Economists are predicting a very slow retail holiday, especially with autumn already in a slump. Online retailers stand to weather the storm a bit better, turning to search marketing, site redesign and refinement, and other ecommerce technologies to squeeze every dollar from their limited budgets.

Surveys and predictions for this retail season abound.

• 43% of consumers will spend more time shopping around.
• 95% of online shoppers report that free shipping influences their purchases, preferring to shop at retailers that usually offer free shipping, and 78% report that expensive shipping prevents them from shopping online.
• Nielson reports 35% plan to spend less, 6% more, and 50% the same this year
• 31% of consumers will start holiday shopping before Halloween and 57% will start before Thanksgiving.
• 66% will use coupons and take their time shopping if it means more savings. and spend more time shopping around for bargains.
• 59% will spend less due to economic hardships such as higher food and gasoline prices.
• 26% of consumers plan to spend less, 11% expect to spend more, and 63% about the same
• 60% say they will change where they shop to get the best price.
• 53% will drop brand loyalties to save money.
• Online discounts and sales will influence 83% of web shoppers.
• 52% plan to buy fewer gifts this year.

I think this year will also show that shoppers are becoming “better” at searching so that long-tail, brand specific search campaigns may show gains. Features such as Google suggest may alter the profile of the amateur searcher helping to drive branded searches to more accurate product page landings. People who have set up paid search to match these long-tail searches will be well positioned to reap increases in click through rates and quality score.

On the analytics side, while people are jumping around from comparison engine to website to review page, it may be a challenge to attribute sales to specific ads or search campaigns.

I hope all of you buck the trend and have a great holiday season.

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