RALEIGH, NC: Small and local retailers across the US are learning to co-exist with e-commerce players and no longer regard the likes of Amazon as “the enemy”, a new study suggests.
Netsertive, a marketing technology company, surveyed more than 500 small and local businesses across the US to understand how they are preparing for this year’s holiday season.
And its 2017 Small Business Holiday Trends Report revealed that almost 70% don’t believe that Amazon will impact their holiday sales.
Far from harming them, it could actually help them, as smaller retailers start to partner with e-commerce players for a variety of services including advertising, selling and fulfilment.
But even as they tap into such services, the report found that many local businesses are failing to leverage the brand support that is on offer.
Some 60% of small and local retailers were not using marketing assets from their brand partners, said Netsertive. Most brands set aside co-op marketing dollars in their marketing budgets to support local retailer efforts, but more than $14 billion of these funds remain unused each year.
Local retailers are focused on mobile and social, according to the report. Almost 60% of respondents confirmed that their websites are optimized for mobile, while over 55% were planning to use social media as part of their sales strategy this holiday season, with Facebook likely to be the main beneficiary.
“With 90% of retail sales still taking place in stores, local businesses have a huge opportunity to drive online customers to brick-and-mortar locations this holiday season,” said Brendan Morrissey, CEO and co-founder of Netsertive.
For many, the way to do that is still to hold out the prospect of a bargain: almost 40% were offering promotions on Black Friday, and 34% were offering deals for Small Business Saturday.
Netsertive, a marketing technology company, surveyed more than 500 small and local businesses across the US to understand how they are preparing for this year’s holiday season.
And its 2017 Small Business Holiday Trends Report revealed that almost 70% don’t believe that Amazon will impact their holiday sales.
Far from harming them, it could actually help them, as smaller retailers start to partner with e-commerce players for a variety of services including advertising, selling and fulfilment.
But even as they tap into such services, the report found that many local businesses are failing to leverage the brand support that is on offer.
Some 60% of small and local retailers were not using marketing assets from their brand partners, said Netsertive. Most brands set aside co-op marketing dollars in their marketing budgets to support local retailer efforts, but more than $14 billion of these funds remain unused each year.
Local retailers are focused on mobile and social, according to the report. Almost 60% of respondents confirmed that their websites are optimized for mobile, while over 55% were planning to use social media as part of their sales strategy this holiday season, with Facebook likely to be the main beneficiary.
“With 90% of retail sales still taking place in stores, local businesses have a huge opportunity to drive online customers to brick-and-mortar locations this holiday season,” said Brendan Morrissey, CEO and co-founder of Netsertive.
For many, the way to do that is still to hold out the prospect of a bargain: almost 40% were offering promotions on Black Friday, and 34% were offering deals for Small Business Saturday.
Sourced from Netsertive; additional content by WARC staff
