archimedes was challenged by King Hiero II to discover whether his new crown had been made from pure gold or mixed with lesser metals. Figuring out how to measure the volume of the crown with its irregular shape presented Archimedes with a major task.

Today's PPC managers face a similar measurement challenge. Namely, how do you model exactly how much each keyword contributes to each of your conversions? And given that PPC drives nearly 1 in 5 visits to UK retail websites [1], such models are more and more likely to find their way onto CFO and CEO desks.

At one end of the spectrum is 'last click' attribution. Simple and straightforward, the only keywords that count are those that lead directly to a conversion.

Most people would concede however, that this method is not the ideal way to measure keyword conversions as it doesn’t consider how much of their previous search activity led to the final purchase. The 'consumer journey' has already been the subject of much discussion. But what then is the other end of the spectrum? How do you attribute important metrics like new customers and lifetime value to a keyword? A 90 or 180 day cookie, tracking everything and anything? The data could be overwhelming.

Research commissioned by Google indicates that as many as 40% of conversions occur after 4 weeks from when a shopper first performed a search related to the goods or services they purchased. Yet no one wakes up in the morning and says to themselves: “Today I will start my journey to buy a new coat, it will take 18 days for me to finally get there and buy it”. You make a start by seeing what products are available; take ideas from various sources and then when you think you have found the best item and deal, you make your purchase.

Is this because we all love browsing, or because it can be difficult sometimes to find exactly what you want? Like many things, it is probably a combination of the two. The Consumer Decision Journey recently published in the McKinsey Quarterly [2] discusses these moments of influence and how the 'purchase funnel' may be a different shape from what was once thought.

One thing that should gain the consensus of agreement though is that the consumer journey is path dependant. That is, each subsequent step is dependent on the experience from the previous point.

Accepting this, how much can each of these prior steps claim to have led to the final conversion? Not an easy answer given the total number of steps, the media involved and the time taken. Within the overall context of search however, comScore can shed some light on the path dependant nature of conversions within three major consumer categories [3]:

Metric	Clothing	Computers	Mobile Phones
No. of searches per conversion	5.7	5.0	4.7
No. of site visits per conversion	11.9	12.6	9.4

So how do individual Retailers start to better understand and act on the challenges posed by accurately measuring their own conversions?

You don’t necessarily need another Archimedes, but certainly someone who will take responsibility for devising how you go about measuring your conversions. In this case, using data from your web analytics package to discover exactly how each keyword pays it way. There are numerous bid management programs on the market too that can make life easier; not to mention third party consultants who can help install and make sense of analytics. Today, retailers of any scale just have too many keywords to do this manually and hope to achieve their own “Eureka!” moment.

[1] Hitwise UK, Shopping and Classifieds category, August 2009
[2] http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Marketing/The_consumer_decision_journey_2373

[3] comScore custom analysis- UK Population, 15+ Home and Work, Q4-2007 activity

Posted by Jonathan Marsh, UK Retail Team

Don't Get 'Spooked' - Get Ready for Halloween!

With the summer now over and Autumn here to stay, the next upcoming event in the social calendar is Halloween. As outlined by Google’s Insights For Search queries for Halloween related terms are already on the rise as people begin searching for products and costumes. In the last business week alone, the number of search queries for the term ‘Halloween costumes’ rose by 60% alone. Retailers in the Apparel and Gifts and Greetings industries will likely see an increase in traffic during this time of year as users begin their search for costumes, decorations and greetings cards.



With this in mind, we’d like to provide you with some quick tips on how to get the most from this rise in traffic.

1) Create separate campaigns for all your Halloween product ranges with relevant themed keywords and ad texts. Google’s Search Based Keyword Tool will help you identify more long tail keyword opportunities based on your site’s content.

2) Be sure to use language in your ad texts specifically referring to Halloween as well as using any USPs to highlight any promotions or competitive advantages you might have. If you are selling a range of different costumes then trial an ad text using the Keyword Insertion formula thus ensuring your ads as relevant as possible to a user’s search query.

3) Deep link to all your product pages. If you have a particularly large inventory for Halloween then try running Keyword Destination URLs. Searches that bring the user to most relevant landing page are more likely to convert to sales.

4) Be prepared to increase your bids, particularly on popular products at this time of increased auction intensity. Raising bids on your well performing keywords will result in higher positions ensuring you don’t miss out on potential traffic.

5) If you’re bidding on more general keyword terms then be sure to update your negative keywords to protect your Click Through Rate. You can use the Keyword Tool to identify any terms that aren’t relevant to your site, or if you ran campaigns before then now is the time to review a Search Query report for last year and filter out any unwanted traffic.

