Report: 25% of IR500 failing at marketing

A new report out from Wpromote indicates about one-quarter of the Internet Retailer 500 are failing when ti comes to online marketing. Disturbing since these retailers are supposed to be the leaders in the space.

by Kristina Knight

According to new data from the 2014 Wpromote Online Marketing Scorecard retailers Costco and Netflix are among the 124 top brands who are failing at online marketing. The researchers measured online strategies for the top 500 brands and found only 2% scored at the grade 'A' level while 25% failed about about one-third either placed in the 'B' or 'C' level. Some interesting takeaways from the report include:

• 34% of the 124 'failing' retailers were 'not involved in paid search
• 80% failed with SEO
• Only 2 of the 124 'passed' social media

The data also shows most 'failing' retailers weren't offering free shipping on returns, price matching or free shipping on purchases.

"Digital marketing has leveled the playing field," said Mike Mothner, founder and CEO of Wpromote. "You don't need to be a retail giant to be a successful digital marketer, but a holistic view of the customer experience differentiated the winners and losers. Retailers can't provide a seamless e-commerce experience without organic traffic, for example, and still be successful."

Meanwhile, App Annie data shows the top retailer apps for the mobile space are Amazon, Groupon and WalGreens with Target's Cartwheel and Etsy rounding out the top five. According to App Annie data M:Commerce is nearly the tipping point; they point to a Forrester report which predicts mobile commerce will increase from $16 billion (2013) to at least $46 billion by 2018 (smartphone); the spend for tablets is expected to increase from $34 billion to $176 billion during the same period.

Perhaps most interesting from the report is that apps are actually pointing shoppers back into stores to make purchases. The research shows retailers like Walgreens, Walmart and Target are turning showrooming around by using apps to bring shoppers back into stores by offering location-based coupons, product suggestions and even GPS based search to make it easier for shoppers to find their goods.

Image via Shutterstock

Tags: App Annie, ecommerce trends, m:commerce, retail advertising, Wpromote