Online Retailers See Strong Cyber Monday Sales

U.S. online retailers reported strong holiday sales results on Cyber Monday (Nov.30) 2009 compared to the same period last year, according to a new report from Coremetrics.

Cyber Monday sales were up 24.1 percent compared to Black Friday 2009.  Consumers spent more per online order ($180.03 versus $170.19 for an increase of 5.8 %) compared to Black Friday.

Total sales were up 13.7 percent compared to Cyber Monday 2008 with the average dollar amount spent per online order jumping 38.2 percent from the previous Cyber Monday ($180.03 versus $130.24), led by apparel retailers.

"We are seeing good online buying momentum because people are looking for the very best deals, and are going online for the most convenient way to shop," said John Squire, chief strategy officer, Coremetrics.

"We expect to see one more spike in online spending when the final 'free-shipping-is-ending' promotions are announced. Until then, retailers will watch consumer behavior very carefully to gauge what's working well and what they need to adjust. The end result will be a boon to consumers, as retailers pull out all the stops to entice consumers to make that purchase."

Consumers purchased nearly 10 percent more items per order on Cyber Monday 2009 compared to Black Friday and nearly 30 percent more compared to Cyber Monday 2008.

Apparel retailers and jewelry retailers saw the biggest increase in the average dollar amount consumers spent per online order, up 26.4 percent and 14.3 percent respectively.

Sports apparel and gear retailers experienced a rise of nearly 55 percent in the number of new consumers visiting their sites. However the average dollar amount consumers spent per online order dipped slightly by 3.1 percent.

Department stores also had success attracting new consumers to their websites, with a 33 percent increase. Overall, the average order value was down nearly 17 percent.

 

Have You Read This?

>Cyber Monday Deals Attract Online Shoppers

>Walmart Wins Thanksgiving, Amazon Wins Black Friday

>Google Puts Black Friday Searches Up 20 Percent

 

 

MySpace To Host Exclusive Stream Of “New Moon” Red Carpet

Don't be surprised if MySpace experiences a big traffic spike on Monday, November 16th.  The social network intends to host a live stream of red carpet arrivals at the world premiere of The Twilight Saga: New Moon.

In one sense, this could have been something of a cheap trick; it's a good bet that boatloads of young girls would tune in even if they could only catch a glimpse of Robert Pattinson and listen to a random correspondent babble.  MySpace is demonstrating its influence and taking things quite a bit further, though, offering fans an exclusive experience.

According to an official statement emailed to WebProNews, "Viewers will . . . be able to take part by posting comments or questions to The Twilight Saga: New Moon Premiere MySpace page that may then be presented to the celebrities during the broadcast."

What's more, "Anya Marina, writer and performer of 'Satellite Heart' on The Twilight Saga: New Moon Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, will co-host the broadcast."

The Twilight Saga: New Moon Trailer and Premiere Announcement New Moon Premiere | MySpace Video

So consider passing word of the event along to any relatives or friends who are Twilight fans.  And with respect to what sort of traffic numbers MySpace might see, it should interest even the franchise's biggest detractors to know that the New Moon trailer received a whopping 4.2 million views within 24 hours of its debut on MySpace.

Have You Read This?

> Paramount Follows Up "Paranormal" Marketing With More Social Fun

> Facebook, MySpace May Share Content

> MySpace Introduces New Music Features

What Americans Did Online In July

In July Americans went online searching for information about green initiatives related to automotive transportation driven by the launch of the federal "Cash for Clunkers" program, with visitations to green sites growing 15 percent in July to 17.5 million visitors, according to comScore.

Auto manufacturer sites saw growth as well, jumping 14 percent to 27.1 million visitors, representing a high for the category in the past year. General Motors lead the category with 7 million visitors (up 20%). Toyota landed in the second position with 6.9 million (up 46%) and also ranked second among the top gaining properties in July. Ford ranked third with 6.2 million (up12%), followed by Honda with 4 million (up 23%) and Chrysler with 3.1 million (up 20%).

"The 'Cash for Clunkers' program contributed largely to the growth of Green sites and Auto Manufacturer sites in July," said Jack Flanagan, comScore executive vice president.

"The combination of owning a more fuel-efficient car while receiving a cash-back bonus really sparked the interest of many Americans, who were prompted to visit these sites to gather information on the program and ultimately determine whether it was something from which they might benefit."

