The Consequences of Negative User Reviews
The results are in: A recent survey found that nearly 80 percent (four of five) consumers change their minds about an online purchase when they run into negative user reviews. When market analysis firm Cone Inc. conducted this same survey in 2010, that figure was 67 percent, which suggests that user reviews exert more of an influence than ever before. And though there’s no quieting the trolls out there, we have every reason to believe that an emphasis on accurate, informative copy will take care of the whopping majority of negative user feedback. After all, it wasn’t too long ago that one major retailer found 75 percent of negative customer reviews result from faulty product descriptions and copy.
Read the rest at digitaltrends.com.
Smartphone Shopping: Trend, not Tidal Wave
We’ve recently had a lot to say about the importance of optimizing online content for smartphones. There’s no doubt that the growing trend of smartphone shopping will have a big impact on tomorrow’s online marketing and advertising budgets. But what about today? Findings from Yahoo! and Ipsos indicate that only 7 percent of smartphone usage is dedicated to shopping. So while manufacturers are advised to keep an eye on the smartphone trend, there’s no question that good ol’ fashioned computers still account for the majority of online shopping.
Find out more about smartphone use at emarketer.com.
PETCO Champions Video
VideoRetailer provides us with an interesting case study of video marketing. The company: PETCO. The strategy: Use video to establish brand identity and increase conversion rates.
Check out PETCO’s website and you’ll find video on nearly every page. The same goes for their Facebook page, where video posts attract hundreds of comments. But take note: part of the success of video is in the window dressing. A recent PETCO email campaign found that users didn’t watch a video when prompted by a text link. The lesson? Embed the video player for click-through success and increased conversion rates.
Check out the methods at videoretailer.org.
