ASK BOSCO® Index Archives | ASK BOSCO®

Travel companies who are flying at the start of 2025

Kylie Moody — Mon, 20 Jan 2025 16:42:57 +0000

2025 ins and outs? Travellers are set to embrace trends like solo adventures, blended work-and-leisure trips, and sustainable tourism, the role of online marketing has never been more critical. Leading travel companies are leveraging cutting-edge digital strategies to stand out in a crowded market, using everything from AI-powered tools to targeted campaigns that capture traveller intent. In this blog, we spotlight the top 10 travel companies excelling in online marketing performance.

What is the ASK BOSCO® Index Score?

The ASK BOSCO® Index is a powerful benchmarking tool within our platform that measures your overall digital performance. It evaluates key factors such as SEO, paid search, website health, and other marketing efforts to give you a clear picture of your online impact.

Unlike traditional metrics that focus solely on marketing spend, the ASK BOSCO® Index offers a comprehensive analysis. It combines insights from both paid and organic traffic, drawing on reliable third-party data to provide an accurate and holistic view of your digital presence.

How is the score Interpreted?

The ASK BOSCO® Index score ranges from 0 to 1000. On average, brands and retailers score around 500. A higher score indicates stronger online performance, making it a valuable metric for tracking progress. Think of it as your digital marketing “credit score”—the closer to 1000, the more optimized and effective your online strategy is!

What does the travel industry look like?

As of January 2025, the travel industry is starting to see signs of improvement, driven by the recovery of global travel demand and evolving traveller preferences. International tourist arrivals have surpassed pre-pandemic levels, fuelled by demand, and eased restrictions. Solo travel, authentic local experiences, and sustainability are key trends shaping traveller behaviour. Technological integration, such as real-time translation and seamless booking platforms, enhances convenience when travelling.

Despite economic challenges, travellers are spending more, with millennials and Gen Z leading the trend. Airlines and hotels show strong performance, though over-tourism and environmental concerns persist, prompting sustainability measures. The industry’s recovery reflects resilience and a focus on innovation and sustainability.

Who topped the league table?

Kuoni

In the last quarter of 2024, Kuoni initiated a significant rebranding effort to broaden its appeal and modernize its image. This transformation, set to be fully implemented by January 2025, includes a refreshed logo featuring a globe, a new colour palette with a standout “wow” yellow, and a focus on lifestyle-oriented imagery. The rebrand aims to position Kuoni as a contemporary travel company that offers personalized holiday experiences tailored to individual lifestyles and reasons for travel.

As part of this rebranding, Kuoni launched the “It’s not where, it’s why” campaign on December 20, 2024. Developed in collaboration with the creative agency Special London, the campaign emphasizes the motivations behind travel rather than specific destinations. It features narratives such as a young girl discovering flamingos in Kenya and a mother and son bonding during a white-water rafting adventure. The campaign is being broadcast nationally across television, radio, digital platforms, and outdoor media, and is scheduled to run until February 17, 2025.

Additionally, Kuoni has introduced a “Sale Away” range of holiday offers and is conducting a “Kuoni Giveaway” for travel agents from December 30, 2024, to February 17, 2025, featuring weekly prizes to engage and incentivize the trade.

These strategic marketing initiatives reflect Kuoni’s commitment to evolving its brand identity and expanding its customer base by focusing on the personal and emotional reasons people choose to travel.

Exodus Travels

In the last quarter of 2024, Exodus Adventure Travels implemented several marketing initiatives to commemorate its 50th anniversary and engage travellers for the upcoming year.

50th anniversary celebrations and special departures

To mark its half-century milestone, Exodus introduced 50 special departures for 2024 across its most popular tours. These exclusive trips include additional experiences designed to enhance the adventure, such as a lunch at the Shepherd’s Hut along the Path of the Gods on the “Walking the Amalfi Coast” tour and a free sauna session in a traditional wood burning Rantasauna during the “Finnish Wilderness Week.” Participants in these special departures also receive a limited edition 50th Anniversary kit bag and partake in on-trip celebrations.

New year promotions

In anticipation of the New Year, Exodus announced its “More Extraordinary with Exodus in 2025” sale, offering travellers special deals on selected trips for the upcoming year. This promotion aims to encourage early bookings and attract new customers by providing savings on a variety of adventure travel experiences.

