Post on 23-Aug-2014
description
Back to School Search insights to
instruct back-to-
school sales
Back-to-school is a leading retail season
Back-to-school is the 2nd largest retail season, following the Winter Holiday season.
Back-to-school &
back-to-college combined
estimated spend in 2013.
A 14% decrease from the
$84 Billion spent in 2012.
$72.5
Billion
Source: National Retail Federation 2013 Back-to-School Survey
Nearly 75% of people begin shopping 3+ weeks before school starts.
23.9%
49.0%
21.8%
2.8% 2.6%
0%
20%
40%
60%
2+ months
prior
3 weeks to 1
month prior
1-2 weeks
prior
Week school
starts
After school
starts
When people will begin shopping
for back-to-school
Source: National Retail Federation 2013 Back-to-School Survey
Many consumers will begin shopping early and comparison shop, spreading out their budgets over time as they seek the best bargains and value.
Many plan to continue shopping back-to-school sales even after the first school bells have rung.
Source: Yahoo Back to School Shopping Intentions Survey, September 2013
58%
73%
73%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%
Teens (shopping for self)
Parents with kids <18
Adults (shopping for self)
People who will shop back-to-school sales after school begins:
Marketers go back to school early, too
When marketers plan to start their back-to-school marketing activities:
May
July
27%
34%
Source: Experian.com, 2014
Source: National Retail Federation 2012 Back-to-School Survey
Both school and college spending trends closely align.
$689
$907
$635
$837
Back-to-School Back-to-College
Back-to-school average spend
2012
2013
-8%
-8%
Both back-to-school and back-to-college spend dipped 8% from 2012.
Source: National Retail Federation 2013 Back-to-School Survey
84%
66%
60%
32%
23%
22%
17%
13%
1%
Price discounts
Coupons
Free shipping
Rebates
Loyalty programs
Gift sets or complementary items
Flexible payment plans
Groupon/LivingSocial deals
Other
Types looked for: 83% of back-to-school shoppers
were actively looking for
deals and promotions.
57% of back-to-school shoppers
planned to use online
coupons and promotions
more than they did
last year.
Source: Yahoo Back to School Shopping Intentions Survey, September 2013
1Source: Yahoo Back to School Shopping Intentions Survey, September 2013
40% of the back-to-school shoppers are Dads!
[VALUE]
Mom
[VALUE]
Dad
Who is back-to-school shopping?
And an honorable mention to the 30% who noted toys are most important.
Source: Yahoo Back to School Shopping Intentions Survey, September 2013
Back-to-school/back-to-college media and entertainment items shoppers purchased or plan to purchase:
Source: Yahoo Back to School Shopping Intentions Survey, September 2013
Over 1/3 of both school and college shoppers will also shop online.
Source: National Retail Federation 2013 Back-to-School Survey
67.1% 61.7%
51.5%
37.3% 25.9%
Discount store Department store Clothing store Online Electronic store
Top places – back-to-school
48.3% 42.7%
39.3% 37.1% 33.3% 30.8%
Discount store Department store College bookstore Online Office supply store Clothing store
Top places – back-to-college
Note: *on AdWords and Yahoo! Bing Network Source: adGooroo blog, August 6, 2013
Textbooks, school supplies, and sporting equipment are top ranked.
Ad spending
(thousands)
Impressions
(millions)
1. Textbooks $829.9 18.9
2. School supplies $153.6 17.3
3. School uniforms $106.3 8.5
4. Used textbooks $101.1 3.4
5. Soccer cleats $59.1 5.2
6. Textbooks online $53.7 1.7
7. Best laptops for
college $43.3 .6
8. Football cleats $39.5 3.5
9. School backpacks $35.5 2.9
10. School desk $32.7 .6
Ad spending
(thousands)
Impressions
(millions)
11. School supply list $28.1 2.2
12 School supplies list $27.3 2.9
13. Back-to-school
clothes $27.0 .9
14. Back-to-school
supplies $25.1 1.8
15. Dorm bedding $20.8 1.4
16. College university $19.3 .9
17. Football equipment $18.6 1.3
18. School uniform $17.8 1.7
19. Dorm room ideas $16.4 .9
20. Football gear $13.9 1.1
1Source: Deloitte, “2013 Back-to-School: Making the Grade,” July 29, 2013 2Source: Endicia.com, July 2013
80% plan to research
and shop online.2
37% plan to make a
purchase online.2
Online back-to-school shoppers plan to spend 41% more than other shoppers.2
Get price information 66%
Get/download discounts, coupons, sale information 60%
Get store location 55%
Locate a store that carries a particular product 50%
Access a retailer’s website 44%
Get product information 43%
View a retailer’s ad 41%
Shop online 31%
Read product/retailer 27%
Make a purchase 24%
Receive a text message from a retailer 15%
1Microsoft partnered with Mercent to compare Product Ads to text ads on the Yahoo Bing Network [4 advertisers involved in the study], Q1 2014. 2Source: Microsoft internal data, May 2013. Performance study based upon beta testing data on Bing O&O only and is not a guarantee of
performance. Increase in clicks is dependent upon a seasonality and advertiser vehicle.
