A new report finds content can boost ecommerce sales and can help merchants avoid falling into the trap of competing solely on price. And while the report studied 80 global brands, its conclusions can apply to sellers of any size.
Demandware and L2 released the L2 Intelligence Report: Content and Commerce, which found blogs, microsites, videos, tutorials, user generated content, and guided selling tools have a disproportionate impact on ecommerce conversion.
Video is one of the most influential types of digital content in driving purchasing decisions, according to the report, with between 35 and 53 percent of consumers in the world’s largest markets using digital video as a source of recommendations.
Beauty brands lead the way in the implementation of guided selling tools, with 79 percent having created one or more digital experiences such as foundation finders, skincare diagnostics, shade matchers and other tools. Yet just 7 percent leverage these tools on product pages, limiting their potential impact as a customer acquisition vehicle.
The study showed that commerce experiences that are infused with strategic content can educate, engage and convert the consumer, bringing them further down the path to purchase and improve a retailer’s bottom line.
“Brands today can choose to compete on price or on brand differentiation,” said Jeffrey Barnett, COO, Demandware. “Competing head-to-head on price with online marketplaces of massive scale is extremely challenging. But, brands have the home field advantage when it comes to content. Leveraging branded content throughout the commerce experience can be the key to unlocking a compelling and distinctive shopping experience that will increase consumer engagement, build brand loyalty and optimize conversion.”
You can download the report (or an excerpt if you’re not an L2 member) on the L2inc.com website. And see our three-part series on content strategies for online merchants.
