Digital Marketing in the Retail Industry

Social media has clearly become an essential marketing tool in the retail industry. A survey recently found that 86% of retail Chief Marketing Officers included social media in their marketing strategies in 2012, compared to only 4% in 2007. In this same survey, CMOs have stated that social media accounts for 10% of their holiday advertising and marketing budgets this year.

Moreover, mobile marketing has also been on the forefront of CMOs minds as Google and many others have been reporting that four out of five consumers plan to use their mobile device to shop this year, thus making it clear that mobile marketing is becoming increasingly crucial. In the mobile space, retailers are still playing catch up as only 50% of CMOs surveyed said that mobile was included in their marketing strategy, up from 39% in 2011.

Additional findings from the 2012 BDO Retail Compass Survey of CMOs also included the following key points:

1. Digital channels experience a larger share of marketing dollars;
2. Big data presents a big challenge as well as an opportunity;
3. Retailers are currently focused on Facebook, but many are also exploring Pinterest; and
4. CMOs are actively pursuing different mobile tactics to reach shoppers.
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