We hope you found these tips useful! Please email us if you have any feedback.

Posted by Ewan Aparicio, Dublin Retail Team

Google UK Retail Summit Videos

Videos of our successful 2009 Retail Summit are now available on the Survival of the Fastest You Tube channel. Check them out below:

Philipp Schindler - Vice President, Northern and Central Europe - Google - Opening Remarks



Richard Last - Director, Planning and Business Development - JCPenney - Keynote



Panel Discussion - "eCommerce Excellence: Winning this Christmas"



Panel Discussion - "eCommerce KPIs: Delivering the Right Results"



Alex Gawley - Business Product Manager - Google - "Behind the Curtain: latest product developments at Google"



Peter Fitzgerald - Industry Leader - Google - Closing Remarks



Posted by Brendan Patterson, UK Retail Team

Top 10 Tips for getting accounts ready for Christmas

We all know it’s good practice to get one’s account in shape before the Christmas madness begins, but where do you start? Here are 10 practical steps you can take to ensure you make the most of the festive peak:

A practical guide for Retail Advertisers

1) Create a separate campaign for Christmas. Having a separate Christmas campaign allows you to control spend easily. Create Christmas themed keywords by combining popular products with Christmas modifiers. Eg a fashion retailer might run the keywords christmas socks, xmas socks, socks for christmas etc.

Test generic Christmas keywords eg christmas gifts, xmas presents etc but monitor performance carefully as these terms can be expensive. Run these keywords in a separate ad group so you can pause them easily if necessary.

2) Create Christmas ads to run in regular campaigns alongside existing ads. Eg a fashion retailer might add the following ad to their ‘Novelty Socks’ ad group:

Novelty Socks for Xmas
Browse our range of Novelty Socks.
Ideal gifts for stocking fillers!
fashionistaaz.co.uk/socks

3) Deep link to relevant landing pages. Try running Christmas-specific landing pages for your Christmas themed keywords. Highlight top gifts and products not previously offered and tie these in with seasonal ad text. Elsewhere, in your regular campaigns, make sure you're deep linking to product-specific landing pages. Avoid sending users to the homepage unless the traffic has come from a brand ad group.

Eg a sports retailer known as 'Sports Clobber' should direct users searching on terms such assports clobber, clobber sports etc to the homepage. However, users searching for a specific product (eg golf shoes) should be directed to a webpage featuring that product range. Users are far more likely to convert if they can find what they are looking for easily.

4) Include USPs in ad text. What makes your brand special? Use this opportunity to differentiate your offering from your competitors. Highlight any promotions which you have running eg free gift with purchase, free in store pick-up, last minute deals, special offers.

Price and delivery details work well but only feature them if you're offering competitive rates! Use calls-to-action eg 'Order online', 'Browse full range online' - commanding language makes for compelling ads. Promote final delivery deadlines. 'Order by **' tends to work better than 'Order now'.

5) Uncap budgets on popular categories. Try uncapping budgets on any well structured campaigns with a good ROI. As long as your campaign is well structured with targeted ad text, well themed ad groups, sensible keywords and a comprehensive list of well chosen negatives, your traffic will be relevant so uncapped budgets should result in higher overall ROI.

6) Increase bids (max CPCs) on existing keywords, especially on popular product ranges.Research has shown that the Christmas surge in traffic starts as early as September. Make sure you're ready for the onslaught. Raising bids on your well performing keywords will result in higher positions. Look at the quality score of your keywords – try raising the bids on any that have a high quality score and fall below positions 1-3.

7) Ensure keywords cover your entire product range. Consider expanding longtail terms. Serious shoppers know model names and numbers. You will benefit from having longtail keywords covered as more obscure keywords will have lower CPCs. If you're running highly targeted longtail keywords it's a good idea to set these to Broad match as users may type in a multitude of variations. Keywords comprising numbers/codes should be set to Phrase and/or Exact match.

Eg an electrical retailer (selling white goods) stocks a fridge known as 'snazzy tall fridge 123Z'. Users looking for this product could type in a variety of queries eg 'Z123 fridge snazzy', 'tall fridge 123Z' etc so it would be a good idea to have the keyword 'snazzy tall fridge 123Z' on Broad match. The advertiser should also add the code '123Z' as a keyword on Phrase and/or Exact match.

8) Check inventory to keywords. It sounds obvious but ensure your keywords match your current inventory. Pause/delete any keywords pertaining to products which are currently/permanently out of stock. Users quickly become frustrated if they are misled.

9) Expand negatives. Make sure your negative keywords are well built out on any campaigns running Phrase and/or Broad match keywords. If you have set up a separate Christmas campaign add in negatives re Christmas eg carols, recipes, decorations, wrapping paper etc.

