There are 100s of Consumer Shopping Engines

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(No Transcript)
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What will be covered in this Consumer Shopping
Engine presentation?

• Why use Consumer Shopping Engines?
• How do they work?
• Where should product data originate?
• Which channels should I use?
• How should the data change for optimum
  performance?
• When do I know whats working and how can I
  improve my marketing performance?

Michael Lambert CEO Co-founder
There are 100s of Consumer Shopping Engines
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Statistics on CSE Usage
Why CSEs?
Total e-Commerce Sales 2007 e-Commerce 175
billion 7 of total retail. 2008 (E)
e-Commerce 204 billion 17 increase 2009 (E)
e-Commerce 235 billion 15 increase 2010 (E)
e-Commerce 267 billion 14 increase 2012 (E)
e-Commerce 334 billion 11 increase Forrester
Research, February 2008

• The shopping comparison marketplace is growing
  at 30 year-over-year. comScore Media
  Metrix, 2007
• Rather than solely relying on an online ad
  campaign, e-tailers may benefit this holiday
  shopping season from comparison shopping engine
  resultstraffic to comparison shopping engines
  increased 13 year-over-year, Hitwise, 2008
• 12 of all customer acquisitions arrive via
  Shopping Destination Sites, including comparison
  shopping engines, marketplaces, affiliate sites,
  and other shopping destination sites.

• You are catching consumers in the act of
  ..consuming.
• The first consumer sale often pays for the CSE
  overhead.
• The overall cost of customer acquisition is
  relatively low.
• Your competitors are.

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How do CSEs work?

• Consumer Shopping Engines spend millions
  annually to attract consumers to their site.
• Consumers find products they would like to buy,
  and click to a merchants site on the product
  they were reviewing.
• The merchant pays for this lead, typically per
  click
• The successful merchant converts that lead into
  a sale, and loyal customer

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How do CSEs work?
Pay Per Click Consumer Shopping Engines
Advantage and Challenge
Advantage PPCs assist online retailers in
locating and attracting customers for
re-marketing for an indefinite period of time,
and fees could be considered well spent for
Branding alone. True profit is found from
future sales of the new consumers, or the
reduction in cost of customer acquisition.
Challenge Marketing must be closely managed and
adjusted to reach a point of significant
efficiency.
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Marketplaces
MARKETPLACE PROCESS

• Consumer goes to a marketplace
• Consumer clicks on product of choice within the
  marketplace
• Consumer purchases products
• Marketplace sends order information to merchant
  to fulfill

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Product Data Origin
Data Origin?

• Your Web Store
• A spreadsheet
• An accounting package
• Type it in to CSE directly
• HINT The results of a product feed is a
• consumer to a page on your web store.

The consumer that arrives at your web store will
expect to see the same information that led them
to your web store.
BEST ANSWER Your Web Store.
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Which Channels?

• Billing Methods
• Free
• Pay per Click
• Pay per Performance
• Flat Fee
• Scope
• Global
• Niche Products
• Demographic
• Estimated Income
• Gender
• International
• HOW WELL THEY WORK FOR YOU

Consumer Shopping Engines
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Which Channels?
Free
Monsters
Niche Based
Fixed Monthly Rate
Pay-Per-Performance
(as refund)
(3 per redemption)

• Most Affiliate Aggregators
• All Marketplaces

mCommerce
Geographic

• Major Carriers

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Which Channels?
Other Datacentric marketing opportunities Not
necessarily CSEs
Affiliate aggregators
Specialty marketing sites
Mobile Shopping Sites and Applications
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How should data change?

• 3 major reasons to do CONTENT OPTIMIZATION
• Meet CSE or Marketplace feed standards
• Adjust volatile content for various CSEs and
  Marketplaces Including price
• Fix content anomalies (errors)
• More accurately appear in front of the RIGHT
  consumers
• Optimize Content
• (Enhance List rankings on CSEs)

• SOME EXAMPLES
• Some CSEs dont have a special place to search
  for Manufacturer but you do
• Your storefront may accept proprietary codes that
  have meaning to youbut consumers dont
• Your information may work well for consumers
  already on your site, but not for a more global
  shopping environment
• Some channels accept phrases such as Free
  shipping on this product, others dont.
• Categories differ from CSE to CSE, and you may
  wish to try alternative categories

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Product Optimization
How should data change?

• If products arent performing in a channel
• Check your product price points and product page
  against competitors
• Alter your content on the CSE feed and/or your
  product page
• Pull the product

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Best Practices for eCommerce Analytics
Is it working yet?

