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The NRF Foundation’s 8th annual “Retail Horizons: Benchmarks for 2009, Forecasts for 2010” study is out – as always, it’s a treasure trove of data about just about every aspect of retail. Released in partnership with KPMG LLP, the 300+ retailers who participated in this study are heavily focused on improving their online operations, including fine tuning their site, stepping up their social media efforts, and improving integration between multiple channels.
A couple of highlights specific to online channels:
2009 areas of focus
- The majority of retailers surveyed focused heavily last year on growing their online sales (in retrospect, little surprise there – remember all the discussion this time last year of how resilient Web sales were compared to offline sales?).
- Over half dedicated more resources to integrating the company’s online and offline presence (55%).
- For many retailers, online and in-store promotions, as well as direct mail, overshadowed more traditional (and costly) advertising vehicles such as sponsorships, TV and print.
2010 outlook
- This year, over half of retailers surveyed will be focusing on Web site personalization.
- Social networks are by now an integral part of any marketing toolset in the retail world. Over two-thirds of retailers say they’d like to develop a specialized widget that would facilitate increased customer interaction via social networking sites. (Will be interesting to see the creativity in executing these!)
The full Retail Horizons Report is available for purchase, and further details are also available in the NRF press release. As always, we welcome your comments.
