Introduction

Retail advertising online has been under the IAB microscope for quite some time now and has – to date – presented us with some quite contradictory circumstances. Despite the billions of pounds that consumers spend online each year (46.6 in fact!) those internet marketing budgets have remained pretty static since time began, normally increasing by only a few percentage points every six months. So why is it that according to the latest wave of the IAB/ PwC online advertising expenditure study, the retail sector accounts for just 5% of total internet spend in the second half of 2007?

Encouragingly, this is up from 3.3% for the same period the year before, however there remains a stark discrepancy between the money the general public are ploughing into their ecommerce activity, and the money many retailers are investing into the medium. We believe that this is due, in part, to the fact that ecommerce remains a consumer-driven market – shoppers are more active, often searching for what they want rather than being sent there by online advertising.

But hey, let’s not focus on the negatives, but rather concentrate on the weird and wonderful world of the online customer journey. A highly complex and unpredictable process at best, involving research, comparison, retention, raised awareness, simple nosiness and of course that eventual purchase, marketers have numerous opportunities to greet their consumers at every point with a friendly ‘hello’, some useful information or an offer that consumers were otherwise unaware of. Display, search advertising, email, affiliate marketing, interactive video and behavioral targeting are just some of the exceptional tools that can be employed to help you do this.

This handy little guide provides all you need to know in a nutshell, helping you become fully acquainted with the medium and how it can not only drive sales but raise awareness and establish a secure online presence – what to do, why to do it and most importantly, how. With essential stats, a wealth of tips and guidelines from industry experts and examples of great retail online campaigns, we’ve literally crammed this book with all the relevant information we could get our hands on.

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