Wal-Mart Analyzes Online Merchandising
By George Anderson
Wal-Mart is trying to apply the same type of analytical thinking to merchandising online as it does in assessing the effectiveness of its tactics in physical stores.
John Mellor, vice president of marketing at Omniture, told DM News, “What they’re trying to determine and influence is product conversion — what kind of merchandising translates to the largest conversion.”
Wal-Mart is using a customized version of Omniture’s SiteCatalyst Web analytics service to help it quantify and assess the effectiveness of product placement and various merchandising and promotional vehicles in driving sales by category.
The task is more complex than might be thought because Wal-Mart’s classification may place a given product in several categories at the same time.
Moderator’s Comment: How adept are retailers at understanding the effectiveness of various
online merchandising and promotional tactics in driving sales? – George
Anderson – Moderator
