Retailers turn to PIXSTA AdImages™ to increase return on online marketing campaigns during economic downturn

July 29th 2008 – London, UK - A growing number of retailers are turning to advertising images, rather than adwords, as they look for ways to increase the return on their pay-per-click marketing campaigns.

Visual search and browse company PIXSTA has revealed that 44 new fashion retailers have joined its AdImages™ network since its launch in May, bringing the total to 93.

Among the companies turning to PIXSTA are well-known brands Tommy Hilfiger, TM Lewin, Mexx and Karen Millen.

PIXSTA’s AdImages™ has already been integrated into the online shopping portals of many major media publishers.  Media titles such as Cosmopolitan.co.uk and Fabulousmag.co.uk, immediately deliver highly qualified, receptive and – in the case of specialised media such as Shoewawa (shoes) and TheBagLady (handbags/purses) - fully ‘product-specific’ audiences.

On these media sites, PIXSTA AdImages™ works by presenting site visitors with a selection of images – PIXSTA AdImages – which can then be browsed by the online shopper.  Full details, including brand, retailer and price are displayed for the shopper.

To browse, an online shopper simply clicks on a product image; this immediately returns a new selection of items similar by shape, colour or texture.  When the shopper finds a product they want to buy, he/she clicks on the adjacent ‘shop’ icon and is immediately taken to the appropriate product landing page on the retailer’s site – just one step from checkout.

Crucially, the retailer only incurs a click-through cost at this stage.  This means a very targeted click to their product landing page, virtually eliminating the risk of losing the customer during the click journey.  All previous brand impressions, description and shop information are shown free-of-charge to the browsing shopper.

Emma Bott, e-commerce manager for Karen Millen, said: “Pixsta offers an innovative and highly targeted means of reaching a new customer base.  The concept of browsing for garments visually, rather than being dependent on keywords or descriptions defined by the retailer, is far closer to the in-store shopping experience.  The shopper is able to view and compare a selection of products based on their own criteria at one glance, thus the quality of the click-through is greatly improved.”

Alexander Straub, PIXSTA’s CEO, said: “Since we launched in May, retailers have been very quick to understand the benefits of the PIXSTA AdImages network.  If they are wary of the forecasts for a downturn in the economy and are looking for improved return on their online marketing expenditure, then they are coming to the right place: they receive multiple brand impressions for free, and pay only when a customer is incredibly close to buying.”