The ShopLocal Retail Index was up 23 percent for the month of November compared to the same period last year. The Index registered at 764 (benchmarked at 100 for January 2006), setting an all-time record.
Retailers generated this strong growth by launching their holiday promotions earlier in November, offering 16% more deals than last year in their online circulars during the first 23 days of November, and accurately predicting consumers’ desire to plan their holiday shopping early. Even though 50% of holiday shoppers plan to spend less this year than last, retailers were able to generate a 0.9% increase in sales on Black Friday and Saturday. As shoppers look more and more to the web for information to guide them in planning their in-store shopping – Google reports a 20% increase in searches for Black Friday and a 50% increase in searches for Black Friday ads – retailers are using the online circulars to reach more shoppers and reach them earlier.
November 2009 ShopLocal Index highlights include:
- The ShopLocal Index is up 23 percent in November year-over-year, with 1,029 million page views (adjusted), versus 863 million last year. This marks the first time that ShopLocal has served more than 1 billion page views in a single month.
- The Other (Specialty) segment led the way with 85 percent growth, followed closely by the Home & Garden segment with 78 percent growth, and by the Consumer Electronics & Office Supplies segment with 60 percent growth.
- The Department Stores and Mass Merchandiser segment showed the least growth, unchanged from a year ago.
- Consumer page views per visit on a per retailer basis averaged 14.4 for the month of November, up 7% from a year ago.
The ShopLocal Index is the advertising industry’s first market indicator designed to track the influence of the Internet on in-store shopping. Updated monthly, the Index is based on the online activity of more than 25 million monthly consumer visits to in-store local promotions that are presented on the sites of more than 50 major U.S. retailers, including JCPenney, Target, Best Buy, Walgreens and Home Depot. These retailers cover all major retail segments including computers, consumer electronics, office supplies, home improvement, department stores, mass merchants, grocery, drug and various specialty stores. The retailers’ online circular sites are powered by ShopLocal’s SmartCircular technology.
The ShopLocal Retail Index was up 37 percent for the month of October compared to the same period last year. The Index registered at 290 (benchmarked at 100 for January 2006), the second highest reading ever for a non-holiday month.
As the run-up to the holidays begins, consumers remain wary, with lower spending plans for 2009 than 2008. They plan to save money via online comparison shopping (70%, compared to 38% last year), and by starting their holiday shopping in October (22%) or even earlier (another 30%). Savvy retailers took advantage of these trends by offering more deals than ever in October – ShopLocal’s data showed a 16% increase in offers per retailer in October 2009 compared to October 2008 – and showcasing them in their online and print circulars.
October 2009 ShopLocal Index highlights include:
- The ShopLocal Index is up 37 percent in October year-over-year, with 382 million page views (adjusted), versus 295 million last year.
- The Other (Specialty) segment led the way with 79 percent growth, followed by the Home & Garden segment with 53 percent growth. The remaining segments all showed 20-30 percent growth.
- Consumer page views per visit on a per retailer basis averaged 13.1 for the month of October, up 5% from a year ago.
The ShopLocal Index is the advertising industry’s first market indicator designed to track the influence of the Internet on in-store shopping. Updated monthly, the Index is based on the online activity of more than 25 million monthly consumer visits to in-store local promotions that are presented on the sites of more than 50 major U.S. retailers, including JCPenney, Target, Best Buy, Walgreens and Home Depot. These retailers cover all major retail segments including computers, consumer electronics, office supplies, home improvement, department stores, mass merchants, grocery, drug and various specialty stores. The retailers’ online circular sites are powered by ShopLocal’s SmartCircular technology.
The ShopLocal Retail Index was up 29 percent for the month of September compared to the same period last year. The Index registered at 242 (benchmarked at 100 for January 2006).
With a background of positive news on inflation and consumer sentiment, consumers are starting to show some willingness to open their purse strings. Retail sales growth in September reflected this, showing a year-over-year increase for the first time in 13 months. But with real income dropping, consumers continue to search for bargains: over 25% of consumers now say that they only buy clothing on sale, up more than 5 points from a year ago. With Internet usage continuing to grow, consumers are increasingly heading to the online circulars to find the sales that they value so highly.
September 2009 ShopLocal Index highlights include:
- The ShopLocal Index is up 29 percent in September year-over-year, with 316 million page views (adjusted), versus 261 million last year.