10) Build out Content campaigns. Make sure your Content campaigns are well structured with tightly themed ad groups so that you can capitalise on AFC (Adsense for Content) during the festive season. Eg a lingerie retailer might want to appear on blogs discussing 'sexy festive gifts for your partner'.

Consider adding Christmas-specific ad groups. Eg a fashion retailer selling men's apparel might add an ad group based around 'Gifts for Him this Christmas'.

We hope you found these tips useful! Please email us if you have any feedback.

Posted by Zoe McFarlane, UK Retail Team

Using Social Media to Improve Your Bottom Line

©Andrey Kiselev

In 2009 online retailers figured out that the social revolution was not a passing fad and social media finally entered the mainstream. Tapping into social media to build engagement and a sense of community among customers was not seen as airy fairy marketing or something that is just nice to have--it could actually contribute to the all important bottom line.

Still have your doubts? Consider that Dell in June 2009 had earned $3m through Twitter since it started posting coupons and word of new products on the microblogging site in 2007, $1m of which was spent in the last 6 months alone. Dell Outlet has done particularly well on Twitter due to the inventory fluctuation of returned and refurbished products, and they have gleaned valuable feedback on products from consumers [1].

Twitter may be a relatively new phenomenon, but how about something as simple as allowing reviews on your website? Research conducted for Feefo suggests a third of the consumers polled would not buy from a website that does not support customer reviews and feedback as they believe this provided validation and control against the risk of buying from a ‘bogus’ store. This means you could be missing out on an extra 30% of customers simply by not having a customer feedback feature [2].

Other methods of engagement which online retailers are using include YouTube, Blogs and Microsites. Asda recently launched Yourasda, a community site that includes videos, a store finder, explanatory articles and many calls to interact with questions like "What local produce would you like to see?”. Earlier this year Asda launched a YouTube Channel "Saving You Money TV" that includes customer generated tips plus short films produced by Asda to help people save money. It also acts as a medium for the supermarket to demonstrate how it achieves its cost savings to deliver low prices in its stores. Asda's second quarter earnings were strong with 7.2% like for like sales growth and strong growth coming from Asda.com [3].

Want more proof of the power of social media? A study by Wetpaint and Altimeter Group showed a strong correlation between engaging in different social media and earning higher revenues. The report surveyed the top 100 most valuable brands depth and breadth of social engagement and correlated this to revenue growth and found that on average the companies with the highest social media engagement grew 18% in revenue over the last 12 months, compared to the least engaged companies who on average saw a decline of 6% in revenue during the same period [4].

[1]"Dell Says It Has Earned $3 Million From Twitter", The New York Times, June 12, 2009

[2]"Shoppers now using reviews to confirm a website is genuine before placing an order", Internet Retailing, August 14, 2009

[3]"Asda wins market share as customer numbers reach record high", your.asda.com, August 13, 2009

Posted by Emma Doody, Dublin Retail Team

Back To School Marketing – Be Top of the Class!

©vashistha pathak

With September around the corner millions of parents are welcoming the start of a new school year for their kids by shopping for new clothes, shoes, and backpacks filled with shiny new school supplies. Retailers keen to capture this surge in traffic are launching back-to-school campaigns left and right. However with a season that has multiple different targets from the influencers such as kids and teens, to the decision makers such as Mums & college students, it is important for retailers to ask themselves: what is the right media mix for me?

With the back-to-school shopping season spanning almost 3 full months from July to September and with no specific dates and deadlines for shipping cutoffs, back-to-school is a period of time with no explicit end date and huge opportunity for retailers. Research has shown that 54% of back-to-school shoppers will research online before purchasing in-store [1] with 42% or more purchasing these back-to-school items online, [2] it is no surprise that 72% will spend the same amount or more online as in stores for back-to-school purchases. [3] It is therefore a very good idea to ensure that your online marketing efforts are backed up with offline campaigns such as audio, print and TV in order to ensure that you are reaching the right audiences in all of the most relevant locations that you can.

Mothers are the primary back-to-school purchasers and will interact with a lot of different media touch points throughout the day from reading the morning paper, to listening to the radio as they drop the kids off at school to browsing their favorite online websites. Google online properties reach about 81% of women ages 25 to 44, making the Google Content Network an evaluable part of your marketing mix. With the current economic climate good deals are now even more important. Using your content campaigns to influence Mums by including special back-to-school offers & discounts in your ad text will cater your advertising to the more cost-conscious parents. Similarly using call to action phrases such as ‘buy online’, or ‘buy now’ and highlighting your extensive range and fast delivery times will further endear your campaigns to these back-to-school shoppers.

