Retailers in the UK are using a wide array of online marketing channels to push products to consumers, new research finds.
Shoppers in the growing luxury market are using shoppable style guides such as Fashion Beans and SheerLuxe to inform and influence their purchasing decisions through tablets such as the iPad.
The data from Rakuten Marketing, which analysed trends from 200,000 UK publishers, said the results meant brand managers had their work cut out due to “ever expanding” marketing channels.
The UK is widely regarded as one of the most sophisticated online shopping markets and is continuing to being heavily targeted by global players Amazon and eBay. But researchers from Euromonitor think future retail power could be seen in Asia where smartphone penetration is higher.
“As a result, shopper insight data is becoming essential to simplify the process and allow more informed decisions to drive measurable return on investment,” said Rakuten Marketing MD Mark Haviland.
Omni-channel marketing is concentrated more on a seamless approach to the consumer experience through all available shopping channels, i.e. mobile internet devices, computers, brick-and-mortar, television, radio, direct mail, catalog and so on.
When it came to the £1.4bn beauty market Brits remain highly motivated by a timely deal, with 40 per cent of beauty sales through the network incentivised by vouchers or special offers. Upmarket beauty retailer Feel Unique offers 10 per cent off when customers sign up to a newsletter, while the second biggest driver of overall beauty purchases was loyalty and cash back schemes such as Nectar and Quidco, which accounted for a third of sales through the site.
