Zak Stambor says, “Shoppers clicking from smartphone search ads account for 30% of total online Orders stemming from search ads, according to an Adlucent analysis of 32 retailers’ Google Product Listing Ad and Extended Text Ad spending over the holidays. Retailers’ increased paid search ad spending paid off over the holidays, according to data from 32 of digital marketing agency Adlucent’s retail clients for the period of Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 24) to Christmas Day. Shoppers clicking from paid search ads spent 45% more year over year during that period, thanks in large part to retailers... [...]

Ginny Marvin says, “Amazon led the way among big retailers in increasing their digital holiday advertising spend, according to ad sales intelligence firm MediaRadar, which analyzed sales data from October and November 2016 and 2015. The e-commerce giant increased digital ad spend during the early holiday push by 224 percent year over year. Linear TV ad spend also rose — by 76 percent — while its print investment dropped 10 percent. “Most retailers are reducing print spend while focusing on other channels, like linear TV and digital,” said Todd Krizelman, CEO and co-founder of MediaRadar... [...]

Andrew Gazdecki says, “Any good marketer knows to keep an eye on the future to stay ahead of the curve on new trends, emerging marketing channels, and other fresh ideas to deliver brand messages. With 2016 in the rear-view mirror and 2017 flying down the pipeline, now is the time to start examining what the New Year is going to mean for marketing. Here are six marketing growth strategies to help your small business succeed in 2017. Marketing Growth Strategies for Small Businesses 1. Mobile-Centric is the Name of the Game Over the past couple years, we’ve seen mobile overtake desktop in... [...]

Annie Pilon says, “If you plan to run a business in 2017, you need an online marketing strategy. And if you plan to up your online marketing game in the new year, you might be able to benefit from some advice from members of our small business community. Here are some of their top tips for upping your online marketing game in 2017. Create Awesome Headlines That Convert When creating content for the new year, you need to make sure you have strong headlines. Those headlines can draw people’s attention and help you ultimately gain more customers. Here, Hassan Ud-deen shares tips on creating... [...]

Annie Pilon says, “After the holiday shopping season comes the season of holiday returns. So if your small business sold a lot of gift items over the past couple of months, you’re likely about to be inundated with customers looking to return or exchange at least some of those items. Whether you run a local retail store or an ecommerce business, it’s important that you’re prepared to handle those returns in a way that’s satisfactory for both your customers and your business. Here are 15 tips for handling holiday returns. Tips for Handling Holiday Returns Have a Clear Policy in Place The... [...]

SBT team says, “New year, new you. At least that’s what everyone’s saying. You jot down a bunch of resolutions. You close the year out with wonderful intentions. But, by the time January 15th hits, everything still looks the same. You look around, and nothing’s changed since December. Of course, this sends your mood off into a negative direction, and thus starts the vicious cycle of “maybe next year.” Start 2017 on the right foot with these 5 tips. How to Succeed in 2017 Pick one word for 2017 Running through a list of a dozen resolutions every month gets old. Eventually, you’ll... [...]

Reuters team says, “Amazon.com Inc. said it had its best-ever holiday season, shipping more than 1 billion items worldwide through its Prime membership program. The company said on Tuesday more than 72 percent of its customers worldwide shopped through mobile devices, adding that Dec. 19 was the busiest shopping day this holiday season. The Amazon Echo home assistant and its smaller version, Echo Dot, were best sellers, said Jeff Wilke, chief executive of Amazon’s Worldwide Consumer division. “Despite our best efforts and ramped-up production, we still had trouble keeping them... [...]

Adam Lella says, “comScore has reported very healthy online spending numbers this holiday season, but it didn’t start out that way. Early in the season we saw slowing desktop e-commerce year-over-year growth, marked by a sharp dip in the 7-day trailing average trend. This waning growth coincided with the days immediately following the U.S. Presidential Election, signaling that consumers might have been experiencing a post-election “hangover,” in which the uncertainty about the future caused a temporary pause in spending for some consumers. This effect was short-lived, as spending growth... [...]

Stefany Zaroban says, “The biggest web traffic day for top 100 holiday-oriented retail sites so far this month is Sunday, Dec. 11, and Dec. 4 was a close second, according to a new Internet Retailer analysis. Sundays were big days for holiday shopping online in December, as a new analysis of traffic volume to top retail sites shows that web visits peaked on Sunday, Dec. 11, and two other Sundays—Dec. 4 and Dec. 18—were the second and fourth biggest days. The top 100 holiday-oriented retail sites experienced 205.6 million smartphone and desktop visits from consumers around the globe on... [...]

Jenny Beightol says, “It is much more cost effective to keep a customer than it is to find a new one. In fact, according to a report by Adobe, returning customers account for up to 40% of a company’s revenue. Trouble is, a 2016 small business survey revealed that while 72% of small businesses plan to allocate the majority of their marketing budget to customer acquisition, only 28% plan to allocate the majority to customer retention. To help marketers refocus their retention plans — especially those in the ecommerce industry — I’ve put together six creative ways to keep... [...]