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



Posted by Brendan Patterson, UK Retail Team

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

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

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

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

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