B2B and B2C companies all want the same thing: sales without any drama. However, there often isn’t enough chemistry between consumers and their online experiences to drive conversions. As a result, organizations have to enhance their Internet marketing through strategies such as SEO and online advertising to get consumers under the influence to buy. And the results from this past season—the first half of 2014—are so good that they almost seem criminal.
Compared to the first two quarters of last year, overall Web traffic among ShopVisible’s customers increased 9% in the first half of 2014, according to ShopVisible’s “Influence and Impact” benchmarking report. Sixty-seven percent of this increased traffic came from new visitors to those sites—according to data from ShopVisible’s more than 100 customers and Google Analytics—and 33% came from returning ones. But traffic wasn’t the only thing that gave B2Bs and B2Cs a rush. While the average conversion rate for the first half of 2014 was 2%, the average order value was $141—a 24% increase compared to the first half of last year. Online order volume also grew 3%, and online revenue increased 18% versus the first two quarters of the previous year. In addition, there was a 20% increase in the total number of items sold.
But if marketers really want an award-winning experience, they need to cast the right channels. Desktop is currently starring in the leading role for traffic, orders, and conversion rates. For instance, desktop generated 62% of all traffic for the first half of this year, according to the report, while mobile and tablet accounted for 21% and 17%, respectively. Furthermore, the conversion rate for desktops (2.3%) was almost five times higher than that of smartphones (0.5%). However, customers placing orders is where desktop really delivers—but you didn’t need a lab to figure that one out. During the first half of 2014, 81% of all orders were placed on a desktop compared to the 13 and 6% that were placed on tablets and mobile devices, respectively.
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