Want to drive online shoppers
to your store front?
Ad Extensions, like Location
Extensions and Call Extensions, can
help your customers find you quickly –
putting your business address and
phone number right at their fingertips.
Drive in-store traffic with features like
store locator, click-to-directions and click-
to-call for mobile searchers.
Want to drive shoppers to your website?
Product Ads allow you to showcase
your product and attract more qualified
clicks by including images, promotional
text, pricing and your company name.
Shoppers have a good idea of what
they’re clicking on, putting them that
much closer to a purchase decision.
Up to 9% higher click-through rate with Location Extensions than with standard text ads2
With the lines blurring between online and offline, Bing Ads can help you reach your shoppers effectively online and on the go.
Up to 29% Lower cost-per-click with Product Ads than with standard text ads1
Connecting with an audience that makes time to buy
27% more likely to have spent $500 or more online or offline on teen boys clothing in the last 6 months
16% more likely to have spent $500 or more online or offline on kids clothing in the last 6 months
16% more likely to have spent $500 or more online or offline on teen girls clothing in the last 6 months
Compared to Google,
the Yahoo Bing Network Audience is:
Source: comScore Plan Metrix, U.S., July 2013, custom measure created using comScore indices and duplication. July was chosen to reflect the
beginning of the back to school season.
Compared to Google, the Yahoo Bing Network audience is more likely to:
Source: comScore Plan Metrix, U.S., July 2013, custom measure created using comScore indices and duplication. July was chosen to reflect the
beginning of the back to school season.
Have searched online for female teen clothing/shoes in the last 6 months
Have searched online for male teen clothing/shoes in the last 6 months
Have searched online for kids’ aged
2-12 clothing in the last 6 months
Compared to Google, the Yahoo Bing Network audience is more likely to:
Source: comScore Plan Metrix, U.S., July 2013, custom measure created using comScore indices and duplication. July was chosen to reflect the
beginning of the back to school season.
Have searched for information online for other literary or educational products in the last 6 months
Have bought other literary or educational products online in the last 6 months
Schooling Mobile
Smartphone Back-
to-School searches
on the Yahoo Bing
Network are
projected to
increase 200%+
from 2013 to 2014!
Source: Microsoft Internal Data Analysis: Q1 2012, Q1 2013, Owned & Operated, US; Mobile includes Lo Fi Phones and HiFi Phones, but not Tablets.
.
Dec-12 Jan-13 Feb-13 Mar-13 Apr-13 May-13 Jun-13 Jul-13 Aug-13 Sep-13 Oct-13 Nov-13 Dec-13
Backpacks Clothes Deals Dorm Supplies School supplies Textbooks
With the exception of
textbooks, the back-to-
school season searches
and shopping kick off in
June.
Source: Microsoft internal query data on Owned & Operated, PC, lo-fi &hi-fi Mobile, Tablets. Data range: 12/1/2012 to 2/28/2014.
Monthly searches on the Yahoo Bing Network
. Source: Microsoft internal query data on Owned & Operated, PC, lo-fi &hi-fi Mobile, Tablets. Data range: 12/1/2012 to 2/28/2014.
Backpacks Clothes Deals Dorm Supplies School supplies Textbooks
…and gets hot the last week of July and early August
Search query volumes
jumped between the 3rd
and 4th week of July for
all categories - except
dorm supplies.
Weekly searches on the Yahoo Bing Network
Source: Microsoft Internal Data Analysis: May 2013, Owned & Operated, US; Mobile includes: Lo Fi Phones and HiFi Phones, but not Tablets.
Backpacks Clothes Deals
backpack girls shoes back school sales
laptop backpacks girls clothing back school deals
school backpacks children clothing student discounts
kids backpacks kids shoes back school sale
backpacks girls school uniforms school supplies coupons
Dorm Supplies School Supplies Textbooks
college dorm school supplies textbook
dorm bedding teacher supplies textbooks
twin xl sheets discount school supplies cheap textbooks
twin xl bedding classroom decorations college textbooks
dorm room ideas school supply used textbooks
0%
1%
2%
3%
4%
5%
6%
7%
PC/Tablet: Click-through Rate by Week
Backpacks Clothes Deals Dorm Supplies School supplies Textbooks
Source: Microsoft Internal Data Analysis: 2013, Owned & Operated, US; PC/Tablet, lo-fi &hi-fi Mobile. FW = Fiscal Week.
On mobile, the click-through rate for back-to-school “clothes”
searches peaked earlier than on PC/Tablet.
0%
1%
2%
3%
4%
5%
6%
Mobile: Click-through rate by week
Backpacks Clothes Deals Dorm Supplies School supplies Textbooks
Source: Microsoft Internal Data Analysis: 2013, Owned & Operated, US; PC/Tablet, lo-fi &hi-fi Mobile. FW = Fiscal Week.
On PC/tablet the lowest average cost-per-clicks are seen
across categories in June with the exception of deals searches.