Brand refresh

Leading up to its 50th anniversary, Exodus underwent a brand refresh, including a new name—Exodus Adventure Travels—and an updated logo. Aiming to present a modern, forward-thinking image to its audience.

Content marketing and travel insights

Exodus continued to engage its audience through content marketing by publishing articles that highlight travel trends and top-rated trips. For instance, they released insights on emerging adventure destinations for 2025, showcasing locations like Albania, Uzbekistan, and Bhutan to inspire travellers seeking new experiences.

Findings from our analysis

There were some interesting findings from our ASK BOSCO® Index individual category scoring for travel. These individual categories evaluate key factors such as SEO, paid search, website health, and other marketing efforts. In the paid search category, Audley Travel have the best overall paid search performance with a score of 808 but are fourth in the league table. Exodus had the best website health in terms of speed and performance. When it came to online engagement, Kuoni had the most engagement across both SEO and PPC categories.

Want to know more?

If you’d like to know more about the ASK BOSCO® competitor benchmarking feature and find out where your brand sits on our league table rankings, simply get in touch with us at team@askbosco.com – we’d love to hear from you.

The post Travel companies who are flying at the start of 2025 appeared first on ASK BOSCO®.

The UK’s top performing vitamins and supplements retailers

Mike Thompson — Thu, 12 Dec 2024 11:47:53 +0000

Each month, we release the ASK BOSCO® Index league table for a specific retail category. This involves evaluating the “credit score” or digital presence of leading retailers in the category and comparing their performance using our competitive benchmarking tool. This month, we turned our focus to the vitamins and supplements industry—a rapidly growing sector, especially as consumers prioritize health and wellbeing heading into the new year.

The Competitive Benchmarking feature within the ASK BOSCO® platform allows you to see how your website’s online presence measures up against your closest competitors.

What does the vitamin and supplement sector look like?

In 2023, the UK’s supplements market was valued at approximately £3.13 billion and is projected to grow by 10% reaching around £5.9 billion by 2032. The industry is seeing a strong shift towards personalized nutrition, driven by consumer demand for tailored health solutions. Companies are increasingly offering subscription-based services that provide custom supplement packs based on individual health goals, lifestyles, and genetic data. Here’s the headlines from this year:

Plant-based and preventative health focus

There’s a growing preference for plant-based, organic, and clean-label supplements, aligning with consumer preferences around natural ingredients. Plant proteins, herbal remedies, and natural multivitamins are gaining traction.

Consumers are prioritizing immunity-boosting and preventative health products, especially post-COVID-19, leading to increased demand for supplements containing Vitamin D, C, Zinc, and probiotics.

E-commerce growth

Online sales dominate the market, boosted by convenience and subscription models. Direct-to-consumer brands and health-focused marketplaces are capturing a significant share.

Projections for 2025:

Technology integration

Expect more AI-driven personalization in products and virtual consultations. Wearable health tech may also play a role in recommending real-time adjustments to supplement regimens.

Expansion of functional foods and sustainability

The line between food and supplements will blur further, with fortified snacks, beverages, and meal replacements integrating targeted nutrients.

A heightened focus on sustainable packaging, ethically sourced ingredients, and carbon-neutral manufacturing processes will be key differentiators for brands.

Increased regulation

As the market grows, governments are likely to introduce stricter regulations to ensure safety and efficacy, which may reshape product development strategies.

Overall, the vitamin and supplement sector is set for continued innovation, with a strong emphasis on personalization, sustainability, and integration with broader health tech trends.

What is the ASK BOSCO® Index?

Curious about how your brand stacks up against the competition online—and how to outpace them?

The ASK BOSCO® Index, part of the Competitor Benchmarking section in our platform, is your go-to tool. It measures your digital presence and evaluates the impact of your SEO, paid search, website health, and other marketing efforts.

Unlike traditional metrics that focus solely on marketing budgets, the ASK BOSCO® Index takes a holistic view. It analyzes your performance across both paid media and organic traffic, using data from trusted third-party sources to provide a comprehensive and accurate assessment of your online presence.

So, what’s a good ASK BOSCO® Index score? Scores range from 0 to 1000, with the average for brands and retailers hovering around 500. A higher score signals stronger online performance. Think of it as your digital marketing “credit score.” The closer to 1000, the better you’re doing as a retailer online!

