Trends Report

The Purchase Path Of Online Buyers

A Joint Holiday Shopping Study With GSI Commerce Of 15 Retail Websites

March 16th, 2011
Sucharita Kodali, VP, Principal Analyst
Sucharita Kodali VP, Principal Analyst
With contributors:
Shar VanBoskirk , Patti Freeman Evans , Douglas Roberge

Summary

Successfully reaching online shoppers during the critical holiday season is crucial to the Q4 success of eCommerce businesses. Forrester collaborated with the eCommerce service provider GSI Commerce to understand how retailers in fact did connect with online buyers. Actual retailer clickstream analysis from 15 online retailers who are GSI Commerce's clients showed that traditional forms of web marketing (e.g., search, marketing) continue to drive online sales while experimental tactics like social continue to be just that, peripheral tactics that have generated buzz but are rarely associated with revenue. This retailer data also showed that some tactics like display advertising may be underrepresented as they are earlier in the purchase funnel. While this data highlights findings from the holiday season of 2010, it is a useful illustration of how retail eBusiness executives can accommodate those findings in their customer acquisition and retention programs throughout the year.

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