Take advantage of low cost-per-clicks in outlying months.
$-
$0.50
$1.00
$1.50
$2.00
$2.50
PC/Tablet: Cost-per-click by week
Backpacks Clothes Deals Dorm Supplies School supplies Textbooks
Source: Microsoft Internal Data Analysis: 2013, Owned & Operated, US; PC/Tablet, lo-fi &hi-fi Mobile. FW = Fiscal Week.
Source: Microsoft Internal Data Analysis: 2013, Owned & Operated, US; PC/Tablet, lo-fi &hi-fi Mobile. FW = Fiscal Week.
$-
$0.50
$1.00
$1.50
$2.00
$2.50
$3.00
Mobile: Cost-per-click by week
Backpacks Clothes Deals Dorm Supplies School supplies Textbooks
Want to capture those who love school? We’ve got ad copy research to help you do just that
Here’s how to read a heatmap A
d T
itle
Great Bad No Data Good Ad Description
% O
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Barg
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Best
Call T
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Deals
DK
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Fin
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No
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Bargains
Best
Call To
Action
Deals
DKI
Find
New
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Official Site
Online
Orders
Param
Insertion
Place
Price/Pricing
Products
Promotion
Quality
Savings
Shipping
Shopping
Sports
Style/Kind
Top
Value
Our study results show that a retail ad with ‘official site’ in the title and ‘new’ in the description has high Ad Quality.
Great Poor Insufficient data Good Ad Description
Ad
Title
% O
ff
Barg
ain
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Best
Call T
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Act
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Deals
DK
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Fin
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No
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Para
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Pro
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Pro
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% Off
Bargains
Best
Call To Action
Deals
DKI
Find
New
Now
Official Site
Online
Orders
Param Insertion
Place
Price/Pricing
Products
Promotion
Quality
Savings
Shipping
Shopping
Sports
Style/Kind
Top
Value
Retail – Back to School
PC/Tablet
Retail Back to School: Top word combos
PC/Tablet
PC/Tablet - With Sitelinks
TITLE DESCRIPTION
Official Site New
% Off New
Sports Online
Place Find
Sports Promotion
PC/Tablet - Without Sitelinks
TITLE DESCRIPTION
Official Site Best
% Off Best
Quality Shipping
Quality Call To Action
Official Site New
PC/Tablet
TITLE DESCRIPTION
Official Site New
Sports Online
Quality Shipping
Quality Call To Action
Official Site Selection
Ad
Title
Great Poor Insufficient data Good Ad Description %
Off
Barg
ain
s
Best
Call T
o
Act
ion
Deals
DK
I
Fin
d
New
No
w
Off
icia
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Sit
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On
lin
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Ord
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Para
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P
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Qu
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Savin
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Sele
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Sh
ipp
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Sh
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pin
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Sp
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Sty
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in
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To
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% Off
Bargains
Best
Call To
Action
Deals
DKI
Find
New
Now
Official Site
Online
Orders
Param
Insertion
Place
Price/Pricing
Products
Promotion
Quality
Savings
Shipping
Shopping
Sports
Style/Kind
Top
Value
Retail – Back to School
Mobile
Retail Back to School: Top word combos
Mobile
Mobile - With Sitelinks
TITLE DESCRIPTION
Official Site New
% Off New
Sports Online
Place Find
Sports Promotion
Mobile - Without Sitelinks
TITLE DESCRIPTION
Official Site Best
% Off Best
Quality Shipping
Quality Call To Action
Official Site New
Mobile
TITLE DESCRIPTION
Official Site New
Sports Online
Quality Shipping
Quality Call To Action
Official Site Selection
Educate your search ads this back to school season Ad formats on Bing Ads
Location Extensions Sitelink Extensions Call Extensions Merchant Ratings
Source: Microsoft internal data, May 2013. Performance study based upon beta testing data on Bing O&O only and is not a guarantee of performance.
Increase in clicks is dependent upon a seasonality and advertiser vehicle.
Up to 13% higher CTR using Sitelink Extensions than with standard text ads
Up to 9% higher CTR using Location Extensions than with standard text ads
Source: 1comScore Explicit Core Search (custom), US, September 2013
Attract more qualified clicks with product images and rich product details in your search ads
• More real estate. Unlike text ads, Product Ads can display multiple offers from a single advertiser – and simultaneously with a text ad and organic listing.
• Save time. Advertisers don’t need to write ad copy and build keyword lists for each product.
• Easily import your Google Product Listing Ads campaigns into your Bing Ads account**.
**extensions are not imported from Google, must be manually added
Already advertising online elsewhere?
It’s quick and easy to import your Google AdWords
campaigns directly into Bing Ads with just a few clicks.
Learn how to import your campaigns
Connect with a Search Specialist who can help you get started today
1-800-518-5689 or check out Getting started
@bingads
linkedIn.com/company/bing-ads
facebook.com/bingads
blog.bingads.com
instagram.com/bingads
slideshare.net/bingads
youtube.com/bingads
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