What did we learn from Click Frenzy?

 



Most of the media around Click Frenzy – Australia’s answer to the huge weekend of online sales over Thanksgiving in the US – focused on the failure of the Click Frenzy site to cope with the volume of people trying to access it in its early days. That the volume of traffic to the site surprised even the organisers who claimed prior to the event that they would be able to deal with traffic extremes, suggests there was at least plenty of interest.

 

 

Grant Arnott, the man behind Click Frenzy, stated that 1.55m shoppers, or “one in twenty Australians” had participated in the Australia’s first national online shopping event, which was “encouraging” for local industry. Most of the figures provided relate to the huge increase in traffic; sales figures are harder to come by but whilst not mentioning the results, many retailers are claiming they did see a substantial lift in sales during the event.

So despite the issues with the site, on the surface it appears Click Frenzy had it's fair share of winners. Here are 4 learnings we've taken from Click Frenzy:

1.       Aussies are up for online bargains. With a purported 1.55m visitors to the site, an astounding 28% engagement statistic on Facebook, and an increase of 240% across the 24 hour period in one of the online payment systems used (eWAY), it’s clear that Australians have an appetite for this kind of sale.

 

2.       Click Frenzy did a great job at creating enormous interest. Whilst Cyber Monday has been around since 2005, this was the first year that Australia was able to raise maintsream awareness of this focused online discounting sales event.

3.       Retailers can participate without being part of a central site. Brands such as David Jones who didn’t participate in the Click Frenzy site (who instead ran an online “Christmas Frenzy” sale) announced a record day in online sales. This makes complete sense and proves that with the right offers and targeted advertising, retailers have the ability to intercept people looking for online bargains without having to be on the Click Frenzy site.

4.       Be all in, or all out. There is general perception that Australian retailers are playing catch up with the rest of the world when it comes to eCommerce, and examples of sites not being able to cater for events such as this re-enforces the perception that digital in this country is still an afterthought.

Click Frenzy was created as an attempt to create an Australian answer to the phenomenal success of the Cyber Monday online sales event that occurs after the Thanksgiving weekend. It started in earntes in 2005 and has experienced incredible YOY growth. This year Cyber Monday alone accounted for nearly $2bn in sales - up 30% from the same day last year according to an IBM study. This upswing has been attributed mostly to department stores, who showed a 43% increase in sales, and mobile technology (phones and tablets) which experienced a massive 96% increase since 2011.

Cyber Monday came about as brands began offering online discounts over what was already an important holiday shopping weekend, only 6 weeks out from Christmas. The online offering allowed people to access the great offers available over this weekend, without having to deal with the traffic, crowds and chaos, and stay home to enjoy the holiday weekend.

With over 29% of Australian online shoppers accessing overseas sites, it makes perfect sense to try and attract those back to Australian sites. The question remains – can Aussie retailers do this. Australians are shopping overseas for a number of reasons – including price, free delivery, the strong Australian dollar, but most importantly it is access to range that they want. In addition to range by store, we’ve all of a sudden got access to retailers we don’t even have in this country, and the ability to shop these stores is still a great experience for us here on the other side of the world. Even if we could compete, it’s still going to be hard work winning back those people who love the idea of shopping overseas.

The other thing to consider is the timing of the event. The sales in the US where based around a period of traditionally strong retail sales over a holiday weekend. Perhaps we should be focusing our energies on looking at our equivalents of the Thanksgiving weekend, and giving Aussies who don’t want to face the traffic, crowds and chaos, access to those same deals online. The opportunity could be around the Boxing Day or New Year’s sales, giving those of us sitting at home and relaxing something to do with our shiny new tablets and smartphones!

Do consumers expect in-store wi-fi?

 

 

While it’s becoming very common for cafés, restaurants and even transport operators (while they struggle to turn up on time, at least Sydney Ferries can provide fast internet access) to offer free wi-fi, it’s not something we’ve come to expect from retailers in Australia just yet. But should it be?

According to a US study*, 37% of retailers currently offer wi-fi in store, with that figure set to jump to 56% by 2017. In the UK, brands such as Tesco and Debenhams are beginning to roll out free wi-fi. Why, you might ask, in an age where show-rooming is rife and when close to 40% of customers (depending on which research you quote), are using their smartphones in store to compare prices and product reviews, would I want to offer free wi-fi to encourage this behaviour?