Here’s how we scored the top 10 vitamin and supplement retailers

Who topped the vitamin league table?

Holland & Barrett

At the start of this year, the company launched a £4 million campaign titled “Get Your Year Off to a Glowing Start.” This initiative encourages consumers to prioritize health and happiness by showcasing simple changes to support overall wellness, such as boosting immunity and enhancing mental performance. The campaign included TV adverts, digital content, and a partnership with The Guardian, emphasizing gut health and offering personalized nutrition plans through consultations with qualified nutritionists. We suspect this will be something they continue heading into the new year, after releasing their Wellness Trends Report for 2025.

Ending the year on a high, Holland & Barrett have introduced its highest-value beauty advent calendar to date, priced at £45 with contents worth over £219. The calendar features 25 days of vegan-friendly beauty and wellness products, including 16 full-sized items from brands like H&B Biotin, VitaSkin, Evolve, Dr Organic, and Weleda. This offering aims to provide customers with a luxurious self-care experience leading up to Christmas.

Holland and Barrett topped both of our SEO (785) and Paid Search (794) categories, they performed particularly well in driving traffic to their website through paid search activity and through their SEO work.

Bassetts Vitamins

In September 2024, Bassetts Vitamins appointed Tin Man to handle UK consumer public relations. The agency is tasked with developing creative campaigns, managing press relations, and executing an influencer program to promote Bassetts’ “vitamins for people that don’t do vitamins” positioning and to introduce new products for the cold and flu season. Bassetts performed the best in our Website Health category with a score of 714, encouraging for customer’s who are looking to invest in vitamins as their website loads quickly, and is optimised for search engines.

Want to know more?

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Uncover the top 10 energy suppliers of November: Who’s leading the charge?

Kylie Moody — Thu, 07 Nov 2024 15:57:29 +0000

Each month, we run our ‘ASK BOSCO® Index league table’ on a specific retail category. We do this by running the ‘credit score’ or digital online presence of a category’s top retailers and pit them against each other using our competitive benchmarking tool. The Competitive Benchmarking feature in the ASK BOSCO® platform compares your website’s online presence against your closest competitors. This month we focused on energy suppliers, a key area for exploration following cost rises, budget announcements and the transition to green energy.

What does the energy sector currently look like?

The energy crisis has been gripping the UK since autumn 2021, when wholesale gas prices began to rise. This crisis has had a significant impact on the cost of living for UK households and businesses. While the cost of energy has fallen since, energy prices still remain one of the main drivers of inflation.

As a result, the retail energy sector is focusing on empowering customers with flexible energy solutions and stable pricing. The transition to clean energy is driving the adoption of dynamic pricing models, such as time-of-use contracts and smart meters, which aim to help customers optimize their energy usage and reduce costs themselves.

However, widespread adoption is hindered by slow smart meter rollouts and existing fixed-price contracts. Digital transformation, supported by AI, is enhancing customer experiences by offering personalized insights and greater control over energy consumption. Regulatory bodies are working to balance customer protection with the need for market flexibility, ensuring that all consumers can benefit from sustainable energy options while promoting a greener energy supply.

What is the ASK BOSCO^® Index?

Do you want to know how your brand compares to the competition online – and then learn how to outrank them? The ASK BOSCO® Index within the Competitor Benchmarking part of the platform is the perfect way to measure your digital presence and assess the effectiveness of your SEO, paid search, website health and other marketing efforts.

Unlike other metrics that only consider your marketing budget, the ASK BOSCO® Index considers your performance across paid media and organic traffic. It provides an accurate overview of your online performance based on your previous digital interactions by analyzing data from trusted third-party sources.

What is a good ASK BOSCO® Index score? It ranges from 0 to 1000, with the average score for brands and retailers being around 500. The higher your score, the better your online performance as a retailer. Think of it as the credit score of digital marketing.

Here’s how we scored the top 10 energy retailers

Who topped the league table?

EDF Energy

Launch of the “Change is in our Power” campaign

EDF introduced a new brand platform under this slogan, which aims to inspire pride and trust in the company’s efforts toward sustainability and customer-centric service. The campaign, developed by Lucky Generals, is their largest to date and features a hero video centred around a young musician calling for change. It strategically integrates traditional media (like TV and out-of-home ads) with digital efforts across platforms such as Spotify, Sky, and GoodLoop. A critical part of this strategy is leveraging AI-based targeting and Nielsen data to optimize their media buying and reach highly engaged audiences.

