The Email Research Center

I spent this week in Phoenix at eTail West. In my opinion, the best main stage presentation of the conference was given by Larry Freed, CEO of Foresee Results. During his presentation What Influenced Consumers’ Satisfaction and Purchase Behavior in the Challenging 2008 Holiday Season, he shared some very interesting data on what drove shoppers to the Top 40 retail websites during the past holiday season.

The #1 driver, according to Foresee Results, was positive past experiences. 40% of shoppers going to these sites were direct load based on their past experience--highlighting the fact that the best online marketing tactic out there is superior customer service. The #2  traffic driver was email at 28%. The following graph highlights the top 5 traffic driver as well as a number of social media sources that drive site traffic. Freed summarized his take on social media by saying that, "while social media does drive quality traffic, it simply does not drive much volume--at least not yet."



The most interesting comparisson on this data is the one between email and search. Email drove twice as much site traffic as search. Even more, the detailed data from Foresee indicated that the traffic was also higher quality as measured by satisfaction ratings, likelihood to return to the site, and repeat purchase intent.

Those reading may be tempted to say that I am merely evangelizing email since I work for an ESP. Yes, I believe email is the best online marketing tool out there, but there is a reason--your best and most loyal customers subscribe to email. Acquisition efforts drive prospects to your site that are going to check you out. Retention efforts bring people back in that have already checked you out and decided you were worthy of their attention. If retailers want to target to the people most likely to buy their products, they need to communicate value. Email is the best tool for that job because of its univeral online adoption and targeting capabilities. If retailers want those subscribers to stay subscribers, they need to provide a great customer experience.

As you might imagine, the feeling at eTail was very different this year--the economy was universally top of mind. So was retention marketing. For the first time I can recall in my professional experience, it felt like retention marketing was getting the credit and focus it deserves. The focus of many retailers seems to be shifting from acquisition to retention marketing. Given that 68% of shoppers were driven to these top retail sites through retention marketing efforts this past holiday season, it seems about time!