It is worth noting however that while mothers and parents may be the primary back-to-school purchasers, it is kids and tweens who will influence at least half of all back-to-school purchases. From backpacks to footwear parents will often let their children choose which specific items to purchase making the highly influential tween market a big priority for online retailers. The Google Content Network allows marketers to capture this audience while they are online playing games, researching projects or interacting with social networking websites. It also captures this valuable market through one of the most highly effective mediums for this demographic, their mobile phones. With mobile phones being the preferred medium of communication among school age children, teens and tweens they are highly relevant to back-to-school campaigns. Mobile campaigns are an evaluable way for marketers to capture kids and tweens while they are on the go, in school, looking for information or simply communicating with parents via text, this makes mobile a highly important part of any multichannel back-to-school marketing campaign.

Not to be forgotten back-to-college students are savvy online shoppers who make their own purchasing decisions with 80% going online prior to making any purchase [4] and 51% being coupon clippers who are very likely to use online coupons accessed online [5]. Content campaigns will capture these students as they browse online placing your ads on social networking sites, online music and book stores and many more, building strong awareness of your search campaign among this target audience. Offline efforts such as TV, radio and discount coupons in college newspapers, can prove equally effective in targeting this cost conscious demographic.

It is clear overall however that when times are tight, online marketing becomes even more useful and careful targeting of high potential audiences with a smart media mix can reap ample rewards for back-to-school retailers. With the back-to-school season now in full swing, it is time for retailers to step up to the mark and strike while the iron is hot.

[1] October 2008 OTX/Google Holiday Shopping Intentions Study
[2] PriceGrabber.com Back-to-School Survey July 24 2008-August 7, 2008
[3] Source: PriceGrabber.com Back-to-School Survey July 24 2008-August 7, 2008
[4] October 2008 OTX/Google Holiday Shopping Intentions Study
[5] Platform-A and IRI study cited in ‘Young Cupon Clippers Looking Online’, Research Brief, 10/04/09

Posted by Arlene Herbert, Dublin Retail Team

Retail Christmas Webinar

Did you know that during December last year there were ~170,000 searches a week for 'Ugg Boots'? Or that there was a five-fold increase in search traffic for 'Christmas hampers'?

Don't just leave it up to Santa this year, discover the best ways to promote your store and products with Google UK and Ireland's Christmas Search Webinar.

Topics covered include:
How and when search volumes increase in the lead up to December 25
Last year's popular search terms
New tools and reports to ensure your PPC campaigns can efficiently capture all relevant user search interest

We will be hosting 2 webinars during September. Please follow the links below to register.

Wed 2nd September 14:30 BST (GMT+1). Register here

Wed 23rd September 15:00 BST (GMT+1). Register here

We look forward to sharing some special festive insights with you!

Posted by Jonathan Marsh, UK Retail Team

Luxury Loses its Lustre and Bling Ain't the Thing...Except Online

Questions of whether the gilded luxury bubble has burst are plaguing retailers. Verdict recently issues a dire report about the state of global luxury retailing, which it predicts is facing the toughest market conditions in two decades. [1] Changing consumer behaviour, currency exchange issues and bankers having the bonuses taken from under their noses are all factors contributing to the tough times faced by luxury brands. The silver lining (hey, at least it's a precious metal) is that e-commerce is poised to become a major sales channel for for high-end goods.

In the past, luxury retailers focused almost exclusively on the very wealthy. In the current economic climate, where even rap stars are selling their dazzling grillz for the liquidation value at sellyourgoldteeth.com [2], retailers cannot rely on the ultra-rich to keep their businesses afloat. It was speculated that the closure of two Barney's stores had less to do with the wealthy curbing their spending than with the middle-class, whose aspirational and splurge purchases--which were perhaps influenced by watching Sex and the City's Carrie Bradshaw console herself with Barney's merchandise--have contributed to the store's success in recent years, but now is in decline due to recession woes and job fears. [3]

In the past few years, UK department stores have seen a sharp contraction in sales, damaging the luxury market even further. [1] However, many believe that this is not the end to extravagance as we now know it; shoppers still want their luxury goods, but on the down-low. "It's a lot more chic to be saying, 'I'm cutting back,'" said Alexis Maybank, a co-founder of an online luxury shopping site, Gilt, in a recent Los Angeles Times article. "You see a lot of people seeking privacy in their shopping, but they're still shopping. You see people moving to online sites." [4]

And while many consumers are ready to buy, most luxury retailers aren't willing to sell. The majority of of UK luxury retailers do not offer transactional sites and instead use the web exclusively for branding and informational purposes. But while luxury brands struggle with how to maintain the air of exclusivity and customer experience that can be found in their retail stores, consumers have shown they they are not afraid to make high-end purchases online, financial crisis be damned.