Our ASK BOSCO® Index has found that EDF perform the best in SEO with an overall SEO score of 720, with an individual score of 818 on website traffic through SEO alone.

Customer migration to the Kraken platform

EDF recently partnered with Accenture and Kraken Technologies to transition over five million customers to the Kraken platform, known for its advanced data and AI capabilities. This move enhances customers’ ability to manage their energy consumption online more efficiently. The transition also supports EDF’s push to modernize its retail operations, aiming to streamline processes, improve customer experience, and reduce costs

These initiatives combine targeted brand messaging with significant tech investments, positioning EDF as a proactive and customer-focused player in the energy sector. This dual focus on branding and digital transformation aims to drive growth, elevate customer loyalty, and improve operational efficiency.

Octopus Energy

Smart tariffs & cleantech

Octopus has been promoting smart tariffs to encourage the use of renewable energy at optimal times. This includes innovative pricing that reduces costs for consumers when renewable energy sources are abundant.

Customer-centric approach

Octopus remains focused on delivering excellent customer service, which has helped it top customer satisfaction rankings and increase its market share. Octopus Energy are still the most popular energy and utilities company in the UK at the moment, according to a YouGov survey.

Octopus Energy’s best performing category was in paid search with a score of 719, driving traffic to their website was their strongest point, scoring a massive 807.

Expanding global footprint

With substantial investments, Octopus is pushing into new markets such as the U.S. and Brazil, partnering with local firms to expand its reach.

Want to know more?

If you’d like to know more about the ASK BOSCO® Index and find out where your brand sits on our league table rankings, simply get in touch with us at team@askbosco.com – we’d love to hear from you.

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Online Furniture Stores: League table of the top 10 retailers in 2024

Rosie Beeston — Mon, 13 May 2024 08:12:24 +0000

The retailers setting the trend in online furniture

Each month we run our ‘ASK BOSCO® index league table’ on a specific retail category. We do this by running the ‘credit score’ or digital online presence of a category’s top retailers and pit them against each other using our competitive benchmarking tool. The Competitive Benchmarking tool found in the ASK BOSCO® platform compares your website’s online presence against your closest competitors. This month we focused on online furniture retail, which continues to be a growing sector within e-commerce.

What does the online furniture sector currently look like?

The global online furniture industry has experienced significant expansion and evolution over recent years. This is due to economic shifts, supply chain challenges, and evolving consumer behaviour.

For obvious reasons, the sector had a boost in the early part of the COVID-19 restrictions. Despite initial concerns of an e-commerce slowdown post-pandemic, online furniture sales have continued to grow steadily. In a report commissioned in 2023, Statista found that 27% of UK shoppers purchased home and garden products online.

Amidst challenges facing the industry including economic instability, rising interest rates, and supply chain disruptions, furniture retail businesses are pushing the boundaries to enhance customer experiences. The top online furniture retailers are demonstrating that to be successful, they need to really understand their target market. And in doing so, they are optimizing e-commerce experiences, embracing 3D content for marketing, and revamping their advertising strategies based on their ideal audience.

Ultimately, technological innovation is helping to drive growth and meet evolving consumer demands in this sector.

What is the ASK BOSCO® Index?

Do you want to know how your brand compares to the competition online – and then learn how to outrank them? The ASK BOSCO® Index within the Competitor Benchmarking part of the platform is the perfect way to measure your digital presence and assess the effectiveness of your investments in organic, earned and paid media channels.

Unlike other metrics that only consider your marketing budget, the ASK BOSCO® Index takes into account your performance across paid media and organic traffic. It provides an accurate overview of your online performance based on your previous digital interactions by analyzing data from trusted third-party sources.

What is a good ASK BOSCO® Index score? It ranges from 0 to 1000, with the average score for brands and retailers being around 575. The higher your score, the better your online performance as a retailer. Think of it as the credit score of digital marketing.

Here’s how we scored the top 5 retailers (download to view all 10)

We scored ten of the leading UK online furniture retailers. Here’s how the top five ranked on the ASK BOSCO® Index league table. Download the league table below to see the full results and see who the remaining five furniture retailers are.

