In preparation for the Digital Dumbo event hosted by Space150, Aaron, our COO, asked me about some trends that we’ve seen emerge in the last 150 days.  I wanted to highlight some of the changes I’ve seen on the E-Commerce side and how that has impacted our clients.

1. Consumer are not as trigger happy as they once were.  We’ve noticed slight falls in conversion rates, and a significant increase in average time on site, return visits, and average visits to purchase in our converting customers.  Simply: users are spending an increasing amount of time researching to make sure they get the best deal.

2. Comparison Shopping Engines and Affiliate sites are starting to drive an increase share of traffic.  Comparison Shopping Engines, such as Google Product Search, Shopping.com, Shopzilla, to name a few, allow consumer to compare prices and make sure you are getting the best deal possible. Coupon/Discount Affiliates, such as Ebates, Coupon Cabin, and Bing’s Cashback are starting to have a huge impact on traffic patterns and our clients bottom lines.

3. Reinforcements such as Free Shipping, Easy Returns, and Product Reviews are key to increasing conversions. These reinforcements "hold more influence over purchasing decisions than they did in 2008" according to a recent CA survey.

4. Most product research begins with Google and Yahoo, while Bing is catching up.  SEO should still be top of mind for all clients as they evaluate their marketing mix.  Search continues to dominate in the beginning of the research cycle and again towards the end as a buyer makes sure they are getting the best deal possible.  It is now more important then ever to reevaluate your entry level/generic keywords and make sure you are providing your visitors the content they crave as they begin their research.