It appears that the road less travelled by luxury brands--online retailing and e-commerce--may be paved with gold, as sites that are offering luxury goods online are thriving. You may not be able to buy Oscar de la Renta goods directly in the UK online, but you can buy them, and those of numerous other designers, on Net-a-Porter.com. Net-a-Porter recently reported a 48% increase in sales and a 230% increase in profits, citing exclusive collaborations with designers such as Alexander McQueen and RM by Roland Mouret as key drivers to their success. [5]

Amazon.co.uk is also hip to the luxury market. On the site, their marketplace sellers list more than a hundred pieces of jewellery priced between £100,000 and £223,000 on the site, and Amazon directly sells jewellery at price points that range above £7500. Other sites, like SheerLuxe.com, are combining quality content with the luxury shopping experience on their site that is as much like an online fashion magazine as a shopping portal.

Ultimately, although luxury purchases may slow in stores, the possibilities for luxury retailing online are as dazzling as the jewellery they sell. In a survey released this month, 43% of UK shoppers said they planned to spend more time online searching for cheaper versions of items from high street stores. [6] And Polo Ralph Lauren recently saw a 19% increase in online sales, notwithstanding comparable-store sales declining 5.2%. [7] So despite the doom and gloom forecasts, the online opportunities for the luxury market are crystal clear.

[1] "Gobal Luxury Retailing 2009" Verdict Research, June 2009
[2] "Culture of Bling Clangs to Earth as the Recession Melts Rappers' Ice" Miguel Bustillo, Wall Street Journal, May 26, 2009
[3] "Barneys becomes latest recession victim" Bruce Watson, Daily Finance, May 6th 2009
[4] "Spending on luxury in tight times" Carla Hall, Los Angeles Times, May 10, 2009
[5] "Net-A-Porter reports profits up 230%" Internet Retailing, June 12, 2009
[6] "UK E-Commerce: Fighting the Downturn" Karin von Abrams, eMarketer, August 2009
[7] "Luxury goods maker Polo Ralph Lauren scores with a 19% rise in web sales" Internet Retailer, June 4, 2009

Posted by Lina Goldberg, UK Retail Team

Survival of the Fastest Part 2

Here are a few more Survival of the Fastest videos from Google that might be of interest to UK retailers.

Hal Varian, Chief Economist - Google "Computer mediated transactions"




Richard Reed, Co-Founder - Innocent Drinks "How do you sustain innovation in a tough climate?"




Alan Lim, Group CEO - Purely Group "Will customer service fall victim to the downturn?"



Posted by Lina Goldberg, UK Retail Team

Music and Video Retail - You Can't Touch This!

Tough times on the high street plus the terminal decline in CD sales have wrought major changes for traditional music and video retailers. Copious column inches have already been dedicated to the decline of such retail stalwarts as Woolworths, Zavvi and Fopp, not to mention the pessimism of a commercial music industry where artists now offer their music for free. As besieged as traditional music and video retail has been, recent Verdict research shows an increase in the proportion of customers now shopping for music and video online.

Verdict's recent study How Britain Shops 2009: Music and Video reveals that 49.9% of all British adults aged 16+ shop for music and video, an increase of 6.7% over 2008 and a rise that bucks a gradual year on year downward trend since 2005 [1]. Moreover, the success and healthy profits reported by HMV since loosing significant high street competitors would show that periods of adversity can be when market leaders make serious headway and deliver real innovation to their customers.

Not so long ago your average music and video retail specialist was only a lively and comprehensively stocked, if not necessarily competitively priced, in-store experience. Today that picture is as passe as a pair of MC Hammer's voluminous parachute pants. HMV, who are two years into a three-year restructuring plan, have embarked on a bold round of diversification reflecting the wide range of platforms music flans use to hear and consume music. Ticket sales, expanding its fashion range, venue sponsorship, new loyalty schemes for "money can't buy items" including back stage passes and signed memorabilia, plus vigorously promoting their own online and download offerings, have all helped define their new strategy.

The role of DRM-free downloads should not be overlooked in spurring on the recent upward trend in music and video shopping. Verdict posit that by giving shoppers the freedom to play downloaded music on any device has expanded the potential customer base of download operators [1]. Again this has proven beneficial for the UK's largest music and video specialist, HMV despite harsh price deflation from online pureplays and previously unforeseen competition from supermarket chains like Tescos.

Verdict's research also reveals some key developments in the ongoing fortunes of the premiere pureplay music and video retailers Amazon and Play. Following the ever greater penetration of high speed internet connections Amazon has increased its visitor and main user share. Meanwhile Play, has achieved the highest ratings among all music and video operators for price and service [1].