What do these scores mean?

Anthropologie:

Ikea and Anthropologie are vying for top place on the table with the highest ASK BOSCO® score – 739.

Anthropologie knows its target market well, and its stunning lifestyle-oriented imagery and videos appeal to its trendy and aspirational audience.
Anthropologie uses personalized email marketing effectively, sending tailored content and offers based on customer preferences. They also collaborate with influencers who align with their brand values, expanding their reach and reinforcing their brand image. By actively encouraging user-generated content, Anthropologie creates authenticity and a sense of community among its customers.

Ikea:

IKEA’s digital marketing approach is quite different, and focuses more on content marketing, localized strategies, and customer-centric initiatives. They provide valuable content and educational resources on home furnishing and design, engaging their audience with practical tips and DIY ideas. IKEA also effectively tailors its marketing campaigns and product offerings to suit its markets, and its social media presence showcases products and design solutions with humour and creativity. A recent ad campaign from Ikea has told viewers to “Do try this at home” that encourages everyone to ‘rebel’, whilst still furnishing our homes entirely with Ikea furniture. It’s part of its first-ever global creative that is running across all of the 31 countries that it operates in.

Download the full league table

Want to know more?

If you’d like to know more about the ASK BOSCO® index and find out where your brand sits on our league table rankings, simply get in touch with us at team@askbosco.com – we’d love to hear from you.

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ASK BOSCO® Index scores DIY retailers: Screwfix comes out on top again!

Claudia Poole — Tue, 02 Apr 2024 13:47:31 +0000

The online DIY stores coming out on top this Spring.

This month, we’ve used our ASK BOSCO® Index, our competitor benchmarking feature that is part of the ASK BOSCO® platform, to run the league table for the DIY online sector. The ASK BOSCO® league table compares your ASK BOSCO® Index score against your closest competitors. The index uses trusted third-party data to evaluate performance across paid and organic media channels, giving a combined score out of 1000. The higher the score = the higher the market leader.

What does the online DIY sector currently look like?

The online DIY sector has experienced significant transformation in recent years, helped by technological advancements and changing consumer behaviours.

In the past, the only way to buy DIY items was to visit a store or order from a catalogue. Now, with the convenience of digital platforms, customers can easily access a wide range of DIY products, tools, and resources from the comfort of their homes. This shift has democratized the DIY industry, both in terms of empowering people to tackle home improvement projects on their own, but also levelled out the playing field for online retailers who don’t want to (or don’t have the capacity to) open hundreds of stores across the country. Online retailers in the DIY sector can now also offer a wide range of SKUs online, held at a central warehouse and further support DIY-ers with information guides and video tutorials to help with their projects – further helping their online presence.

Here’s how we scored the DIY online retailers:

We scored the leading UK DIY retailers using the ASK BOSCO® index feature. Here’s how the top five ranked on the ASK BOSCO® Index league table.

Who’s top of the league for online DIY Retailers?

For the 2nd year in a row, Screwfix has come out on top of the ASK BOSCO® League Table for online DIY retailers in the UK. The reason for this is no accident. Recently mentioned in the Retail X report as an ‘Elite’ retailer, Screwfix has strategically embraced digital retailing over the last few years, particularly post-covid times. Pre-covid, about a third of its sales were online, but during the pandemic, digital channels became the sole means of sales, fulfilled through delivery and store collection. Screwfix has managed to keep this digital engagement high, despite the pandemic now in the past, and it states that 75% of its sales are now digitally enabled.

Replacing its catalogue in August 2022 was a significant shift for Screwfix, who instead installed over 4,500 in-store digital browsers in their stores. Furthermore, Screwfix’s mobile app has emerged as its fastest-growing channel, boasting over 4 million downloads offering features such as 60-minute Sprint delivery and store check-in functionality, with the aim of putting the company at the heart of everything they do.

Its digital presence is also reflected in its profits, with Kingfisher Group, Screwfix’s parent company, reporting a retail profit of £603 million in the UK. According to Screwfix’s Digital, Proposition and Data Director, Sue Harries, the retailer is continuing to prioritize digital transformation, leveraging data science to better inform their customers online.

Who missed out on the top 5?

DIY online retailers who missed out on the top 5 include Homebase (whose ASK BOSCO® index score is 700) and Robert Dyas (whose ASK BOSCO® index score is 697).

