Pragmatic shoppers spend more time scrutinizing deals
12 Feb '08
3 min read
ShopLocal, the leader in multi-channel shopping and marketing services, announced the ShopLocal Index was up 20 percent for the month of January compared with the same period last year. The Index, at 191 for the month (benchmarked at 100 for January 2006), reported 232 million page views versus 193 million in January 2007.
Department stores and mass merchants led other market segments with 35 percent growth, reflecting typical post-holiday sales on apparel and accessories.
However, retailers advertised much less in January, seemingly because they spent most of their marketing budget at the end of 2007 on deeper discounts and heightened advertising. Also, some retailers did not have a weekly circular running in January.
Consumers continue to turn to the Internet in growing numbers to view local offers before heading to the store. However, January was a month of slower growth reflecting the slowness in the retail market.
The ShopLocal Index is the advertising industry's first market indicator designed to track the influence of the Internet on in-store shopping.
Updated monthly, the Index is based on the online activity of an average of 20 million monthly consumer visits to store promotions that are presented on the sites of 50 major U.S. retailers, including JCPenney, Best Buy, Walgreens and Home Depot.
These retailers cover major retail segments such as computers, consumer electronics, office supplies, home improvement,department stores, mass merchants, grocery, drug and various specialty stores. Their online circular sites are powered by ShopLocal's SmartCircular technology.