Two of the top 20 fastest growing e-commerce brands in Internet Retailer’s 2014 Top 500 Guide are Sailthru clients. Alex and Ani and JackThreads both posted growth results far above the 17.1% average growth rate; with Alex and Ani surging ahead with 249.70% growth and JackThreads growing an incredible 71% year-over-year.

According to Internet Retailer, many of the fastest-growing merchants cited improved features and functions as the reasons behind their online sales growth. Alex and Ani’s Vice President of Digital Strategy, Ryan Bonifacino, specifically quoted the jewelry maker’s better use of customer data as a key reason for their $45.7 million in online sales in 2013.

Both Alex and Ani and JackThreads partner with Marigold Engage by Sailthru for their omnichannel personalization needs, including:

• Developing proprietary consumer insights using our onsite and email solutions
• Dynamically generating email newsletter content based on individual consumer interests and behaviors
• Connecting purchase data to their email marketing program via Sailthru API, which includes cart abandonment strategies, welcome emails, re-engagement emails and other tactics

So how should the Online Retailers think about this approach as a whole?

We believe that the growth of companies like Alex and Ani and JackThreads is proof that the retail and e-commerce industries need to understand omnichannel personalization is no longer “next gen,” it’s the strategy brands are using to win right now.

Moving from legacy personalization infrastructures and relational databases to solutions that natively connect all channels will give a true 360-degree view of the customer. This needs to be on the priority list of every online retailer, simply because greater speed to action data is becoming a necessary capability, given the rapid state of growth in the online browsing and the richness as well as diversity of attribution data points that need to be further captured and better understood.

According to Forrester (1), e-commerce sales in the US and Canada will grow at a 10% CAGR between 2013 to 2018, increasing from $284 billion in 2013 to $448 billion in 2018. In Western Europe CAGR is forecasted at 11% for the same time period, with ecommerce sales growing from €131 billion to €225 billion.

Forrester’s report cites that nearly 69% of the US population, or 178 million consumers, are online shpppers, and that 5 million new shoppers purchased products online for the first time in 2013. Forrester analysts expect that the average US online consumer will increase the amount spent online by 40% in the next 5 years (from $1,500 in 2013 to nearly $2,100 by 2018).

Retail innovation is expected to be a key growth driver:

“While convenience, selection, and value are key drivers of the web shopping experience around the world, innovative ways to find, discover, merchandise, and fulfill items will be critical to supporting the future growth of the channel as well. (2)”

Omnichannel Personalization Accelerates Revenue Generation

From working with Alex and Ani, JackThreads, and rapidly growing e-commerce merchants spanning 6 continents, we know that leading marketers are growing, activating, and retaining consumers across key success metrics through the use of our omnichannel personalization solution. The net impact is increased revenue directly attributed to strategies deployed across the connected omnichannel continuum.

Typical e-commerce KPI lifts achieved by Sailthru clients:

↟ to 20% increase in Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)
↟ to 4x acceleration to first-time purchases
↟ to 10% increases in Average Order Value (AOV)
↟ to 4x increase in site driven sign ups
↟ to 20% reduction in opt-outs
↟ to 300% increase in total email revenue

Are you looking for more significant results from your current digital marketing efforts? Find out more about how personalization can turn you into one of the fastest growing companies in 2015 at https://www.sailthru.com/contact-us/.

(1) Sucharita Mulpuru, “The eCommerce Juggernaut Dominates Retail.” Forrester Research, Inc., May 8, 2014

(2) Sucharita Mulpuru, “The eCommerce Juggernaut Dominates Retail.” Forrester Research, Inc., May 8, 2014