The Facebook Buy Button. This changes everything utterly.

Facebook are trialling a 'buy' button and unleashing one of the great secrets of advertising - how much does it impact on sales?

What they're looking at is the direct correlation between ads on its network and actual purchase and importantly too, it combats fraud because bots can't buy products. 

Equally too, it allows them to open a whole new media universe, selling advertising directly on the basis of return on investment. In other words, no need to buy media space as such but rather, buy sales.

Walmart 'back to school' Facebook advertising resulted in a 16 times return on that Ad spend.

That's a revolution.

Already in a trial with 20 retailers, they found that sales rose +2% via Facebook Ads and what's more important, an 8 times average return on the amount spent on advertising. Which makes Facebook advertising a no-brainer because if you were guaranteed that return on sales, you'd advertise more.

And of course, there's an element of those who see the Ads and don't buy online but buy in-store. Retail is a massive advertising segment about 11% of online advertising.

The Buy button also allows Facebook keep payment details so allowing customers easy, one click ecommerce. 

It's getting there and this according to the excellent Financial Times so it's reliably informed.

If this works, it really will change things utterly.

Hard for other media to compete with guaranteed sales V advertising and hard, impossible, for advertisers to ignore.

It changes the face of advertising totally.
In effect, it's almost up there with the second secret of Fatima

Walmart have a viral video that brings a voice to Special Needs. Good.

You may or may not, like Walmart.

But you'll find it hard not to like them when you see this online video. Because it's storytelling - the best way to use digital video - and because it's real. Nobody is trying to sell you anything here except to feel good.

About jobs. About American products. About Walmart.

People might say that it's using people with Special Needs to promote Walmart. Exploiting them. 

We have Special Needs in our family and I can assure you it's the opposite - people want their voices heard and for so, so long we refused to use them in Advertising. Now we can and now they can be heard with online digital video.

Good on you Walmart.
And with 1.3 million views already, you're going viral which you could never do on TV.

Deservedly.

ECommerce, Retailers and the need to focus online.

Interesting retail data from The Financial Times.

Best Buy, an electronics chain, saw a 15% rise in online sales in Q4 to 499m usd. Home Depot, the DIY stores, online rose by 50% to 600m. Walmart online sales expected at 13 billion for 2014.

Very strong rates of growth but ecommerce is still low in their overall sales. Only 6% at Best Buy, 3% at Home Depot and less than 3% at Walmart. Whereas generally, online now accounts for an average of about 11% of all retail sales.

Consequently in fact, these traditional 'bricks and mortar' retailers have a lot of catching up to do. In particular, they need to win against pure online retailers (such as Amazon) who are offering better shipping times and better customer service. Amazon will do 75 billion online this year.

The view is to be able to offer both experiences (online and offline) is the ideal notably at stores (like Home Depot) where customers feel they need to have the advice of a sales person. Indeed, 'click and collect' is seen as a classic example as to how to compete with Amazon's same-day delivery.

I'm not sure they're right.

Online is the new way to shop and will eventually overtake bricks + mortar. Consequently, these retailers need to focus on their online shops and start thinking like tech companies, not as pure retailers.

Online is cheaper to provide (fewer staff, no high street rents/overheads) and it's better margin being direct. It's also global so provides the opportunity to sell into a new customer base, previously limited by store location. 

Online media is also cheaper, targeted and more effective in promoting online shopping and reduces the big advertising overhead that these large retailers hold. 

The switch from high street shopping to online is now well upon us and growing fast. That means that new retail ventures are starting online every day and chipping away at traditional customers of the large retailers. It has to be the focus now, instead of shops. And not a bit of both.

It's what the customer wants.