E-commerce is nothing new, it’s been around for a couple of decades but has exploded in recent years. This sector had enjoyed impressive but steady growth until 2020 when the country’s retail activities were given a thorough shake down.
Quite simply, with stores closed, if you wanted something you had to buy it online. This introduced a whole new retail experience to a brand new batch of customers. Whilst high street footfall has bounced back (to a degree), e-commerce has retained a new subset of loyal consumers who appreciate the choice, price and convenience it offers.
E-commerce grew over 55% between 2019 and 2021. Even though the world has largely returned to normal, our new shopping habits have been retained. Indeed, the year 2022 saw only a slight fall in e-commerce sales compared to 2021 (down to £106bn from £119bn). The 2022 figures still sit well above the 2019 baseline of £79bn.* Proof there has been a seismic and permanent change.
Online advertising can only get e-commerce so far.
It might seem counterintuitive but online retailers need to broaden their horizons and look towards the more traditional media to continue to grow.
Online-based retailers are hugely reliant on advertising and marketing for growth. Without the might of a large brand behind you it is imperative to consistently and effectively communicate with potential customers. Naturally, e-commerce businesses turn to online channels such as search and social media as an advertising entry point.
However, these activities can only sustain growth for so long. Eventually, you will reach a point of diminishing returns. When this happens, you need to look beyond you comfort zone and towards other media that will be able to deliver the customers you need.
To us at AJ, TV is often the next obvious step. But what are the signs your e-commerce brand could benefit from TV advertising?
- You need to scale up, fast. TV’s ability to reach consumers in their millions is unparalleled. If you want people to know your name and quickly a TV advertising campaign is an incredibly effective way to do it. After all, TV is renowned for making brands famous!
- You can’t efficiently recruit through your current channels. Using any media channel extensively for a prolonged period of time will eventually lead to saturation and an increasing cost per new customer. If you’re in or approaching this, you need to look at new avenues of communication.
- You have a new product. TV advertising offers an opportunity to educate and explain to your potential customers in an effective and engaging way.
TV has immediate and measurable effects
It’s not just us who think TV advertising is perfect for e-commerce businesses. The facts and figures back this up. A study by Thinkbox that looked at the effect TV advertising has on e-commerce retailers showed:
- Increased web traffic. TV drove 42% of all site visits. Individual brand data consistently shows a clear relationship between TV activity and web traffic.
- Cost effective site visits. Across the 10 brands analysed, TV drove 50 million visits at an average cost per visit of £2.11 (cheaper than search)
- Lasting ad effects that increased base sales. TV is also effective at brand building. Brand focused TV advertising was shown through the modelling to have the long-lasting effects, delivering 50% of sales in the first 14 weeks following activity and the other 50% in the remaining two years after airing.
- TV drives cost-effective search. TV drives cost effective web visits because it prompts people to look for your brand not the category
If you’re an e-commerce business that’s struggling to grow or get new customers cost efficiently then perhaps you need to cast your net a little wider? An effective TV campaign can be more affordable than you might think. If you’d like to know more about AJ and our approach to TV read here.
To discuss how TV can take your business to the next level click here to get in touch.
*source Statista. UK online retail sales 2012 to 2022.