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The high-intent internet
But it tells us a lot more, too- about the changing nature of shopping and the way we use the internet. We can see, for instance, that the internet is moving from a discovery economy to an intent economy, in which consumers are becoming more selective about what they engage with, but far more likely to convert when they do.
Clicks are becoming rarer, but a lot more meaningful and valuable- and brands that can attract the interest of those who are actively researching a purchase hugely outperform those chasing cheap traffic.
This is the high-intent internet- though if you say that out loud, you might conclude we’ re going to need a better name for it.
The data highlights three major new trends in digital marketing: 1. High-intent channels are outperforming broad-reach advertising Brands targeting consumers when they are already researching purchases are seeing significantly higher conversion rates.
2. Lead generation is once again proving its value Sectors focused on driving leads- such as home improvement, finance, and insurance- are generating higher-value customers than ecommerce channels that are simply trying to push a sale. Click-toconversion rates are increasing by between two times and five times in many cases, showing the value in reaching customers early in their journey.
3. Quality traffic is replacing cheap traffic The data suggests the era of high-volume, low-quality acquisition may finally be at an end, as intent increases and clicks become rarer but more valuable.
About 60 percent of leads / sales in the data cache were generated via emails that were delivered or opened, but not clicked. That shows the power of email as a brand awareness tool and reflects the fact that the click isn’ t the only engagement metric that influences sales- perhaps due to the dualscreen nature of our browsing habits.
Email as an acquisition machine
In the face of these trends, brands are using email like they use paid media- to acquire new customers at scale. As cookie pools shrink and acquisition costs rise, brands can no longer rely on rented audiences alone. Email-based methods give them a way to take back control, build first-party data, and actively drive new customer growth.
Powered by hundreds of data attributes, including real-time inbox behavior, brands can identify, target and convert high-intent audiences across email, social, programmatic and offline channels. On an entirely consensual basis, we know what consumers are engaging with in their inbox, allowing brands to reach people at the moment of intent.
Email-based retargeting even allows brands to identify anonymous website visitors, match them to opted-in email profiles( excluding existing customers), and re-engage them through a measurable email journey- all cookie-free and fully GDPR-compliant.
The figures also demonstrate that, in a zeroclick era, other forms of engagement are clearly influencing sales, with increasing numbers of consumers responding to messages by going directly to brands’ own sites.
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