Want to know more?

If you’d like to learn more about the ASK BOSCO® index and other functionality within the ASK BOSCO® platform include the reporting suite and the AI forecasting and optimization tool Budget Planner, please get in touch with the team at team@askbosco.io.

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ASK BOSCO® Index: Top 10 supplements brands

Emily Hakner — Tue, 05 Mar 2024 16:20:40 +0000

The online retailers setting the trend in the supplements industry:

Each month, we run the scoring for a league table in a particular industry, using our ASK BOSCO® competitor benchmarking feature within the ASK BOSCO® platform to evaluate the performance of various retailers in both organic and paid search. This month, we focused on the market for supplements / meal replacements.

What does the online supplements sector currently look like?

According to Mintel, the current cost of living crisis has prompted 40% of users to either reduce or stop using supplements in recent years. Despite this, due to rising inflation, the sector has grown in value and the sector is expected to grow another 10% from now until 2028.

In a highly competitive landscape, it is essential for supplements and meal replacement brands to differentiate themselves. Their success relies on their use of innovative digital marketing techniques spanning paid search, paid social, organic search, and influencer/brand ambassador collaborations. Many brands have also embraced a subscription-based model, boosting the value of their marketing efforts through recurring orders and increased customer lifetime value as well as securing listings in major supermarkets in the UK.

What is the ASK BOSCO® Index?

Do you want to know how your brand compares to the competition online? The ASK BOSCO® Index is the perfect feature for measuring your digital presence and assessing the effectiveness of your investments in organic and paid media channels. Check out your score here.

Unlike other metrics that only consider your marketing budget, the ASK BOSCO® Index considers your potential in both paid and organic search. It provides an accurate overview of your online performance based on your previous digital interactions by analyzing data from trusted third-party sources.

What is a good ASK BOSCO® Index score? It ranges from 0 to 1000, with the average score for brands and retailers being around 575. The higher your score, the better your online performance as a retailer. Think of it as your credit score for your digital marketing.

Here’s how we scored the brands

We scored ten leading UK supplement retailers. Here’s how the top five ranked on the ASK BOSCO® Index league table. Download the league table below to see the full results and see who the remaining five supplement retailers are.

What do these scores mean?

In joint top spot on the ASK BOSCO® league table this month are Huel and Yfood, both with an impressive score of 746.

Huel (backed by Dragon’s Den star Stephen Bartlett) has experienced notable growth, affirming its position as a key player in the supplements market. It’s successfully leveraged its paid and organic marketing by using strategic partnerships, influential brand ambassadors, and engaging social media campaigns – mastering the art of understanding and connecting with the target audience. Similarly, German-owned Yfood has seen massive growth in the UK in the last year, securing major listings including Tesco. Established in 2017, it’s become one of the fastest-growing food start-ups in Europe.

Download the Top 10 ASK BOSCO® Index here:

The post ASK BOSCO® Index: Top 10 supplements brands appeared first on ASK BOSCO®.

Who’s making a splash: ASK BOSCO® index rates the top 10 UK wine & spirit merchants

Matthew Fraser — Thu, 21 Dec 2023 11:08:08 +0000

The online retailers setting the trend in wine

Each month, we run the scoring for a league table in a particular industry, leveraging our ASK BOSCO® Index to evaluate the performance of various retailers in both organic and paid search. This month, we focused on the market for wine and spirits.

What does the online wine and spirits sector currently look like?

The alcohol industry has seen major changes in recent years due to the pandemic, shifts in consumer behaviour, and a growing variety of products. This has led the market to evolve and better cater to consumers.

The loosening of lockdown restrictions during the pandemic caused a surge in online alcohol sales. In 2020, the value of alcohol sales online went up by more than 40%, while it was only 12% in 2019 and 16% in 2021, across 16 key markets.

As we continue to navigate the post-pandemic world, the global beverage alcohol market will witness significant changes in the next five years as the world moves beyond the pandemic and faces increasing economic uncertainty. These shifts will have diverse impacts, emphasizing the significance of home-based occasions and a moderation trend driven by the necessity to manage household expenses. The desire to celebrate after Covid-19 restrictions, coupled with a shift in perception towards drinking, means wines and sparkling wines are no longer just for special occasions but are enjoyed more casually and often.

