When reviewing best practices in using shopping comparison engines, it is helpful to be able to see what best practices you should be learning for the future. As 2007 comes to a close, and 2008 appears on the horizon, many online marketing professionals will spend the next couple of weeks setting expectations for what lies ahead. Taking this same view, it is important to recognize dominant trends.
Product Level Bidding
One strong trend to be aware of in working with CSE best practices this year was the effective use of product level bidding mechanisms offered by shopping comparison engines. At the time of this writing, Shopzilla - Bizrate, NexTag, Smarter, and Pronto all have product level bidding mechanisms in place. Shopping is rolling theirs out, and this will become a standard feature for shopping comparison engines in 2008.
Shopping Comparison 2.0: The Rise of Social Shopping
Many Web 2.0 articles have been written, and many more will be, as online users increasingly create the internet rather than just surfing it. The same holds true for social shopping, where customer feedback, opinion, and recommendations will play an increasingly prominent role in CSE best practices for 2008.
While some engines have feedback mechanisms in place, other engines like Pronto are pushing to create a shopping experience completely based on social interaction and recommendations. Become is also pushing in this direction and you can expect other comparison engines to do so as well. With creative pushes by Facebook worthy of a note, marketers and online merchants will need to be more attentive than ever to customer feedback and opinion. As a merchant, I would be focusing heavily on my shipping speed, customer service level, and return policies. As the power further shifts to the consumer, shopping comparison engines will be less dominated by the simple price of an item than ever before.
CSE Best Practices Beyond 2008
As the post-feasting, holiday drowsiness sets in, and the online marketer dazes off into dreamland, perhaps images of 2009 and beyond will begin to form. Looking this far ahead, I would expect shopping comparison engines to become increasingly integrated with search engine marketing campaigns. Just as bidding strategies have been transposed to product level bidding, more integration will occur. Future options will include bidding based on time of day or week (aka day trending). Services from companies like Google, Yahoo, and MSN will find ways to include their SEM and shopping comparison engine services into a single user interface. Also look for the ability to include high performing phrases directly into product content with the push of a button.
Looking this far ahead means some of these distant options seem unimportant, however there are some things which are clear. With the proliferation of shopping comparison engines, the market will only become more competitive and better attuned to shoppers. This will require every merchant to stay at the forefront of innovation and adjust responsiveness to the wants and needs of the consumer. Somehow, I think this would make Adam Smith and Sam Walton smile at how much the future just stays the same.
well this blog is great i love reading your articles.
Posted by: ghd australia | August 25, 2011 at 06:58 AM