- The Home & Garden segment led the way with 54 percent growth, followed by the Department Stores and Mass Merchant segment with 45 percent growth. Most other segments showed 20-30 percent growth.
- The Consumer Electronics, Computers and Office Supplies segment showed the least growth, up 11 percent from a year ago.
- Consumer page views per visit on a per retailer basis averaged 12.1 for the month of September, down 1% from a year ago.
The ShopLocal Index is the advertising industry’s first market indicator designed to track the influence of the Internet on in-store shopping. Updated monthly, the Index is based on the online activity of more than 25 million monthly consumer visits to in-store local promotions that are presented on the sites of more than 50 major U.S. retailers, including JCPenney, Target, Best Buy, Walgreens and Home Depot. These retailers cover all major retail segments including computers, consumer electronics, office supplies, home improvement, department stores, mass merchants, grocery, drug and various specialty stores. The retailers’ online circular sites are powered by ShopLocal’s SmartCircular technology.
The ShopLocal Retail Index was up 39 percent for the month of August compared to the same period last year. The Index registered at 309, the highest-ever level for a non-holiday period (benchmarked at 100 for January 2006).
This steadily strengthening usage of the online versions of major print circulars is a leading example of consumers’ propensity to ROBO – Research Online, Buy Offline – instead of buy online. Even digitally savvy teens prefer shopping in stores instead of online. As of Q2 2009, retail e-commerce sales are only 3.6% of total retail sales, up modestly from 3.3% a year earlier.
August 2009 ShopLocal Index highlights include:
- The ShopLocal Index is up 39 percent in August year-over-year, with 399 million page views (adjusted), versus 307 million last year.
- The Department Stores and Mass Merchant segment led the way with 44 percent growth, but almost every segment (Specialty; Food & Drug; Computers & Office Equipment) showed growth of 35% or more.
- The Home & Garden segment showed the least growth, but was still up 24 percent from a year ago.
- Consumer page views per visit on a per retailer basis averaged 12.8 for the month of August, up 5% from a year ago.
The ShopLocal Index is the advertising industry’s first market indicator designed to track the influence of the Internet on in-store shopping. Updated monthly, the Index is based on the online activity of more than 25 million monthly consumer visits to in-store local promotions that are presented on the sites of more than 50 major U.S. retailers, including JCPenney, Target, Best Buy, Walgreens and Home Depot. These retailers cover all major retail segments including computers, consumer electronics, office supplies, home improvement, department stores, mass merchants, grocery, drug and various specialty stores. The retailers’ online circular sites are powered by ShopLocal’s SmartCircular technology.
The ShopLocal Retail Index was up 31 percent for the month of July compared to the same period last year. The Index registered at 255, the second highest-ever level ever for a non-holiday period (benchmarked at 100 for January 2006).
This trend should continue, as shown by a recent NRF survey republished by eMarketer. Heading into the back-to-school shopping season, 42% of consumers plan to make more use of circulars and 26% plan to make more use of the Internet to help them in planning their shopping. Overwhelmingly, they plan to be shopping in-store: only 22% plan to make any back-to-school purchases online, down from 25% in 2008.
July 2009 ShopLocal Index highlights include:
- The ShopLocal Index is up 31 percent in July year-over-year, with 322 million page views (adjusted), versus 267 million last year.
- The Consumer Electronics, Computers and Office Supplies segment led the way with 49 percent more page views than last year, followed by the Department Stores and Mass Merchant segment with 27 percent growth.
- The Home & Garden segment showed the weakest growth, up just 2 percent from a year ago.
- Consumer page views per visit on a per retailer basis averaged 11.4 for the month of July, up 3% from a year ago.
The ShopLocal Index is the advertising industry’s first market indicator designed to track the influence of the Internet on in-store shopping. Updated monthly, the Index is based on the online activity of more than 25 million monthly consumer visits to in-store local promotions that are presented on the sites of more than 50 major U.S. retailers, including JCPenney, Target, Best Buy, Walgreens and Home Depot. These retailers cover all major retail segments including computers, consumer electronics, office supplies, home improvement, department stores, mass merchants, grocery, drug and various specialty stores. The retailers’ online circular sites are powered by ShopLocal’s SmartCircular technology.
Loading ...
(4.00 out of 5)
Comments: None