2. Executive Summary
• In August 2012, Brandkindle again queried over 1,500 active
e-retailers asking them to share their thoughts for this year’s
Brandkindle retailer study. Over 600 retailers responded,
offering opinions and information on topics ranging from in-
store and online sales to mobile phone usage in stores.
• E-Tailers empowers brands to use online sales to expand in-
store sales. This is a significant benefit for branded
manufacturers selling online, given that retail sales still
represent, on average, over 90% of their total sales. This
annual survey of retailers measures the effectiveness of E-
Tailers in helping both brands and their retail partners
increase sales.
3. Key findings
• E-Tailers increases store profits and improves customer
acquisition.
• E-Tailers helps expand retail distribution.
• Retailers are spending more with brands that send them
orders
• Retailers don’t want to work with branded manufacturers that
compete with them.
• In-store sales increase for brands that send online orders to
retailers.
• ECOP sales reports influence retailers’ purchasing decisions.
• Retailers are experiencing the “mobile” movement.
4. Key findings
• E-Tailers increases store profits and improves customer
acquisition. 65% of retailers in the survey stated that working
with E Commerce Oriented Platform (ECOP) increased store
profit or improved customer acquisition, with 23% noting that
ECOP increased both.
• E-Tailers helps expand retail distribution. 61% of surveyed
retailers place an opening order from a brand that launches
ECOP or monitor the brand to consider placing an order.
5. Key findings
• Retailers are spending more with brands that send them
orders. 67% of survey respondents have increased purchases
with brands since those brands launched ECOP. Over 55% of
those retailers increase spend more than 10%.
• Retailers don’t want to work with branded manufacturers
that compete with them. 70% of retailers said they would
reduce or cease buying from brands that sell directly to the
end-consumer. This number continues to rise, up 43% since
the 2009 retailer survey.
6. Key findings
• In-store sales increase for brands that send online orders to
retailers. 45% of retailers sold more over-the-counter
products for ECOP client brands as a result of increased
stocking of those brands.
• ECOP sales reports influence retailers’ purchasing decisions.
59% said that the market research and analytics provided by
ECOP play a part in their purchasing processes.
• Retailers are experiencing the “mobile” movement. 84% of
survey respondents note the use of smartphones in their
stores as research and shopping tools.
7. Retailer sales remain strong in early 2012.
While signs of a new recession are starting to show in the marketplace,
49% of participating stores increased in-store sales in early 2012 over
the same period in 2011. 27% of those, increased sales more than 10%,
while only 13% saw a decrease in sales.
8. Retailers spend more with brands that send them consumers’ online
orders.
The brand-retailer relationship is critical for both parties. So when
branded manufacturers funnel their online sales to retailers, the
retailers respond by buying more product from those manufacturers
11. For most retailers, E-Tailers increases their overall profits by
delivering incremental sales from orders generated on branded
manufacturer websites and expanding their client base
12.
13. Retailers stock brands that send them online orders and sell more in-
store as a result.
A NEW BRAND IN YOUR INDUSTRY LAUNCHING ON ECOP, HOW
WOULD YOU PREPARE YOUR BUSINESS?
14. Retailers are watching…They know if a brand sells direct and they
notice when a brand joins ECOP. 9% of survey respondents stated
that they immediately increase their spending with a brand when it
launches retail-integrated eCommerce.
15.
16. Retailers increasingly refuse to work with brands that compete
with them for sales.
Today’s retail market is more concerned with channel conflict
than ever before for good reasons. Big brands are selling direct
online or through their own retail outlets and big retailers are
creating self-branded products.
As retailers and manufacturers compete for sales, their
relationship strains, and ultimately will fail. Over 36% of retailers
said they would never purchase products from brands that sell
online directly to consumers.
23. IF YOU SELL THROUGH YOUR OWN ECOMMERCE WEBSITE, WHAT
PERCENTAGE OF YOUR BUSINESS COMES FROM ONLINE SALES?
24. Mobile phones are moving into the offline purchase
process.
With the proliferation of smartphones and tablet computers, the
way people shop is changing quickly. Only 16% of retailers
stated that none of their customers are using mobile phones in
their shops as part of the purchasing process. Based on these
results, we estimate that 10% of customers are using mobile
phones while shopping in retail stores.
25. WHAT PERCENTAGE OF YOUR CUSTOMERS USE MOBILE PHONES TO HELP
THEM WITH SHOPPING WHILE IN YOUR STORE(S)?
26. HOW ARE MOBILE DEVICES USED MOST OFTEN IN YOUR STORE(S)?
29. Conclusion
The retailer-manufacturer relationship is a mutually beneficial
one. When branded manufacturers deliver their online sales to
brick-and-mortar shops, not only do retailers buy more product to
facilitate online orders, they also sell more of that product in-
stores.
The data in this survey clearly shows the increasing importance
of preserving and nurturing the brand-retailer relationship, and
how sales can increase as a result of this nurturing.
