Retailers Failing to Connect Newspaper Ads With Online Opportunity

Digital/Online

July 14, 2009 -- According to a study by interactive marketing agency Rosetta, retailers who use newspaper advertising aren't doing a good job of connecting those ads to their e-commerce sites.
 

Rosetta examined the newspaper advertising efforts of 30 prominent retailers and, according to Internet Retailer, "Found many cases in which products featured in newspaper ads were not easy to find on the web site, or unavailable, and many cases of the price in the ad being different from the price on the web site."  The study found that:
 

• Only 10% of retailers studied put products featured in newspaper ads on their websites' home pages.
   
• Only 16% of retailers featured their website addresses prominently in ads (many feature their URL in very small type, bury it at the bottom of the ad, or don't mention the address at all).
   
• Rosetta assigned failing grades to 43% of the retailers studied, saying they did nothing to drive consumers to their web sites or provided messages in the newspaper ads that were misleading or inconsistent with what was on the web.
   

As reported by Internet Retailer, only one retailer received what Rosetta deemed a passing grade, and that is home improvement chain Lowe’s.   Rosetta found that Lowe’s effectively used newspaper ads to encourage consumers to visit the section of its web site describing the retailer’s community service efforts, used print ads to drive traffic to their website's section on how to save on energy, effectively used newspaper ads to encourage customers to visit a web page featuring Father’s Day gifts gift suggestions, and consistently promoted on its home page products from its newspaper ads. 

Rosetta offers these recommendations for multichannel retailers advertising in newspapers:

• Ensure promotions are consistent from print to online.
   
• Make it easy for consumers to find products advertised in print ads when they go to a website.
   
• Fine-tune site search tools so that a search related to a print promotion will put at the top of search results products featured in print ads.
   
• Use print ads to promote the website as a rich source of information.

Source:  Internet Retailer, Retailers don’t deliver the e-commerce news in newspaper ads, study says, July 14, 2009.