David Moth

£3bn of retail sales will be influenced by social media: eBay

UK retail sales directly through social media are forecast to grow to £290m by 2014 from £210m.

The study, commissioned by eBay, also predicts that £3bn of retail sales will be influenced by social media by 2014.

The increase is expected to be driven by retailers targeting consumers with personalised offers and deals on social networks.

Nearly half (46%) of social media users are already using social platforms while thinking about making a purchase, and 40% of users are actively deciding what to buy based on what they have seen on social media platforms, including reviews and recommendations, and this is only set to grow.

by David Moth 23 August 2012 12:26pm 1 comment

UK TV viewers will watch more than 1trn ads in 2012

Just 6% of UK consumers own a TV with built-in Wi-Fi despite the fact that in the past three years more TVs have been sold in the UK than there are households.

The findings come from a Deloitte survey of 4,000 UK consumers which also found that TV viewers will watch one trillion ads in 2012.

It adds to a growing body of evidence which suggests that connected TV is failing to catch on with consumers.

Up to 70% of homes have at least one way of connecting their TVs to the internet either through an integrated connection or through a games console, yet just 16% of respondents use their TV to watch catch up TV on a regular basis.

Almost half of respondents had never used their TV to watch video-on-demand. Furthermore, just 5% of respondents said they use connected TV apps ‘frequently’.

by David Moth 23 August 2012 11:42am 0 comments

Aftersales email best practice from ASOS

Much of what we write about on the Econsultancy blog focuses on driving site traffic, improving the user experience and ultimately increasing conversions.

But if you want to make sure that people are happy with the overall sales experience and turn into repeat customers then aftersales care is equally important.

I recently made my first ever purchase from ASOS and was genuinely impressed by the level of email customer service I received while awaiting delivery.

Most e-commerce companies send confirmation emails, but with a few additional messages ASOS went beyond the level of customer service you would expect to receive and really improved my perception of the brand. As a result, I’ll definitely be shopping there again.

Here’s how ASOS does it...

by David Moth 23 August 2012 10:08am 16 comments

What Car and Confused.com's new apps: are they any good?

Confused.com has launched a new mobile app that uses GPS to rate and reward drivers.

Available on iPhone and Android, MotorMate is a simple promotional tool that has the potential for adding some variation to the morning commute.

Following the motoring theme, What Car also launched a new mobile app recently in iPhone, Android, Nokia and WP7. It allows users to value new and used cars and find dealers in their local area.

Both apps come as free downloads, so how useful are they?

by David Moth 22 August 2012 12:18pm 1 comment

Nine brands making great use of Instagram, and one that isn't

Once a fairly niche mobile app, Instagram grabbed the world's attention in April when it was snapped up by Facebook for a cool $1bn.

That useful piece pf PR, coupled with the launch of an Android version of the app, has seen its number of users grow from 15m to 80m since the beginning of the year.

And brands are definitely taking notice, with new research showing that 40% of the Interbrand Top 100 Global Brands use Instagram.

The power of Instagram for marketing is obvious - even the most carefully drafted copy can’t hope to have the same impact as an eye-catching photo.

by David Moth 22 August 2012 10:29am 10 comments

Play.com's Facebook fans spend 24% more than non-fans

So, just what is the value of a Facebook ‘like’? Does it have any real worth in terms of increased sales and customer loyalty, or is it simply a nice ego boost and a way of showing you are more popular than the competition?

It’s a difficult question to answer and is a frequent topic of debate at social media conferences.

In truth the value of a ‘like’ varies wildly between different industries and sectors, but many companies have started to work out exactly how much their Facebook fans are worth.

Cider brand Bulmers says its fans are worth £3.82 a week more than non-fans, or £198.64 per year, and ticketing company Eventbrite has worked out that a Facebook share is worth £2.25 compared to £1.80 on Twitter.

by David Moth 21 August 2012 12:53pm 1 comment

Start Me Up! A profile of cloud.IQ

Implementing an effective multichannel marketing strategy isn’t easy, particularly for SMEs that might not have the resources to trial new technologies.

Cloud.IQ aims to simplify the process by offering businesses a range of plug-in apps that can help to engage customers through different channels at each part of the purchase journey.

They include tools that work across social, SMS, mobile web and email to help improve customer retention and increase conversions.

To find out more, I spoke to cloud.IQ CEO James Critchley...

by David Moth 21 August 2012 11:56am 0 comments

24% of people use second screens while watching TV

Nearly a quarter of people (24%) use second screens while watching TV and almost half of all 16-24 year olds use communication tools such as messaging, email, Facebook, or Twitter to discuss what they are watching on TV.

The findings come from a survey by Deloitte, which interviewed 2,000 UK respondents aged 16+ about their viewing habits and use of second screens.

It found that despite the rise in second screening people only one in ten people browse the internet for information about the programme they are watching.

Furthermore, 68% of respondents that do use the internet to connect with a programme would not want the websites for products, personalities or adverts that have just been shown on television, to automatically appear on their second screen.

by David Moth 21 August 2012 09:50am 4 comments

Pinterest shows Facebook how to make a great mobile app

It’s been a busy week for Pinterest. First of all it announced that it was opening it doors to everyone following an extended Beta phase, and then it launched new iPad and Android apps.

Mobile has proved to be an extremely important growth area for social networks, with research from inMobi showing that social apps are the second most-popular activity on smartphones behind search.

Facebook has clocked up more than 500m mobile users while more than 60% of Twitter’s 140m active members access the service via mobile devices.

So does it offer a decent mobile experience? I tried out its new Android app using a Samsung Galaxy S2...

by David Moth 20 August 2012 13:10pm 1 comment

MyHighSt takes the high street online, but offers poor UX

Independent retailers from Wells in Somerset have joined forces to create a new digital marketplace that aims to replicate the city’s high street.

MyHigh.St features products from more than 30 of Wells’ retailers on one site, allowing customers to buy from several shops using a single checkout.

The aim is to help support high street retailers by helping them to start selling online and by increasing footfall in their shops.

One of the delivery options is click and collect and the site's loyalty scheme gives higher rewards to those who visit the high street than those who shop purely online.

by David Moth 20 August 2012 11:05am 2 comments