Banner Advertisement

Real E-Shoppers Don’t Wear Bunny Slippers: More eCommerce Happens at Work

Posted on | December 7, 2007 | No Comments

In most of our heads online shoppers are wearing bunny slippers.We imagine the typical online shopper visits etail sites from a home computer, TV on in the background and coffee mug in hand. However the reality is e-shoppers wear suits – or maybe office casual – because they’re shopping while at work.A shop.org study found that a significant amount of that shopping is taking place at work, according to a separate survey of consumers conducted for Shop.org. The study found that young people are most likely to shop online from work. Almost three-fourths of 18- to 24-year-olds, and 66.4 percent of those 25 to 34, plan to browse or buy online while at work, the group said. “Online retailers typically see huge surges in website traffic during traditional lunch hours,” said Scott Silverman, Executive Director of Shop.org. “Shopping at work can be a great way for many consumers to complete holiday buying without having to worry about sneaky gift recipients looking over their shoulders.”A new survey from Nielsen Online says that 81 percent of shoppers surveyed said that the ability to shop anytime was the reason they chose to shop online during the holiday season. Apparently anytime translates to – at the office.Anecdotally I host a discussion list of small retail entrepreneurs who this week commented on the surge of orders during the week and especially at lunch.Some excerpts:I have noticed that weekends are virtually dead and that the weekdaysare most active. (Makes me wonder what people are doing at work! 😛 )Well, people used to take smoke breaks at work. A shopping break is much healthier.I’ve found that I get the greatest volume of orders on Monday and Friday around lunch time. .The challenge for marketers is how do you tailor you messages to reach these shoppers. Some ideas:1. Special Lunch Time Sales- We post a Deal of the Day on SheFinds.com at 12 PM on weekdays.2. Email Alerts during traditional break times – lunch, the 4 PM coffee break, the 5:45 watch of the clock.3. Limited time sales that only last for 1 hour – or maybe 15 minutes of every hour.4. Take advantage of the “get me out of here Feelings” Post games, sweeptakes, any kind of mind candy. We post a Freebie Friday Sweepstakes at 12 PM on Fridays. (Go ahead and enter, you know you want to.) We also post a Taste Test every afternoon and it’s always our most clicked on post.taste test on shefindsGot any great ideas of how to snag those busy working eyeballs?Please share in the comments any great promotion ideas you’ve had to reach shoppers at the office.Michelle Madhok, is an online shopping expert who spent 5 years overseeing women’s content for AOL. She now is the CEO of White Cat Media – the publisher of SheFinds.com and MomFinds.com

Comments

Leave a Reply