This holiday season online spending surged 15%, hitting an all time high estimated at $36.4 billion, according to MasterCard Advisors SpendingPulse.
What influenced online sales? ForeSee Results’ Top 40 Online Retailers studied the influence of social media, search engines and promotional email. These are the results:
Communication Method |
% of Sales Influenced |
| Social Media | 5% |
| Search Engines | 8% |
| Promotional Email | 19% |
What? Despite all the buzz, hype and spending, social media influenced only 5% of sales! Promotional emails influenced almost 4 times more sales than social media.
The ForeSee Results report also emphasized the importance of brand to consumers. ForeSee Results found that highly satisfied customers are 60% more committed to the brand.
The intersection of brand and email promotion is eMail ID.