Web News :Sporting Goods Tweets May Be Falling Short

People who see Tweets from sporting goods retailers may be significantly less likely to visit those websites than people who receive Tweets from other types of retailers, according to a study commissioned by Twitter and reported on its blog.

The study by the online marketing research firm Compete analyzed over 7,600 users and their site visitation and purchase behavior on over 700 retail brand websites during the busy back-to-school season. The first group of users was composed of people exposed to at least one Tweet by a retail company. There were two additional control groups: one was made up of U.S. Internet users who visited Twitter but were not exposed to retailer Tweets and the second represented the average Internet browser.

The study’s main finding was that people who see Tweets from retailers are more likely to visit retail websites and make online purchases. And the more Tweets they see, the more likely they are to buy.

Compete found that Twitter users visit retail websites at a higher rate (95 percent) than general Internet users (90 percent). This finding is true for both mass retail sites as well as specific categories like apparel & accessories retailers and becomes even more pronounced for more niche parts of the retail industry like toys or sporting goods.

“During the timeframe that Compete analyzed, 27 percent of general internet users bought something from a retail website,” Twitter reports on its blog. “Twitter users, however, made purchases at a rate of 33 percent from the same sites during the same period. When Twitter users were exposed to a Tweet from a retailer, that purchase rate increased to 39 percent. This represents a lift of 1. 4X and 1.2X, respectively, and is true across a variety of retail categories.”

A graphic on Twitter’s blog, however, shows that less than a third of people exposed to Tweets from Sporting Goods retailers visited such sites. Only people exposed to Tweets from Health & Beauty stores were less likely to visit such retailer sites. Those exposed to Tweets from a dozen other types of retailers were more likely to visit those sites. Those retail categories in order of declining response rates were: Mass Merchants; Apparel & Accessories; Computers & Electronics; Books, Music & Video; Specialty and Non-Apparel; Toys and Hobbies; Housewares & Home Furnishings; Office Supplies; Food & Drug; Telecom; and Deals.

The study recommends retailers include links in Tweets that streamline the path to purchase and special offers that incentivize taking action. It also recommends retailers Tweet frequently. Twitter users exposed to Tweets from retailers on 12 or more days were 32 percent more likely to purchase from those retailers compared to all users exposed to retail Tweets.

( SportsOneSource Media )