The new rules of search
TLDR
- Across the purchase journey, consumers are seeing the benefit of search – from inspiration to purchase, citing convenience and ease of discovery and comparison.
- These behavioural shifts mean brands and practitioners need to be more proactive and challenging in the way they are using and measuring search in order to recognise its full contribution to growth.
Brief
Recent research from Google and Trinity McQueen shows there has been a significant shift in consumers’ online and offline shopping habits since the COVID outbreak. While under one third of respondents said they shopped the telco and beauty & fashion categories mostly online pre-COVID, during the pandemic that has rocketed to between half and two-thirds. Another behaviour that has increased is the use of a variety of platforms for visual search, as consumers seek inspiration. A significant proportion of consumers can be swayed from their preferred brand just by showing them a second brand. Shifts in behaviour have created the opportunity for brands to demonstrate the effectiveness of search earlier in the journey, without having to tie to a last click purchase. Search will continue to play a significant role in understanding consumers, and brands can use that understanding to deliver business growth. However, it does require an adjustment in the way we think about and measure the value of the channel moving forwards.
- Read the full article from WARC
Live shopping marketplace Shopstream launches in HK, eyes SG expansion by November
TLDR
- Shopstream, a B2C-focused “live social shopping” marketplace app is launching in Hong Kong as part of its global rollout.
- The next launch stop for Shopstream will be Singapore by 11 of November with the introduction of Shopstream/livelife campaign and scheduled expansion to the rest of Asia, Middle East, Europe and Americas in 2022.
Brief
With a curated portfolio of lifestyle brands targeted at consumers who want a “different experience of brand engagement”, the app claims to provide a “Netflix-like” experience to enable brands to build their community through authentic live interactions. Shopstream focuses on professional presenters and is launching with a portfolio of diverse brands to enable the best-in-class live social shopping experience for brands and consumers. Shopstream claims to fuses retail, entertainment and live events in one seamless experience that aims to bring businesses and consumers closer. Professional marketers are able to formulate new innovative omni-channel integrated marketing strategies to reach users in a more creative way.
- Read the full article from Marketing Interactive
LinkedIn Testing Paid Online Events as Potential New Moneymaker
TLDR
- LinkedIn is testing the idea of letting users charge for virtual events hosted on its platform, potentially creating a new moneymaker for both the social network and its users.
Brief
The test involves a small group of users, and the company hasn’t decided whether to roll it out more broadly as LinkedIn is still exploring the approach, including how much -- if anything -- it will collect from hosts. The move would build on the growth of LinkedIn Events, a program that saw participation surge during the pandemic. It added native live video streaming last year to better handle to virtual event hosts. Earlier this year, LinkedIn started offering hosts the ability to advertise their events. The company said it’s exploring other new features -- beyond potentially charging money -- to make hosting events easier. LinkedIn’s plans were revealed inside of code hidden in a beta version of an upcoming update to the company’s iPhone application. The code refers to managing payments, selling tickets and generating earnings as a host. It also cites the ability of users to buy tickets.
- Read the full article from Bloomberg