The fact that users have already adopted these behaviours is perhaps the answer in itself.

The rapid growth of mobile is providing us with an opportunity to enhance (possibly revolutionize) the shopping experience, and our role should be to assist our customers with that.

Giving consumers faster internet access in-store without having to eat in to their own data allowance would be appreciated by most and position us as being progressive in using new technology to cater to their needs.

There is also a clear benefit to us – offering free wi-fi will allow us to capture valuable customer details and understand a lot more about their in-store shopping behaviours. When a customer accesses our free wi-fi, we’ll know the moment they enter the store. We’ll be able to learn about their journey within the store. If they’ve created a shopping list on their phone, we’ll be able to potentially learn why they bought some items on their list, and not others, based on the time they spend within certain sections of the store. (Perhaps they simply forgot – in which case a gentle prompt as they head to the check-out might actually help them realise they’ve missed an item).

In addition, we’ll be able to provide personalised, targeted offers within the store itself, and what’s more, customers will be happy about it. 74% of respondents to an OnDeviceResearch survey said they’d be happy for a retailer to send them promotions whilst using in-store wi-fi. These offers could be upsells, new product recommendations, new product trials or discounts. The opportunities become particularly exciting when we start providing offers based on that consumer’s preferences and previous purchase behaviours.

Imagine a male browses the aisles and walks past the men’s grooming section. According to our data it’s been a while since he’s purchased shaving cream so we can provide him with a special offer to purchase the latest Gillette shaving cream and get a free trial of the brand new Gillette 4-blade razor, that encourages him to go back and add it to his basket (Potentially this could be a vendor sponsored offer).

We could also help with some inspiration. A mother of four is buying chicken breast fillets, like she does every week, thinking how she’d love to cook something different with them. She simply taps her smartphone on the POS display, or packaging, and is served up 4 great recipes ideas based on her preferences and shopping behaviours, with ingredients listed, that have been recommended by 27 other mothers who fit a very similar profile (she can even view a quick one minute how-to video overview to see that it’s easy to cook). She can then view the store layout and see exactly where those items are located in the store, along with the rest of the shopping list she compiled at home on her phone, to speed up her shopping trip.

And we can help customers choose the right product. The second most frequent activity with in-store mobile devices in the US is searching for product reviews (41% according to the JWire “Mobile Audience Insights Report: Q3 2012,” Nov 8, 2012) so being able to make this easier for consumers and thinking about other ways to enhance that behaviour, is another reason for customers to consider us over competitors.

These are just a couple of examples of what we could do with wi-fi in place in our stores – with it the opportunities to understand our customer and provide a better and more personalised shopping experience are endless. What appears certain is that in-store use of mobiles is going to continue to increase and before too long it will be simply expected that retailers provide free wi-fi. Our opportunity is to embrace this technology and be seen to be an innovator and leader, and ensuring by the time wi-fi is the norm, we are well ahead of the game.

Seems our Facebook friends are thinking the same way...

^*Motorola Solutions, “What’s Driving Tomorrow’s Retail Experience?” July 2, 2012



5 ½ ways the smartphone is revolutionising the in-store shopping experience

 

Mobile is already starting to play a big role with shoppers in-store, with over half of consumers consulting their mobile phone to aid decisions in-store. Whether 2013 is the long awaited ‘year of the mobile’ is yet to be seen, but the examples below make it clear that mobile will revolutionize the shopping experience by delivering a new level of convenience and value. With around 65% of Australians already owning a smartphone, the revolution could happen sooner than we think.

1.       Apple’s Easypay self-assisted checkout

     One of the more complete examples, Apple’s Easy Pay almost completely takes away the need for any in-store assistance at all. Whilst browsing the store, you simply scan the barcode of the product you’re interested in. You can then find out all you need to know including specs, ratings, reviews and more. You can complete the purchase then and there by paying via your iTunes account. Not all retailers can close the complete loop like Apple, but they’re on their way…

2.       Scan and shop

 

     A number of retailers, including Sainsbury’s and Walmart, have been testing this new service that allows users to shop with their iPhone or Android phone, and pay at the counter without unloading their basket or trolley. Users ‘check-in’ when they enter the store via their app, and then they scan the barcode of the items as they pick them up and put them into their basket.