However, with the shift in consumer behaviour comes another rising trend linked to the booming health and wellness industry, which is that of the low-alcohol and no-alcohol movement. Driven by increasing demand and innovative offerings, this category is on the rise, with volumes projected to increase by 25% from 2022 to 2026.

What is the ASK BOSCO® Index?

Do you want to know how your brand compares to the competition online? The ASK BOSCO® Index is the perfect tool for measuring your digital presence and assessing the effectiveness of your investments in organic and paid media channels.

Unlike other metrics that only consider your marketing budget, the ASK BOSCO® Index takes into account your potential in both paid and organic search. It provides an accurate overview of your online performance based on your previous digital interactions by analyzing data from trusted third-party sources.

Here’s how we scored the brands

We scored ten leading UK wine retailers for the month of December. Here’s how the top five ranked on the ASK BOSCO® Index league table. Download the league table below to see the full results and see who the remaining five wine retailers are.

What do these scores mean?

Leading the top of the table this month is Berry Bros & Rudd, Britain’s oldest wine and spirits’ merchant. Currently in its 325th year, Berry Bros & Rudd have witnessed significant success this year, with a double-digit sales growth of 11.1% for the financial year.

Closely following behind Berry Bros & Rudd on the ASK BOSCO® League Table this month is Majestic Wines who dominate website traffic, averaging around 558.9K monthly visits, more than triple BBR’s 137K.

While BBR saw a modest rise in organic and direct traffic between September and November 2023, its social and display ads channels declined. In contrast, Majestic Wines experienced a remarkable surge in visits during the same period, notably in organic and direct traffic, and a substantial increase in social traffic to 31K by November.

The surge in traffic that the likes of Berry Bros & Rudd, Majestic Wines etc are seeing can be attributed to the increasing popularity of e-commerce, as more and more consumers are choosing to purchase wine online. Online wine retailers offer a wide selection of wines from around the world, making it easier for consumers to explore different options and find wines that suit their taste preferences.

Given these changing trends in consumer’s buying and drinking behaviour, the current state of the industry is – understandably – in a slightly unpredictable condition.

A recent article written by Forbes highlights the rise and expansion of the “NoLo” movement (no alcohol and low alcohol), with millennials and Gen-Z leading the shift towards non-alcoholic drink options. This shift can be linked to consumers growing consciousness regarding their health and the environment, which has also led to increasing demand for organic and natural wines as well as a growing interest in sustainable and ethically produced products

While the data and the shift in perception and drinking trends might raise concerns, it’s important to remember that total wine sales are still up, and the market is still expected to grow in the coming years as British consumers continue to explore diverse wine varieties and styles.

Download the full league table

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Womenswear: ASK BOSCO® index rates the top 20 UK fashion retailers

Claudia Poole — Mon, 04 Dec 2023 10:54:41 +0000

The online retailers setting the trend in women’s fashion

What does the online women’s fashion sector currently look like?

It’s been a difficult year for the fashion industry. The rising cost of living in the UK and the after-effects of Covid-19 plus the Russian-Ukraine war have seriously influenced not only fashion consumers but also the people making, selling, and distributing the clothes. With prices increasing and less money available for extra spending, people have naturally cut back on buying non-essential items like fashion, causing a decline in fashion sales as a whole.

That said, despite the overall decline in sales across the fashion sector, online fashion shoppers are still showing a strong willingness to spend compared to those in other industries. According to a recent Retail X report, 52% of fashion consumers shop online more than once a week. As fashion consumers are often younger and have more disposable income, retailers’ online sales channels must be well-optimized to cater to this demographic. Younger shoppers are turning more towards social media platforms to buy clothes. Instagram and TikTok particularly rely on influencers to turn their posts into sales.

In order to keep costs down, fashion retailers are also relying on technology and AI to increase sales and personalisation has been a big trend this year for ecommerce brands, using AI to tailor product recommendations to individual customers’ preferences, such as the ‘recommended by you’ features based on browsing and purchase history

What is the ASK BOSCO® Index?

Here’s how we scored the brands

We scored twenty leading UK women’s fashion retailers for the month of November. Here’s how the top five ranked on the ASK BOSCO® Index league table. Download the league table below to see the full results and see who the remaining fifteen women’s fashion retailers are.