• Tracking methods should NOT introduce unnecessary
  hazards to consumer traffic flow
• A merchant should always have at least two
  separate methods of analytical tracking
  (analytical cross references) EX-
• Click Based (per page)
• Click Based (per product)
• Server Logs based
• Analytical data should contain enough detail to
  allow a merchant to ACT, and increase marketing
  efficiencies, not attempt to replace accounting
  software
• Tracking mechanisms should be self-contained
  (closed loop tracking) to avoid data
  contamination

Be sure tracking includes ALL products purchased,
not just order totals or items from original
click.
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Overview of the Logistics behind Statistics

• Consumer goes to Comparison Shopping Engine
• Consumer clicks on product of choice and is sent
  to a tracking/redirection page
• Redirection page sends consumer to the
  appropriate product page within your shopping
  cart
• Consumer arrives at Thank you pagehopefully.

Consumer
For CSE Tracking
Comparison Shopping Engine
Redirect
Most Important Tracking!
Break
This option comes with some surprisesnot good!
3rd Party Tracking
Thank You or Invoice Page
Break
Product Page
Secondary Redirect Page
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Is it working yet?
Example of the Anatomy of Click

• Tracking Code is typically
• placed in two strategic
• locations for analytical
• tracking
• Product View Page to track an inbound click
  (Sometimes a secondary redirect page is used for
  tracking at this level).

An Example of tracking code placed on a Shopping
cart/storefront product page
ltscript language "JavaScript" src
"http//chanalytics.merchantadvantage.com/inchanne
l/maq.js"gtlt/scriptgt
NOTE You do not NEED to understand this code.
Pretend you know codeno one else will know, and
the code will go away in a few minutes
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Is it working yet?
Example of the Tracking Anatomy of Purchase

• Tracking Code is typically
• placed in two strategic
• locations for analytical
• tracking
• Product View Page to track a click (Sometimes a
  secondary redirect page is used for tracking at
  this level).
• Invoice, Thank you or confirmation page

An Example of tracking code placed on a Shopping
cart/storefront Confirmation Page
Placed within Item Loop on Confirmation Page
ltimg src"zmam1607685zmas1zmaqNquantityQua
ntity VariablepcodeProduct Code
VariablezmanOrderNumber VariablezmatOrderT
otal Variable" width0 height0 border0gt
Placed at bottom of Confirmation Page
ltscript language"JavaScript" src"http//chanalyt
ics.merchantadvantage.com/inChannel/ma2q.js"gtlt/scr
iptgt
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Is it working yet?
LOGO HERE Company Info here Thank you for your
purchase of Code Name Qty Price Extension ABC123
Widget Green 1 10 10 ABC124 Whosywhatsit 2 5
10 No Tax, wee Total 20

• Tracking Code is typically
• placed in two strategic
• locations for analytical
• tracking
• Product View Page to track a click (Sometimes a
  secondary redirect page is used for tracking at
  this level).
• Invoice, Thank you or confirmation page
• For optimum statistics, the system should track
  EVERY product sold, NOT just those that have
  received a click!

An Example of tracking code placed on a Shopping
cart/storefront Confirmation Page
Placed within Item Loop on Confirmation Page
ltimg src"zmam1607685zmas1zmaqNquantityQua
ntity VariablepcodeProduct Code
VariablezmanOrderNumber VariablezmatOrderT
otal Variable" width0 height0 border0gt
Placed at bottom of Confirmation Page
ltscript language"JavaScript" src"http//chanalyt
ics.merchantadvantage.com/inChannel/ma2q.js"gtlt/scr
iptgt
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Is it working yet?
So what should this information look like, and
what should this information tell a merchant?
Click count, cost per click, and total click
costs create the deficit side of the equation
Product price times quantity sold create the
revenue side of the equation
The ratio is actually best for determining
marketing performance.
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Is it working yet?
Its helpful to view one product across various
channels, and one channel for all categories and
products
Its helpful to view the CSE page which sent the
consumer to your storefront.
Approximate Click cost is typically enough to
reach a good marketing decision.
Remember that the specific purpose of this
information is to aid in marketing decisions, not
for accounting purposes.
These bits of information are clues to lead you
towards the secrets of successful marketing!

• Helpful Information
• IP Address of consumer
• Quantity purchased
• Date and time of occurrence

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• Daily Procedure
• Import
• Convert
• Feed
• Assess
• Repeat until point of significant efficiency

• As Appropriate
• Find and try new channels, new methods, and new
  products.

Goal Market artistically
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Thank You for Your Attention.
Helpful Resources

• MerchantAdvantage Knowledge CenterDownload Free
  industry webinars, white papers and other
  resources www.MerchantAdvantage.com
• eCommerce Blog NewslettereTaildTail.com
• Other Blogswww.ComparisonEngines.comwww.Channel
  Dollars.comwww.EcommerceOptimization.comwww.GetE
  lastic.comwww.eTailology.comwww.MobileCommerceTi
  mes.comwww.MobileMarketingProfits.com

Michael Lambert CEO Co-founder