When they’ve finished, they go to the register where the products they have scanned are directly transferred to the POS system without having to be re-scanned, allowing them to then complete payment as usual. An added benefit is that the shopper can see the cost of the basket as they add items to the basket. An alternate version of this approach allows users to follow the same process, but instead of adding the items to their basket, they simply walk around the shop, scan items without adding them to their basket, pay at the check-out and their goods are delivered to them at home.

 

 

3.      Scan-as-you shop devices

     Recognising that not every one of their shoppers has a smartphone, Tesco is planning to rollout scan-as-you-shop devices after a successful pilot program ran throughout 60 of its stores. Shoppers ‘check-out’ the scanners before entering the shop, and they simply use the scanners to scan the barcodes on items in the same way as the previous smartphone example. Whilst new to Tesco, these devices have been around for some time with Waitrose offering the Quick Check since 1996. Perhaps now we are seeing demand catch up with technology.

 

4.       Smart Cart integrates smartphone and tablet

     Taking the power of mobility to the next level, SK Telecom is testing a Smart Cart service in China that synchronises tablet equipped shopping carts to a shopper’s smartphone. With the app downloaded, shoppers can search, view coupons and create shopping lists at home. When they visit the store, the smartphone is synchronised with the tablet, effectively bridging the gap between the pre and during shopping stages. The system can then accurately identify where the shopper is in the store and provide a range of things such as product locators, product information, special offers, recommendations and more. When they arrive at the check-out the selected items are transferred to the POS system for payment.

 

4 ½.    And then there's the "Smarter Cart"

     Whole Foods have put Microsoft to work to develop a Kinect-powered shopping cart that uses  a tablet and scanner to read the items you place in the shopping cart. It includes a nice feature that automatically crosses items off your shopping list as you drop them in the cart. In addition, the carts are self-propelled and follow you around as you shop!

 

 5.         The ultimate automatic checkout

     It appears that Coles is working with IBM to test a system that lets you shop and pay without having to scan the items or stop to pay at the check-out. German shopping outlet Metro put in place a similar system recently where an RFID tag on each product transmits details of the trolley content to a Smartphone for payment via a synched credit card account.

 

 

     Whilst there are no doubt logistical issues to overcome with the implementation for all of these options, including security and theft concerns, the amount of trials taking place clearly suggests these innovations will soon become reality.
 

     The opportunity: It’s likely that somewhere in the business we are trialling some or all of these right now. Regardless, it is clear that the combination of the internet and smartphones, are putting digital at the heart of the in-store, bricks and mortar shopping experience. We have a number of great apps already that have the potential to go a step further and create a seamless bridge between the on and offline shopping experience of our customers.







Growth of the second screen

 

One of the interesting facets of the new multi-screen consumer is the emergence of the TV second screen, with 60% of Australians having used the internet whilst watching TV – most noticeably on a smartphone, tablet or laptop device. Statistics say that 1 in 3 of us do this daily.

And whilst much of that behaviour is spent checking email, surfing the web, checking social media and other functional tasks, a small but growing percentage have claimed to be interacting with what is currently on TV, or have been prompted to search for something based on what they’ve just seen on TV.

Not surprisingly then, we’ve seen TV networks launch a host of TV viewing partner apps for smartphone and tablet designed to extend the TV experience and encourage users to interact and participate in the TV programs they are watching. The list includes Fango (Seven), JumpIn (Nine) and the latest arrival Zeebox (Ten), which has worked successfully in the US.

Fango from the Seven Network allows you to check into your favourite shows while watching, chat with fellow fans through Twitter and Facebook or filter to your own Facebook friends, vote on polls in real time and take part in quizzes, trivia contests, and earn yourself badges and achievements.

Check out the website

Jump-in from the Nine Network is currently being relaunched after the introduction earlier this year to co-incide with the Olympics coverage. Referred to by Peter Wiltshire as "Fango on steroids", the app was received as somewhat underwhelming, and the network has gone back to the drawing board, with plans to re-launch in the near future.

 

Zeebox from Network Ten only recently launched into the Australian marketplace after strong showings overseas. Touting itself as "your TV sidekick", what sets this aside from the rest is the addition of "zeetags" - an interactive tag that appears while watching a show or an advertisement that leads into more information for the viewer. For example, a mum watching a cooking show and seeing that the day's theme looked at game meat means an advertiser could look to create a zeetag that showed more info on game and where it could be purchased.

