Christmas shoppers already out surfing

Some shoppers are well ahead of the Santa Parade.

Retailers be warned - Christmas starts in September.

That's the word from internet search engine Google, as it offers retailers tips on how to increase their visibility online.

Ross McDonald, Google's Sydney-based retail industry marketing manager, says 50 per cent of shoppers now research their purchases on the internet before hitting the high street.

And it may shock some retailers to know, he told the Retailers Association annual conference last week, that the first earlybird Christmas shoppers begin surfing the net about now.

"In September it's not a huge amount of people, but that's when they start and it builds from there."

After research done in Australia, Google was surprised to see the high percentage of people using the internet for shopping research - it had thought the figure would be about 20 per cent. The results indicated that online increasingly needed to be part of a retailer's marketing mix, McDonald said.

Large New Zealand retailers were actually ahead of their Australian counterparts in advertising on the internet. "For almost every product category you'll get more advertisers in New Zealand than you will in Australia."

However, smaller Kiwi retailers could utilise the net better.

The first thing retail operators should do was Google their brand name to make sure people could find them, their stores and their information, he said. Another tool was Google's Insights for Search, which showed when people were searching, for what, and in what regions.

There are two parts to maximising your visibility in a search, he says:

Search engine optimisation - making sure the structure of your website is easy for search engines like Google to look at. Your web design people should be able to help there.

Search engine marketing - actively going out and talking to shoppers by using sponsored links such as the ones Google sells.

He said the challenge was to lead a shopper doing a general search towards your website in particular.

"If they're in the market for a lawnmower and you sell lawnmowers, remind them. If you don't remind them there and then, it's just going to be harder for you to bring them into your store."

TOP RETAIL TIPS

* Do a search yourself to check all your information comes up.
* Use Insights Search to see who's Googling what, when and where.
* Make sure your website is structured so it's easy for search engines to find.
* Buy sponsored links.

www.google.co.nz/insights/search