Online retailers shift marketing focus as sales stay slow
While the number of companies focusing on customer retention has nearly doubled in the past year, many online retailers see the recession as an opportunity to capture market share from weakened competition, according to The State of Retailing Online 2009 annual survey by Forrester Research Inc.
Four out of five retailers said the web is better suited than other channels to withstand the recession and a third said the downturn has enabled them to capture greater market share, according to the survey, which was released in May. However, the economy is forcing online retailers to change their marketing tactics to acquire and retain customers.
Under pressure from the economy, nearly a third of companies are spending less than originally planned on web retail operations this year, but those that will spend more on their online business plan to increase investments in several areas including search, email and social marketing, according to the National Retail Federation.
