US retail e-commerce spending reached a new peak of $161.5 billion in 2011, representing a 13% increase from $142.5 billion in 2010, according to February 2012 figures from comScore. Online retail spending reached $49.7 billion in Q4, marking a 14% increase from $43.4 billion in Q4 2010, and a 27% rise from $39 billion in Q4 2009. In fact, Q4’s growth rate was the 9th consecutive quarter of year-over-year growth and the 5th consecutive quarter of double-digit growth rates. Read More »

Although men and women report equal awareness of QR codes (77%), men who are aware of them are 75% more likely than women to have used one (28% vs. 16%) to access product information, according to survey results released in February 2012 by BrandSpark International, in association with Better Homes and Gardens. Looking at age groups, 18-34-year-olds (85%) display the highest awareness of QR codes, with 30% of those having used one. 35-49-year-olds are next, with 80% having heard of QR codes, and 23% of those respondents having used one.
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The CPG channel was the leader in online video ad spending in 2011, according to [pdf] statistics from online ad server YuMe released in February 2012, which found that the channel accounted for 24% of spending in 2011 overall and 25% of spending in Q4 2011. Health/Pharma was the number two category in terms of ad spend in 2011, at 16%, although it challenged CPG for top billing in Q4 (23%). Other leading categories were telecom (13% in 2011, including 12% in Q4), financial services (7% in Q4 and 2011 overall), entertainment (6% in 2011, but just 3% in Q4), and retail (5% in 2011, and 6% in Q4). Read More »

2011 saw a 300% growth in barcode scanning compared to 2010, and a 1000% increase over 2009, according to [download page] a report released in February 2012 by Scanbuy. In fact, Q4 2011 alone saw more scans than 2009 and 2010 combined. Mid-November through December proved a significant period of new user activation, serving as the driving force behind the more than 3 million new ScanLife users activated during the quarter, a 360% growth from Q4 2010.
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80.6% of consumers reported using coupons sometimes (33.2%), very often (34%), or always (13.4%) in 2011, with a further 14% saying they used them, but rarely, according to a study released in January 2012 by NCH. The proportion reporting using coupons at least sometimes in 2011 represents 3% growth from 78.3% in 2010, and has risen every year since 2007, when it was 63.6%. By contrast, the 5.4% of consumers in 2011 who said they never use coupons is the lowest since 2007, when it stood at 10.6%. Read More »

66% of global consumers reported switching providers in at least one industry in 2011 due to poor customer service, representing a rise of 3% from 64% in 2010 and 12% from 59% in 2009, according to [pdf] a survey released in January 2012 by Accenture. Surprisingly, consumers switched providers even as they reported increased satisfaction across a variety of service characteristics evaluated: for example, the proportion who were very or extremely satisfied with the politeness and friendliness of employees rose 7% points over 2010 to reach a majority, 54%. Read More »

Visitors to CPG brand websites buy 37% more in retail stores than non-visitors to the brand website, and complete 41% more transactions, according to [download page] a comScore, Accenture, and dunnhumbyUSA study released in January 2012. Website visitors are also heavier buyers within a brand’s product category, spending 53% more category dollars than non-visitors. And they have more purchase occasions than non-visitors for both the brand and the category, making 35% more purchase trips for the brand, and 39% more in the overall category (3.2 vs. 2.3). Read More »

The most valuable e-commerce opportunities identified by retailers with comparable store/channel sales growth of over 4% (”winners”) are improving online merchandising and assortment (65%), providing richer product detail information, such as photo and video (61%), and investing in cross-channel capabilities (59%), according to [download page] a report released in January 2012 by RSR Research. Read More »

US consumers redeemed 3.5 billion CPG coupons in 2011, representing a 6.1% increase from 3.3 billion in 2010 and a 9% rise from 3.2 billion in 2009, according to a study released in January 2012 by NCH. In addition, CPG coupon redemption in 2011 represented a significant 34.6% jump from 2.6 billion CPG coupons redeemed in 2007 and 2008. Interestingly, redemption grew as distribution declined: the 305 billion CPG coupons distributed in 2011 was down 8.1% from the 332 billion distributed in 2010. Read More »

The total number of CPG coupons distributed in the US during 2011 dropped 8.1% after hitting a peak in 2010, but remains up 7% from its 2007 pre-recession level, indicating continued strong levels of investment by marketers, according to a study released in January 2012 by NCH.

The number of CPG coupons distributed in the US last year via all media totaled 305 billion, down from 332 billion in 2010 and 311 million in 2009, but up from 285 billion in 2007.
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