Visits to toy sites saw a surge during the month attracting 18.6 million visitors, representing a 14 percent increase over June. Toy R Us led the category with 6.6 million visitors, followed by LEGO with 2.9 million and Disney Shopping with 1.6 million.

Visits to teen related sites also saw a spike in growth, with the category up 10 percent to 29.7 million during the month. Alloy Digital Network was the most popular attracting 11.6 million visitors (up 15%). Zwinky had 6.8 million visitors (up13%), followed by myYearbook with 5 million visitors (up 8%) and Nickelodeon Teens with 3.2 million visitors.

Google sites remained the most visited property in July with nearly 158 million visitors, followed closely by Yahoo sites with 156.5 million visitors and Microsoft sites with 129 million visitors. Facebook moved up again in the rankings to the number 5 spot, making its highest-ever ranking. Answers site climbed 5 spots to #26 with 28.4 million visitors. Gorilla Nation moved up 4 spots to #31, while Twitter moved up the rankings to the #42 position with 20.1 million visitors.

AOL's Platform-A led the July Ad Focus ranking, reaching 91 percent of all Americans online. Yahoo Network ranked second, reaching 88 percent of the population, while ValueClick Networks ranked third with 83 percent reach.

Yahoo sites and Microsoft Media Network each climbed one spot grabbing the #5 and #9 positions, respectively. Google climbed two spots to the #8 position with a reach of 77 percent.

Search Engine and Social Traffic from Press Releases

Press releases are a form of online marketing that we don't discuss very often. They don't have the new and exciting appeal of social media or even search engine marketing, but they've been around a lot longer and are still working. In fact, they can play right into those other forms.

"Search engine rankings are arguably the most important small business marketing tool available today because it drives Web traffic -- and potential prospects -- to a small business' Web site," a PRWeb spokesperson tells WebProNews. "However, because improving search rankings is desirable, achieving results can be both challenging and highly competitive."

PRWeb shared a case study with us, involving a firm that typically sees a boost in search engine rankings and a 50% spike in web traffic after they issue a release. In fact, for one release in particular, the firm saw a spike of 400% on two different Web sites, and the firm doesn't believe they were from the same users. They also incorporate social media tools like Twitter to extend the "shelf life" of press releases, and say that drives additional traffic.

"If you want a release to rank highly in search engines you have to use key words and link those to your Web site," says Peter Figueredo, CEO of NETexponent, the subject of the case study.  "In addition, you need to put them in the release a few of times, for example in the headline, the sub-headline and again in the body. This is different from a traditional news release with a catchy headline where you may not have your key words included." 

"When we included a link to our press releases on Twitter and other social media networks, we saw these both expanded the scope of distribution and the extended the longevity of the announcement," adds Figueredo.  "With other news releases we saw an initial spike in Web site traffic on the first two days and then it dropped off.  With these features we've seen increases in traffic up to five days after the news release was issued."

Some have suggested that Twitter could actually replace the press release. I wouldn't go that far, but it provides a complimentary service for announcing news quickly. The press release just has much broader potential. That hasn't stopped at least one company from offering a service that provides one line "Twitter-style" press releases.

When we think of press releases, we often think of distribution, which is a huge part of it definitely. But when using a newswire service like PRWeb, BusinessWire, PRNewswire, etc., don't forget about your own website as well. Earlier this year I discussed how some companies' own press centers are holding back some marketing opportunities for them.

Your site should have a section for press releases, and that should be up to date with the latest release when it goes out. You'd be surprised at how often these go without being updated even when a press release has been spotted elsewhere. It is also a good idea to link to any company blogs, Twitter accounts, or any other place where company announcements are made.

Another thing I notice is that many company press pages also do not have RSS feeds set up. Some offer different kinds of press alerts, but otherwise, they are relying on people to frequently check back to see what is happening. Google does this well. They announce a lot of their news via their wide range of blogs (which is a great strategy in itself), and while their press release section doesn't get nearly as many updates, they offer a feed so that users know when it has been updated. They also provide links to other press-related resources where their latest info can be obtained.

The bottom line is that press releases inform interested parties of what is going on with your business. Despite their name, they're not just about the press anymore. The web has made them available to anyone. Social media is an extension of this, and opens up the opportunity for sharing. Search engine rankings of course bring releases right to searchers. Make your releases good.

Do you get good boosts in traffic from press releases? Talk to ArisYulianta and Friends... about it.