Liane Dietrich, UK managing director of affiliate network, LinkShare, assesses the rise in international online shopping and the marketing strategies brands need to employ to increase their revenue.

With the recession in full swing and high street sales continuing to tumble across much of the western world, the last 12 months have seen consumers turn to online shopping in their droves. In a bid to uncover the best online savings, cost conscious shoppers have become more web-savvy than ever before and there are purchases increasingly influenced by special offers and discounts.

A retail report from PayPal released recently showed that online spending in the UK is set to more than double by 2011 and similar levels of growth have also been predicted across much of Europe and the US. This survey supported our recent online shopping research carried out with analyst house Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates where we assessed how consumer behaviour is changing online. Among our findings were that 92 per cent of shoppers reported having more confidence in online information about products than advice from store shop sales assistants and that 81 per cent of consumers conducted Internet research before buying a product in order to obtain the largest saving possible.

As part of our research we made a series of recommendations for retailers to help them maximise the potential spend of shoppers visiting their websites. To avoid missing out on lucrative revenue streams, companies that are not already online need to act now. Offline only brands should begin developing their online offering to make sure they can survive the downturn and respond to the changing requirements of their customers. Equally, brands that are already trading online need to make sure they implement a well planned marketing strategy to develop their Internet profile and to continue driving traffic to their websites.

One of the most effective and profitable online marketing channels for brands is affiliate marketing. Affiliate marketing is an established and rewarding e-marketing tool for businesses, enabling them to gain access to a new group of target customers. It works by providing advertisers with a cost effective and measurable way to influence shoppers during their online research and decision-making processes by increasing their presence across a number of sites. To be successful in this field, brands need to team up with an affiliate partner that will not only provide the technology needed, but also select the right affiliates which will generate the most return in terms of traffic.

As part of this campaign, high-end technology needs to be combined with proactive, tactical customer service. An effective strategy enables both advertisers and publishers to create tracking links through new channels with exciting new rich media options to drive traffic to a brand’s website. This way adverts can be developed to be more visually appealing and this is beneficial in attracting attention to the brand, as well as improving the look and feel of affiliate sites.
 

Affiliate programs are proving to be an increasingly effective and rewarding way to build online brand presence and to increase revenue. Although brands are often cautious about embracing new marketing methods, they need to be smarter and more efficient in today’s challenging economic climate. Since a return to the days of the resilient high street is unlikely, it is now or never for brands that have not yet invested online. Only by using online channels to respond quicker to what consumers want and by engaging a larger audience can retailers remain competitive and continue to be profitable in the new economic landscape.