The new world of music and video retail undoubtedly presents businesses with fundamental challenges and questions. The apparent growth in the sales of digital media coupled with specialist retailers determination to diversify into new sales channels would seemingly show the path of its future. Nevertheless, one factor remains as enduring as ever; namely the importance of maintaining customer loyalty. Price, service and range are the key drivers for loyalty in music and video retail. So, while it may be tempting to reduce that back catalogue of old, hard to find albums or curtail your stock of niche indie hits in favour of selling a new fashion line, their importance to customers remains undiminished.

[1] "How Britain Shops 2009: Music and Video" Verdict July 2009

Metrosexuals, Menaissance and Moisturisers, oh my!

It's possible that men haven't gotten the credit crunch memo yet--for the last two years, men's toiletries have been the fastest growing category in the UK's health and beauty market. The category is expected to remain strong for 2009, although growth may slow once men catch on to the current economic downturn.

For years, cosmetics and beauty companies focused their efforts almost entirely on women, leaving men out in the dry, chapped-skin cold. But in recent years, products created and marketed specifically for men have hit the shelves. A revolution has taken place and television programmes like Extreme Male Beauty, 10 Years Younger and Queer Eye for the Straight Guy have spread the battle call: moisturise, moisturise, moisturise.

And now for the second year in a row this is being reflected in sales at the till. The value of the male toiletries market is over £1bn, and in addition to being the fastest growing category, is outselling more traditional products like dental care. [1] Shaving, a traditional stronghold for male toiletries continues to be the main driver for the category followed by fragrances and deodorants, although other less obvious products like "manscera" and male makeup are also included. [2] Male skincare products are also popular, with brands including L'Oreal, Nivea and Boots selling anti-aging, anti-shine and anti-fatigue moisturisers, balms and washes targeted specifically to men.

But although man beauty products are on the rise, all is not well in the world of men's toiletries. Last year The Telegraph reported a backlash, calling the rise of men eschewing the idea of male grooming and protesting the media's push to turn them all into "waxed and coiffed metrosexuals" a "menaissance". [3] And while male health and beauty shoppers are on the rise, they still only represent a small percentage of shoppers and overall sales with just under 60% of British men over age 15 regularly shopping for personal care products. [1]

This is, however, one of the largest opportunities for retailers today. Persuading women to purchase more men's products and targeting men in retail environments that they feel more comfortable in, such as grocery stores and petrol stations, can help to keep the male beauty momentum going. All of the data suggests that the age of male beauty has not yet peaked, so retailers should be prepared to keep the moisturiser on tap.

[1] "UK Health & Beauty Retailers 2009: Resilient and Recession Proof..." Verdict June 2009
[2]"Sector Insight: Men's toiletries - Skincare leads the way" Jane Bainbridge, Marketing, 22 July 2008
[3] "Modern men feel emasculated, study claims", Sarah Womack, The Telegraph, 26 March 2008

Lina Goldberg, UK Retail Team

Survival of the Fastest

Have you had a chance to check out Survival of the Fastest yet? It's the UK's first business advice channel on YouTube, launched in partnership with the Daily Telegraph and London Business School. Below you can find some of the most recent retail additions to the channel.

Bob Thacker - SVP, Marketing & Advertising - OfficeMax "The art of experimentation online"

Hugh Murphy - Head of eBusiness, UK & Ireland - 3M "Linking marketing metrics to your corporate strategy"

Will King - Founder - King of Shaves "Having faith in your brand during a recession"




Posted by Lina Goldberg, UK Retail Team

How User Friendly is Your Website?

Usability is now recognised as a vital element of eCommerce retailers’ online strategy. Today, even the most ardent sceptic would agree that when users arrive at your website they have to be able to easily use and understand its content. Otherwise, they’re likely to regard your site as a waste of their time and you could feel that the effort you spent promoting it via search engine optimisation, AdWords or other is a waste of yours.

What’s surprising perhaps is the number of websites that still suffer from the all too routine problems of inefficient site structure, poor functionality and general navigational faults. User expectation is typically high whereas their tolerance is extremely low. Its worth weighing up not just what these problems might cost in terms of lost conversions but the detrimental brand impact disgruntled customers’ negative word of mouth can have via chat rooms or social networks.

Fine tuning your site should be a priority and currently there are more than enough companies who claim authority when it comes to delivering these services. Arguably, any starting point should be to consider website loading time. When it comes to retaining user interest and engagement from the outset speed is of the essence. Site Navigation is another key lever, with the abiding three principles being to keep it simple, intuitive and relevant.

