Press Release
NEW YORK CITY – March 19, 2014 – Rakuten LinkShare today announced double-digit year-over-year (YOY) growth in its performance marketing network for the 2014 Valentine’s Day shopping season.
Specifically, the company reported the following results for the period of January 24 through February 13, 2014 when consumers spent an estimated $17.3B in the United States on Valentine’s Day gifts.
- Overall, same-store sales in the network were up 22 percent YOY.
- Advertisers representing the gift and food industries realized a 25 percent YOY increase in sales.
- Not surprising, the most popular products purchased were, in rank order: flowers, chocolate and jewelry.
- The highest converting day for flowers was February 10 while the highest order volume day was February 11.
- The busiest day for purchases made on personal computers was February 11 while sales on tablets and mobile phones peaked on February 12.
“Since the Valentine’s Day shopping season is relatively short and purchases tend to fall into three main categories, this creates a heightened competition to attract, engage and convert online shoppers,” said Jessica Joines, chief marketing officer, Rakuten Marketing. “By working closely with our advertisers and publishers to provide them with trending data and insight into consumer shopping patterns, they’re able to develop strategic, winning campaigns that result in strong growth for their business and our network.”
About Rakuten LinkShare Corporation
Rakuten LinkShare Corporation provides online retailers and other businesses with expert online marketing services and solutions. Rakuten LinkShare’s cost per action (CPA) affiliate network and lead generation campaigns can acquire new customers, increase revenue and drive overall results while achieving target return on ad spend. Rakuten LinkShare clients are Fortune 500 and other prominent companies doing business online, including J.C. Penney, 1-800-Flowers.com, American Express, Avon Products, and The Body Shop. The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in New York City, with offices in San Francisco, Chicago, Tampa, London, Tokyo, São Paulo, and Sydney. For more information, please visit www.linkshare.com. Rakuten LinkShare is part of Rakuten Marketing’s integrated marketing solutions, which include affiliate marketing, retargeting and display, search marketing, and product and data feeds.