What do these scores mean?

Shein sits proudly at the top of the table with the highest ASK BOSCO® score – a mighty 745. Shein has seen rapid growth due to their successes with paid search being a strong investment for the brand along with viral and influencer marketing campaigns featuring giveaways and challenges to generate engagement. However, despite their immense success, there are some controversies surrounding the quality and origin of their inexpensive clothing and accessories. However, currently, this bad publicity does not mean low monetization efficiency for the brand.

Close on the leaderboard is Mango, a global fashion company with its roots in Barcelona. With a target audience primarily comprising young women aged twenty to thirty-five, Mango emphasizes fashion trends and its primary drivers are paid search and direct -although they have seen a slight decline in organic search over recent months. One area in which Mango outshines Shein is their commitment to sustainability over fast fashion.

Closely following behind Shein and Mango on the ASK BOSCO® league table is Marks & Spencer who sees a lot of their website traffic coming via direct search and organic search. Also in the top 5 is Yours Clothing, the plus-size fashion retailer that was recently named by Retail Week as the no. 1 ‘Fastest Growing Fashion Retailer’ in the UK. Yours Clothing has successfully leveraged all aspects of digital marketing including a good mix of paid and organic traffic that includes a strong base of affiliate marketing campaigns.

Download the full league table

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Luxury Travel: Here are the brands taking the lead

Matthew Fraser — Thu, 09 Nov 2023 15:10:27 +0000

Each month, we create a league table in a particular industry, leveraging our ASK BOSCO® Index to evaluate the performance of various retailers in both organic and paid search. This month, we focused on luxury travel brands.

What does the online luxury travel sector currently look like?

Despite recent challenges, the desire to travel remains strong worldwide. YouGov’s travel sentiment tracker has revealed that 74% of consumers are planning to take at least one trip in the next year, with an even higher percentage among high earners.

This heightened demand is driving growth in the luxury travel market. Airlines are enhancing premium services, while airports are upgrading lounges and retail options.

Driven by strong demand and a desire for longer holidays, the luxury travel sector is set to become the fastest-growing segment in the travel industry.

What is the ASK BOSCO® Index?

Here’s how we scored the brands

We scored ten leading UK luxury travel companies for the month of October. Here’s how the top five ranked on the ASK BOSCO® Index league table. Download the league table below to see the full results and see who the remaining five online travel brands are.

What do these scores mean?

Vying for top spot at the head of the ASK BOSCO® luxury travel league table are three luxury travel brands – eShores, Black Tomato and The Luxury Holiday Company.

Founded in 2005, Black Tomato has become a renowned name with bases in London and the US, a growing team of passionate travellers, and a global clientele. Whether catering to luxury seekers or daring adventurers, all Black Tomato travel experiences share a common bond – a thirst for exploration.

Black Tomato’s most recent campaign launched in October 2023 called ‘See you in the Moment’ saw the brand launch a new range of experiences that enabled groups of travellers to come together and “share moments” in iconic and remote destinations around the world.

Tom Marchant, co-founder of Black Tomato, said: “See You in the Moment encourages being fully present in the moment with others; being mindful, which by design is innately therapeutic.

This campaign is in response to a post-pandemic boom that Black Tomato experienced in people booking group trips, which currently make up 30% of the company’s business which is a 35% increase from 2019, before Covid stopped travel in its tracks.

eShores’ offers a highly personalised service, creating tailor-made holidays for discerning travellers and specialising in multi-centre itineraries around the globe. Each customer is assigned a dedicated travel expert agent who curates the perfect holiday for their clients based on their dreams, wants and needs. This unique approach ensures that returning clients can easily reconnect with the same agent, streamlining the holiday planning process over time and importantly resulting in a large number of highly satisfied customers, which the brand have capitalised on to help with their SEO, achieving an excellent 4.9 stars out of 5 on both reviews.io and TrustPilot.

As an online tour operator & travel agent, eShores is able to search the market to ensure that they find the best price for their clients with none of the overheads of traditional travel companies allowing them to create luxury holidays at the best price possible – again, leading to customer satisfaction.

Contemporary luxury travel revolves around fulfilling as many aspirational experiences as possible – and it seems the companies at the top of this list are fulfilling many of the tick boxes for digital marketing too!

Download the full league table

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