ShopLocal's 4th Annual Summit Highlights Web's Increasing Influence on In-Store Sales
PointRoll and ShopLocal Present Top Industry Trends and Offer Digital Leadership in Local Strategies for Retail Marketing
Chicago, IL – July 30, 2008 – At the 4th Annual ShopLocal Summit localized advertising and marketing were once again the focus, as the Web's impact on the future of in-store sales dominated the event's conversations. PointRoll, a wholly owned subsidiary of Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI) and the leading provider of rich media technology solutions, and Gannett's most recent acquisition, ShopLocal, the leader in multi-channel shopping and advertising services, joined forces at the 4th Annual ShopLocal Summit to discuss the future of online in local retail commerce.
The conference was attended by some of the industry's leading retail brands including CVS, Target and Toys ‘R' Us and industry analyst firms Forrester Research and comScore, Inc. They assembled to discuss industry trends and the increasing importance of the Internet in local retail marketing. Today, over 30 percent of all retail sales are influenced by the Internet and this number is expected to grow to 50 percent by 2012. PointRoll and ShopLocal also presented an overview of their strategic alignment within Gannett to develop a unified, end-to-end marketing solution to help retailers provide a richer, more localized and personal shopping experience for consumers.
As advertisers continue to shift traditional ad spending to the Web, due to increasing Internet consumption, the two partners presented new strategies for developing local campaigns that use a blend of e-circulars and the latest, most effective rich media advertising formats to drive both online and in-store sales.
"This year's Summit was a great opportunity to meet with marketers from the world's largest retailers and industry analysts to discuss the trends that are playing a major part in the evolution of our industry," said Deann Harvey, senior vice president of Global Sales of PointRoll. "According to BIGResearch, 92 percent of consumers research products online and Forrester predicts the Internet will influence about half of all retail sales by 2012."
Some of the other major trends discussed include:
- The Next Stage of Local Promotions - More Digital, and Even More Local
To extend their sphere of influence, marketers must take advantage of online circulars such as those offered by ShopLocal. The creative content and data analytics are essential to any local campaign, and this is where PointRoll and ShopLocal can help marketers get more reach.
- Consumer Shopping Habits are Continuously Influenced by New Forms of Digital Media
The $10 billion circular industry is evolving to better utilize interactive marketing tools to reach consumers at the local level based on user characteristics and specific interests. Now, consumers are being engaged just as they're using online tools to make offline purchasing decisions.
- Proof and Measurability - Go Above and Beyond Especially When Dealing With In-Store Sales
To achieve a successful local campaign, proof of campaign performance is necessary, and is not solely demonstrated by click-throughs. The impact of latent, offline and branding of both display and search ads must also be taken into account and tracked by new rich media technologies, as they occur when users do not click on the ads. Retailers that ignore these effects will fail to capture the total value of their online advertising efforts.
- Geo-Demographic and Behavioral Targeting Have Come of Age and Help You Get More Local
Advertisers have brought together behavioral, demographic and geographic methods to generate better results across a wider range of sites with a localized approach to reaching users. In addition, audiences are segmented similarly to the offline market to meet those challenges.
- Multi-channel Marketing Emerging, Not Used Enough
Few retailers are taking advantage of the unique selling advantages of using multiple channels, especially targeting online to sell offline. According to Forrester, 67 percent of consumers who made a considered purchase engaged with the Web at some point during their research process.
"This year's Summit brought together a diverse group of industry leaders in retail, marketing research and advertising to focus on the challenges and opportunities of online advertising for retail on a local level. The next stage of promotions is digital, local and virtual," said Vikram Sharma, CEO of ShopLocal. "We are thrilled to have had a chance to connect with marketers from leading retailers to present how ShopLocal's database and digital circular capabilities are being more closely aligned with PointRoll's marketing, segmentation and interactive rich media capabilities to help extend their reach and provide better in-store results."
About PointRoll
PointRoll, a wholly owned subsidiary of Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI), offers a solution to the limited performance of standard banner ads by effectively bringing a mini-website to the user without requiring a click. PointRoll's superior rich media technology and service enable advertisers to connect with consumers by creating an interactive online environment that generates conversion. With interactive features such as streaming video, polling, instant email, data collection and more, marketers can easily create and deliver ads that build brand and drive sales. The result: great creative controlled by the user and improved ad effectiveness without the negative experience associated with intrusive technologies. Additionally, PointRoll delivers comprehensive, real-time reporting that definitively illustrates return on investment. For more information, please visit www.pointroll.com.
About ShopLocal
ShopLocal, the leader in multi-channel shopping and advertising services, offers a complete suite of innovative solutions that connect advertisers and consumers – online and in-store. ShopLocal's industry-leading SmartProduct business solutions (SmartCircular, SmartDelivery and SmartCatalog) enable more than 100 of the nation's top retailers, including Target, Best Buy, Home Depot, CVS, Albertsons and Sears, to deliver highly interactive, targeted and localized promotions to shoppers via the Internet, mobile phones and any other digital environment. For more information, please visit www.aboutshoplocal.com.