During an IMRG Usability Workshop earlier this month they focused on some of the most effective rich media elements eCommerce sites can feature to increase usability and boost conversion. These included perhaps more obvious techniques like lifestyle imagery and providing a zoom on images, along with alternative product images and incorporating social shopping and user ratings.

A website that was identified for special honours in interactivity was Philips for its simplicity and ease of use when making multiple product comparisons across their range of lines and models.

One rich media element that’s of rising interest and importance is video and interactive video. Apparel retailers such as ASOS already include a video catwalk to give a more realistic portrayal of customers’ potential fashion purchases. Certainly one of the newest and best examples of interactive video comes from across the pond courtesy of department store JCPenny. The launch of their interactive, fully-integrated, virtual runway show allows full 360 degree views of models in "head-to-toe" looks.

For eCommerce retailers starting to consider their site’s usability and how it might relate to their web analytics reports for bounce rate and shopping cart abandonment, Google Website optimizer offers free website and optimization tools replete with a/b and multivariate testing. More details can be found by visiting the official Website Optimiser site or see last month's post on retailer Shuh to read about it in action.

Overall, website usability still might be one of the last things to get embedded in the processes and working culture of some eCommerce retailers. More than ever though, appreciating your website from the end user's point of view is essential for delivering conversion, customer loyalty and satisfaction. It also embraces innovation with usability now driving some of the latest and best ideas and developments to be found on the net.

Posted by Brendan Patterson, Google Retail Team

Introducing the Google Conversion Professionals

Inspired by our last post about analysing your website to generate more sales but not sure if you're ready to go it alone?

Last week we launched the Google Conversion Professionals programme, a network of conversion experts that can help you grow your business by implementing best practices around website analysis and testing.

Google Conversion Professionals (GCPs) are specialist consultancies or agencies who have demonstrated their expertise in improving conversion rates. GCPs can help you expand your business and get the most out of your online spend by implementing best practices around website analysis and testing.

Typically, GCPs help boost conversions by improving marketing effectiveness, website usability, and product and service offerings. Some also offer platform hosting and systems integration capability.

We've found that continuous analysis and improvement is key to have the best possible online sales and ROI. Google offers a number of free programs to help you, like Google Analytics and Website Optimiser as well as tips to help improve your performance.

If you are looking for some expert advice or need a little help getting started, please visit the Google Conversion Professionals.

Posted by Lina Goldberg, Retail Team

Testing and tuning your website to turn clicks into sales

Schuh is at the leading edge of the UK fashion footwear industry and is widely recognised as one of the most innovative independent footwear retailers, not only on the high street but also online. Schuhstore.co.uk has a unique audience of over 400k users per month*. Schuh’s approach to its online store is to constantly test and tune so that any changes to its site are based on customer preference, rather than the hunches of its web designers.

Schuh Web Developer, Patrick Timmons, uses Google Analytics to identify areas of the site to test, "Working through our Analytics numbers allows us to pick out under-performing areas of the site. We can then design and build tests to optimise these pages".

Schuh's ecommerce team noticed their site had a high exit rate on the 'Mens Shoes' category page and decided to run a A/B test, running various new layouts of the page and testing these against the original.

Timmons was pleased with the insights offered by Google Analytics, “The great thing about testing is it allows me to make the right decisions in making site changes. I wasn't sure whether our customers would prefer viewing our products on the current 3X3 grid, a 4X3 grid, or even a 3X2 grid. Also, what image size do customers like?”

Another element of the page the company was keen to test was the use of models on category pages. Model shoots require significant investment and it is therefore important to understand their impact on conversion. Timmons used Google's free testing platform Website Optimiser to run a test and prove with hard data whether models were needed or not.

Schuh began to see results in a week, and it became clear one of the variations in particular was having a significant impact on conversion. The winning variation was variation 3, which displayed fewer but larger images on the page and did not carry the image of the model. The impact of the new layout was a 10% increase in the number of customers adding a product to their shopping basket, and a 6% increase in the number of customers that converted into a sale.

Schuh's team were very pleased with the results of the test, which underlined how integral testing and tuning is to their whole online strategy. “We are planning a complete redesign of our site and will base it on the results of the tests,” explained Timmons. Building a site based on the results of scientific tests essentially puts the design in the hands of your customer. The site can be completely optimised to the way your customers want it to look and feel.

If your site is based on design and aesthetics and not your customers, you could be missing out on valuable sales. Ensure you have an analytics package installed correctly to give you insight to the activity on your site. Use the data to identify areas of the site that need improving. Build bold tests that push boundaries and then run the tests through a testing platform. Implement the winning results from tests and ensure you continue to test as online customer behaviour will continue to change and evolve.

