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With the economy unravelling, says Web 2.0 for Business specialist WorkLight, the online shopping world is changing as companies look to augment their traditional online shopping destinations by leveraging Web 2.0 tools.
“With the Christmas shopping season getting well under way, it’s clear that Web 2.0 is beginning to change the face of the consumer’s online experience. Online shoppers are now interacting with retailers in much more meaningful ways; ways that transcend the traditional online portal experience,” said David Lavenda, WorkLight’s vice president of marketing and product strategy.
“The financial slowdown is likely to impact retail spending this holiday season, as consumers turn to online storefronts as a way to research and shop frugally without spending hard-earned dollars on gas and store-hopping,” says Lavenda.
“Retailers who invested in meeting customers where they spend their time online – on social networks, desktop and web-based widgets and gadgets, mobile apps and more – will be able to cash in on this consumer groundswell. Being able to meet customers through Web 2.0 will be a strategic advantage to gaining significant holiday market share.”
A pre-holiday Shop.org report found that one fourth of retailers surveyed invested in a Facebook page this year.
Deloitte recently published a study on holiday retail spending and trends revealing that more than one in five consumers (21 per cent) surveyed plan to shop online this holiday season (up from 19 per cent last year), and almost one-quarter (24 per cent) of total dollars are expected to be spent on the Internet.
The study also found that 71 percent of US consumers have made plans to spend at least part of the holiday budgets online, up 5 percentage points as compared to 2004.
“And all of this is enhanced by the uptake of Web 2.0 services, both by buyers and sellers. Retailers should be focusing their marketing dollars on creating a business presence on Web 2.0 services and tools such as Facebook, Yahoo! Widgets, iPhone apps, and others, in order to capture customers during the holiday season using highly-viral, low-cost channels,” said Lavenda.
“As the effects of the credit crunch come home to roost, most experts are predicting that online shopping will rise, despite the general downward trend in retail sales this holiday season. It’s clear that a new economy is being built on the Internet, and it’s being built on the benefits of Web 2.0 technology,” he added.
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