In an age where print media is trailing digital growth but display ads still aren’t pulling their weight, publishers are looking to e-commerce to drum up some extra revenue. But while plenty of media companies are making an effort—whether it’s Harper’s Bazaar launching e-boutique Bazaar Shops last fall, Better Homes and Gardens’ new shopping channel or Lucky recently restructuring its executive team to focus on digital commerce—many are still struggling to find a profitable model. Veterans of the space say it’s a lot harder than it looks. One fatal flaw of many media-driven e-commerce sites is that they lack a merchandising strategy as meticulous as their editorial strategy, said Ben Lerer, the co-founder of Thrillist, which bought men’s flash sale site JackThreads three years ago. "Understanding editorial and merchandising curation is not the same," he said. “Most of these media companies don’t have a single merchandiser in the building.” Another major difficulty in combining e-commerce with content is getting consumers to transition from browsing to buying, said Tyler Thoreson, vp of men’s editorial, creative and customer experience at Gilt Groupe. "You need to remember what the reader came there for and what’s their headspace," said Thoreson. “From my experience, I’m not 100 percent convinced that it’s all that easy to turn a reader into a customer.” So, whether any publisher will manage to create a full e-commerce experience, from inventory to customer service, is still up in the air. As it becomes harder for media companies bringing in millions of unique visitors every month to make a profit from display ads, however, they may eventually be forced to start thinking more unconventionally.
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Can Publishers Make E-Tail Pay?
http://www.adweek.com/news/press/can-publishers-make-e-tail-pay-146983
In an age where print media is trailing digital growth but display ads still aren’t pulling their weight, publishers are looking to e-commerce to drum up some extra revenue. But while plenty of media companies are making an effort—whether it’s Harper’s Bazaar launching e-boutique Bazaar Shops last fall, Better Homes and Gardens’ new shopping channel or Lucky recently restructuring its executive team to focus on digital commerce—many are still struggling to find a profitable model. Veterans of the space say it’s a lot harder than it looks. One fatal flaw of many media-driven e-commerce sites is that they lack a merchandising strategy as meticulous as their editorial strategy, said Ben Lerer, the co-founder of Thrillist, which bought men’s flash sale site JackThreads three years ago. "Understanding editorial and merchandising curation is not the same," he said. “Most of these media companies don’t have a single merchandiser in the building.” Another major difficulty in combining e-commerce with content is getting consumers to transition from browsing to buying, said Tyler Thoreson, vp of men’s editorial, creative and customer experience at Gilt Groupe. "You need to remember what the reader came there for and what’s their headspace," said Thoreson. “From my experience, I’m not 100 percent convinced that it’s all that easy to turn a reader into a customer.” So, whether any publisher will manage to create a full e-commerce experience, from inventory to customer service, is still up in the air. As it becomes harder for media companies bringing in millions of unique visitors every month to make a profit from display ads, however, they may eventually be forced to start thinking more unconventionally.
In an age where print media is trailing digital growth but display ads still aren’t pulling their weight, publishers are looking to e-commerce to drum up some extra revenue. But while plenty of media companies are making an effort—whether it’s Harper’s Bazaar launching e-boutique Bazaar Shops last fall, Better Homes and Gardens’ new shopping channel or Lucky recently restructuring its executive team to focus on digital commerce—many are still struggling to find a profitable model. Veterans of the space say it’s a lot harder than it looks. One fatal flaw of many media-driven e-commerce sites is that they lack a merchandising strategy as meticulous as their editorial strategy, said Ben Lerer, the co-founder of Thrillist, which bought men’s flash sale site JackThreads three years ago. "Understanding editorial and merchandising curation is not the same," he said. “Most of these media companies don’t have a single merchandiser in the building.” Another major difficulty in combining e-commerce with content is getting consumers to transition from browsing to buying, said Tyler Thoreson, vp of men’s editorial, creative and customer experience at Gilt Groupe. "You need to remember what the reader came there for and what’s their headspace," said Thoreson. “From my experience, I’m not 100 percent convinced that it’s all that easy to turn a reader into a customer.” So, whether any publisher will manage to create a full e-commerce experience, from inventory to customer service, is still up in the air. As it becomes harder for media companies bringing in millions of unique visitors every month to make a profit from display ads, however, they may eventually be forced to start thinking more unconventionally.