Check out the website



Its early days with these apps and as such the TV networks are keeping the results fairly close to their chest. Fango have provided some initial stats that it has achieved since its launch in November 2011 that include:

-          537,000 downloads

-          66% Smartphone vs 34% tablet usage

-          64% Female

-          1.2M total check-ins

-          August saw 42 actions per user and 62% of check-ins during prime time

To date a lot of the focus of these apps has been to encourage people to access the apps and have conversations with other users that are interacting with the TV shows. My personal belief is that Facebook can do that job – the real value in these second screen apps is as a way to extend the TV offering and provider greater value.

Being able to learn more about a particular character, find out about the actor, view the back story, or quickly catch up on the show are just some of the ways you can engage deeper with the show.

The exciting opportunity for advertisers is to provide relevant content, offers, and, ideally, purchases based on a combination of the content of the program and what we know about that user. This scenario below is a particularly interesting one for online shopping:

As users are effectively logged into the app, we know when they’re watching TV. If we get them to provide their online shop login or Everyday Rewards number when they first download the app, we'll then know when an Everyday Rewards member is watching TV. Whilst they are watching a cooking show, the recipe being cooked along with 4 similar recipes appear on their ‘Zeebox’ app. They can browse the recipes, find out more, add to their favourites, and potentially add to their WW online shop basket, or taking it a step further, purchase within the app. In addition, as the user is effectively logged in, what they are doing within the app is synced across smartphone, tablet and laptop versions.

There are other potential ways to leverage these second screen apps. Chevy used it to great effect during the 2012 Super Bowl effectively trying to ‘hijack’ the Superbowl and draw viewers to their app during the ad break, rather than focus on the 50 odd advertisers selling their wares in the TV ad breaks.
 

This is a very interesting digital extension to TV and there will be opportunities for retailers here. Watch this space.

The Opportunity: The shopping example is just one way we can take advantage of these second screen activities. We’ll also investigate ways to incorporate the second screen to enhance all of our future TV activity, whether it be straight TVCs, sponsorships or partnerships.

Taking display banner engagement to the extreme

This example is shamelessly stolen from a recent presentation from our friends at Google. It is an example of a very simple but effective way of using rich media to drive interaction. What I like best about it, is that even though it’s slightly absurd, the messaging and out-take is 100% linked to the brand and the brand campaign.

Watch a video of the ad in action here

Food rising fast on Pinterest

According to an overseas study by business intelligence firm RJ Metrics, food is the fastest-growing category on Pinterest. Currently the fourth most popular pinboard category, it is also the category that gets the most repins, generating on average more than 50% repins than Style & Fashion which is the second most re-pinned category.

Here are the top ten categories on Pinterest (globally):

1. Home (17.2%)
2. Arts and Crafts (12.4%)
3. Style/Fashion (11.7%)
4. Food (10.5%)
5. Inspiration/Education (9.0%)
6. Holidays/Seasonal (3.9%)
7. Humor (2.1%)
8. Products (2.1%)
9. Travel (1.9%)
10. Kids (1.8%)

Interestingly, 80% of all pins on Pinterest are re-pins.

The most popular source for pins is online marketplace etsy.com which accounts for just over 3% of pins, followed by google.com, flickr.com, tumblr.com and weheartit.com.

The Opportunity: While Aussie interest in Pinterest took off at a skyrocketing rate, it has slowed its metoric rise in the last month or so and is levelling out. Pinterest is a great source of ideas and inspiration for audience and the highly visual nature of Pinterest is well suited to beautifully shot images. This social media platform is tailor made to our mainstream, working mums. There is little evidence of direct ROI from Pinterest at this stage. To play a credible role here we need to participate in the community, providing and curating content, without a direct drive to sales push.

Flybuys Search toolbar – earn points whilst browsing

Flybuys and Yahoo7 have joined forces to create a Flybuys search toolbar that allows Flybuys members to earn points for ‘valid searches’. The free toolbar app can be downloaded by registered Flybuys members and allows them to earn up to 100 points per calendar month, per household.

Details of what a valid search is are a little sketchy but Flybuys and Yahoo7 claim there are checks in place to ensure repetitive searches aren’t rewarded.

The move would seem to be in favour of Yahoo7, potentially driving a much needed new influx of users to the Yahoo7 search engine. My initial thoughts were that in addition to providing another points earning avenue for their members, the real benefit for Flybuys would be to learn more about the search behaviour of their members – however they claim that they will not have access to this information.

We’ll keep an eye on this as it evolves and report on the success.