* Source: Nielsen Netratings Decemeber 2008

Posted by Daniel Shellard, Sales Operations Team

A trend that's set to stay in fashion...

While high street sales have borne the brunt of the economic downturn, fashion retailers have continued to see growth in their online web sales during 2008 and 2009.

Last year online fashion retailer ASOS reported a 104% increase in year on year sales. While during the intensely competitive Christmas trading period, Debenhams and M&S recorded 38% and 29% increases in online sales respectively.

In March this year the IMRG Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index reported a stunning rise of 26% in sales of footwear, clothing and accessories. By May, however, sales growth had slowed to 8.2% regarded as a result of both recessionary effects and sunshine.

While online may not be completely impervious from the credit crunch the underlying trend in online fashion retail is still one of growth. The pressures on advertisers now are to ensure that their offerings remain competitive and their digital strategy is effective.

The combination of falling store sales, the Internet’s strength as a sales channel and the high level of research consumers conduct online means providing a compelling eCommerce presence is still very much a necessity.

Google Insights for Search shows strong year on year growth in search interest for leading fashion brands New Look, River Island, ASOS and Littlewoods. Meanwhile the popularity online of value retailers like Matalan, Primark and Peacocks is also shown to be on the up.

More growth online during 2009 still seems likely for fashion and apparel retailers despite the slowdown. With many high street fashion brands like Whistles, River Island and New Look recently having launched transactional websites plus Matalan and other value retailers - who previously shied away from the web - also getting to grips with the channel, the rise of online shopping appears to be a trend that is set to stay in fashion.

Posted by Brendan Patterson, UK Retail Team

Is Multichannel the Future of Retail?

Multi-channel retail has created a proliferation of consumer choice that has fundamentally changed the way shoppers make purchases and interact with businesses. Consumers now conduct a high level of research before buying goods and services - whether it's looking for and reserving an item online before buying in store, or browsing a catalogue and purchasing online. This change in behaviour means it's integral for companies to develop a seamless focus on the customer that cuts across all channels.

Multi-channel shoppers are the most profitable customers for retailers today, spending almost twice as much as their single-channel counterparts. The ways in which customers utilise these channels to make purchases are rapidly expanding. At Argos, for example, multi-channel options such as "click and reserve" - where customers order online and pick-up in-store - has shown a growth of 50 per cent over the past year, and this trend is consistent with other retailers.

Indeed, multi-channel options can increase loyalty and customer satisfaction as well as sales, as Adri Kraa, head of Ikea Shop Online, is keen to point out, "We saw the biggest benefit of multi-channel as the loyalty effect, which we believed was more important than increasing sales."

Mothercare is another good example of a multi-channel retailer that uses numerous selling platforms and offers compelling cross-channel services. In High Street stores shoppers can access Mothercare's full selection of products via a store interface and buy any product for home delivery. Offering the right tools and opportunities to consumers who increasingly expect a seamless experience is essential for maximising returns.

Meeting the new shopping habits of modern customers presents retailers with significant logistical challenges. The potential returns for addressing these, however, are considerable. For example, Best Buy found its multi-channel customers shop twice as often, spend 95 per cent more than single channel shoppers and are 80 per cent more profitable.

There is a key opportunity for retailers to maximise sales by understanding the balance between their online and offline strategy. While online purchases currently represent a smaller percentage of overall sales, e-tailers continue to report double digit growth. In addition, Verdict predicts that by 2012, 44 per cent of all offline sales will be influenced by online.

Moving customers into coherent multiple sales channels is perhaps both the greatest opportunity and test for retailers today. In the current climate getting it right and delivering retail innovation means acute and all important advantages: extra value for consumers that boosts loyalty and satisfaction.

So the question any multi-channel retailer should ask is can your customers find all your products quickly and in a consistent manner regardless of channel? Going forwards it is imperative for multi-channel retailers to leverage their store and brand assets, to protect today but also invest in the future and to continue to try and understand, predict and respond to customer's ever changing needs.

Posted by Brendan Patterson, Retail Team

Announcing the Google Retail UK Blog!

We are excited to announce the launch of our new blog: the Google Retail UK Blog. This blog is designed to provide you with the latest insights, research and information from the world of Retail plus the lowdown on the best Google Tools and tips to get the most out of your digital strategy. We will also feature guest posts and other interesting content.

Enter your email address on the blog to subscribe or use the blog feed in your preferred RSS reader.

We hope you find our regular posts enjoyable and informative. Please email us with any feedback and let us know your thoughts.

Best Regards,
The Google Retail Team
Google UK

Posted by Brendan Patterson, UK Retail Team