Irish online firms losing out on billions online due to poor digital tactics
New research by 256 Media shows Irish firms need to do more to stop shoppers abandoning their carts online
Print9 March 2015
AT A GLANCE: E-COMMERCE
Irish sites were less likely than their international competitors to:
- Offer a loyalty scheme – 33% Irish sites v 58% International sites
- Maintain carts for longer than three days – 40% Irish sites v 67% International sites
- Remarket to cart abandoners – 20% Irish sites v 41% International sites
- Be upfront about their shipping costs – 74% Irish sites v 86% International sites
- Offer free shipping – 46% Irish sites v 67% International sites
- Offer a wishlist or ‘save for later’ option – 8% Irish sites v 100% International sites
However, Irish sites were more likely than their international competitors to:
- Send a follow-up email – 41% Irish sites v 17% International sites
- Offer guest purchase as well as registration – 41% Irish sites v 30% International sites
- Have a responsive website for mobile browsers – 40% Irish sites v 37% International sites
Irish e-commerce websites are not using advanced digital marketing tactics as well as international competitors – and as a result are losing out on a significant online spend by Irish consumers, a new study reveals.
E-commerce in Ireland is growing fast – it was worth a whopping €4.1 billion in 2013. However 75% of Irish online purchases are made at non-Irish companies.
Digital marketing experts 256 Media surveyed the shopping and follow-up experience on 27 e-commerce websites across both Irish and International online brands. The research found that Irish firms lag behind their international competitors in their use of some important online tactics to minimise cart abandonment.
With online shopping cart abandonment rates averaging as high as 72%, e-commerce sites are spending huge sums of money to drive traffic to their websites (online advertising spend alone amounted to €197 million in Ireland in 2014), but customers are frequently not following through with purchases.
While some of these cart abandoners are simply doing research ahead of an offline purchase, there are many that intend to make the purchase online but, for whatever reason, never get to complete it.
Adrian O’Farrell, head of Client Services at 256 Media, said: “Every single percentage point Irish firms can win back represents €41 million staying in the Irish economy instead of going abroad. We have some outstanding examples of Irish companies getting it right in this space – brands such as Brown Thomas, Mick’s Garage and Chain Reaction are as good as any. But we are also seeing many Irish brands underperforming in this area and that is contributing to Irish companies losing share.
“The study points to many areas – we covered 37 different metrics – where firms can improve their online tactics to increase traffic and improve conversion. For instance, only half of these online firms maintained a blog, even though companies that blog have been shown to attract on average 45% more traffic than those that don’t.”
For more information on 256 Media, click here.
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