If you find this kind of information fascinating, you should take a look at Marketing Sherpa’s Landing Page Handbook ($247). The heatmap studies alone were worth the price; you can improve your landing page conversions in just a few days (or however long it takes you to read 190 pages).

Consumers are actively shopping in store, online and catalog channels. Store shoppers also purchase 16 percent of their items online and 5 percent from catalogues. Online shoppers buy 43 percent of their merchandise in stores and 6 percent from catalogues. Catalogue shoppers buy 19 percent of their goods in stores and 11 percent online.
Source: DoubleClick

ONLINE ADVERTISING THAT FOCUSES LOCALLY MAPS TO THAT TREND
Spending on local online advertising reached $2.7 billion in 2004, up 28 percent from 2003. That figure is expected to grow 46 percent in 2005 to $3.9 billion.
Source: Borrell Associates

YOUR RETURNING VISITOR VS NEW VISITOR DATA IS PROBABLY NOT WHAT YOU THINK IT IS
Nearly 58 percent of online users delete cookies and as many as 39 percent delete them on a monthly basis. More than one-third (38 percent) say they believe that cookies put their browsing security and privacy at risk.
Source: Jupiter Research

NARROWLY FOCUSED SEARCH PHRASES CONVERT BETTER
Keyword search phrases with four words are the most effective at converting browsers into customers. Four-word phrases for keywords in the top 100 group of words that produced the highest traffic rates converted 38.28 percent of unique visitors into customers in December 2004. Three-word phrases converted 21.89 percent of unique visitors into customers. The conversion rate for five-word phrases takes a considerable dip to 9.69 percent.
Source: Oneupweb

This diagram comes from a research study by Michael Bernard which many of you will find interesting.

Michael studied various components of web sites and where users expected to find them. From search boxes to merchandise links, Michael’s research offers some valuable insight.

Enjoy!

Comparing this description to the information provided by Paco Underhill in Why We Buy, I’m curious if this behavioral type is weighted toward women. Target driven, lots to do, need to accomplish things with little waste.

SURFERS
8% of active users. They account for 32% of time spent online and access four times as many pages as the average user. Surfers move quickly between domains to shop, explore and find information and entertainment.
Turn-ons: cool design, strong brand and features like games, chat rooms and streaming video
Turnoffs: old content and boredom

BARGAINERS
8% of active users. These active deal-seekers represent 52% of all visits to eBay and enjoy searching for great prices and participating in the community of bargain-hunters.
Turn-ons: Priceline.com and Beanie Babies
Turnoffs: paying full price

CONNECTORS
36% of active users. They are relatively new to the Internet and are looking for ways interact and explore. Only 42% have made an online purchase (versus the average of 61%).
Turn-ons: chat rooms, novelties such as e-greetings, well-known brands
Turnoffs: complex and intimidating sites

This was a reality check for me – afterall, the web is so well integrated into my lifestyle that it’s hard to remember that there are still “new users”. When creating new sites & stores, it makes sense to be sensitive to the needs to newbies. Again referencing Underhill’s findings, I wonder if this group is weighted toward the senior market.

ROUTINERS
Routiners are 15% of active users. They like to read and research online but buy offline. More than 80% of their time is spent at their top 10 domains, and they look for superior and timely content.
Turn-ons: the latest from news and financial sites
Turnoffs: old news

SPORTSTERS
4% of active users. They act like Routiners but focus largely on sports and entertainment sites. They key with both groups is to try and move them to a revenue-generating model where they pay for content. It’s tough to do.
Turn-ons: ESPN.com, colorful sites with interactive features like polls
Turnoffs: The Financial Times

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Source: CIO Magazine feature on McKinsey & Co. and Media Metrix web survey dated February 12, 2003

The idea is interesting – encourage online merchants to display standard color tags on their items so the shopper can do a quick @ home lookup on their pantone swatch book and see if that shade of pink is just the shade they were looking for. It would certainly make both company and customer happier and more confident about their online purchases. Fewer returns, less anxiety – a minimal amount of investment on the company’s part. Good basic ingredients for adoption.

But take a look at the marketing copy below. Calling it a “portable color memory” is on par with calling my wallet a “cash management system”. Pantone manages to undermine a strong idea with terrible, irrelevant fluff. (learn from their mistake)

“Consumers of home and fashion products have a long acquaintance with paint chips, magazine clippings, catalogs, and rug and fabric swatches for coordinating the colors of their prospective purchases. Now with the PANTONE SHOPPING COLOR GUIDE, the customer is able to bring a Portable Color Memory™ to their point of purchase.” —extracted from Pantone’s site 04.07.2003