Digital Media News

In today’s ultra-competitive e-commerce market, it’s harder than ever to earn and maintain customer loyalty. There isan ever-growing number of businesses competing in the same market space for the same customers’ dollars, and an abundance of choice for the discerning consumer. This means that businesses need to work that much harder to retain customers.

Studies from the U.S. Small Business Administration and U.S. Chamber of Commerce have found that acquiring new customers can cost five to seven times more than simply retaining existing customers, so it is within the interest of businesses to pay as much attention to customer retention as acquisition. In order to do this, it is imperative to have a good retention strategy in place.

As our lives become busier and hitting the high street seems more of a hassle than a pleasure, the lure of the Internet is hard to resist. Researching online before we buy is pretty imperative these days, and we head straight for our laptops, tablets and smartphones to get the lowdown on new products.

It’s nosurprise that savvy shoppers trust recommendations and reviews from their peer group far more than the “you’re worth it” spiel thrown at them by advertisers. And online shopping suits customers and retailers alike. The latter can showcase their goods with lower overheads and the worldwide web allows them to widen their reach. On top of this, online shoppersprovide brands with valuable data about their customers, and thisonline interaction allows for an ongoing relationship once the initial transaction has taken place.

For a long time, Twitter's revenue stream has been made up almost entirely of advertising dollars, but last week, the social media company announced that it is diversifying, by taking a step into the world of e-commerce.

The social networking company is currently trialing a system that enables businesses to embed “buy now” buttons in their tweets, so customers can purchase products directlythrough the site. The button is being marketed as a fun way for users to shop and find deals on exclusive merchandise, but the new offering ultimately represents the company's latest bid to claw back revenue, following a decline in user growth.

The feature is initially being tested on a small group of brandsincluding, The Home Depot, Burberry and non-profit group (RED), but Twitter expects to roll the service out and increase the visibility of its e-commerce tweets, in the lead up to the holiday shopping season.