Epsilon Targeting Releases Annual Multichannel Trend Report: Increase in Consumer and Business Sales

Where Consumers Spend
At the merchandise category level, Senior Products and Media Categories marked modest declines over prior years. Categories experiencing positive growth included Home Décor, Apparel and Accessories, Children’s Products and Men’s Products. Sales at the product category level varied with two-thirds of product categories flat or improved over 2010. The categories with the highest growth were Fruits and Nuts (60%), High-Ticket Female Apparel (40%), Teen Apparel & Shoes (39%), Vitamins & Supplements (35%) and High-Ticket Home Décor & Gifts (24%). On the other end of the spectrum, select categories experienced declines including Wine & Wine Accessories (-35%), Seeds, Bulbs & Live Plants (-19%), Mid-Ticket Gifts & Merchandise (-16%), Low- to Mid-Ticket Bed, Bath & Linens (-15%) and Discount Domestic Merchandise (-12%).

Multichannel Buyers Deliver Higher Value
The study highlights continued growth in online and retail channels over a four year period. Online sales grew 6% over the last four years and 3% from 2009. Average sales were also up for all channels in 2010 reversing a decline trend. Only Call Center/Mail Order had average sale exceeding pre-recession levels. Significantly higher sales were achieved through multichannel buyer households with two or more purchase. This group averaged $832 per household in 2010 (up 14%) and again comprised 51% of households. This trend also reflected the declining proportion of Pure Call Center/Mail Order consumer sales. For Business offers among buyers with two or more transactions, the mix differs as Call Center/Mail Order buyers spent more per contact and made more purchases per year, with multichannel buyers producing approximately 40% less annual spend.

Methodology
Two main data sources were used to compile the 2011 Multichannel Trend Report. These sources leverage the combined technology and data assets of Epsilon Targeting’s Abacus Cooperative database and comprise a wealth of transactional data. The analysis also looked at the “Multichannel Benchmark Group,” a subset of the Abacus Cooperative members consisting of multichannel merchants. For a sneak peek at 2011 trends, the analysis identified a separate comparative group of multichannel merchants with full activity from January 1, 2009 through March 31, 2011.