How to structure a successful e-retail strategy

The Internet has made it easier for new entrants and existing retailers alike to set-up, launch, re-platform and update online stores. But the speed of change in e-commerce also presents its own challenges, and the temptation is to adopt a tactical approach to online in order to adapt to the ever shifting landscape. However, the importance of a robust e-commerce strategy should not be under-estimated. 'A more tactical approach to e-commerce may seem ‘cutting edge’ but in actual fact may mean that firms are simply making changes to their e-commerce approach because that is what their competitors are doing or because new technology or designs are trending,' warns Kath Dawson, Creative Director at Strategy Digital. 'Businesses looking to make a success of their e-commerce efforts should ensure a robust e-commerce strategy is central to all activity. Without a strategy which clarifies and defines…

6 Best Practices for increasing conversion for retail E-commerce websites on mobile devices

Recent research by IMRG and Capgemini on Ecommerce sales trends in the UK stated that 23% of all online retail sales in Q2 2013 came from mobile devices. And of these, tablets accounted for 85%. The dramatic headline was:

"Sales via Desktop flat-line as sales via mobile devices now account for all online growth"

However, an interesting turning point here is that, 2013 saw smartphones go through a greater rate of growth in terms of mobile transactions. This being the case, you will know that it has become  critical for online retailers to optimize their e-commerce websites for mobile.

Improve your e-commerce website for mobile usage

Here’s a list of issues to consider, or best practices, based on our experiences, that will help you provide a better shopping experience that meets the expectations…

A tutorial with examples and ideas of what to test

Prominently displaying why users should buy from you rather than a competitor is extremely important for any business look to increases online sales, particularly in retail, but it applies across many other sites. As Bryan Eisenberg, author of Always Be Testing can Call To Action explains in this punchy clip, testing value propositions can have a massive impact on conversion. [youtubevideoembedder id="ps7bB9-ksMY"] Bryan Eisenberg On Unique Value Propositions (1m45s) >> As Bryan says: "If you're not doing this, you're wasting your time" Given this, value propositions are something that I love to test. Smart Insights have covered the importance and examples of value propositions in other posts on their hub page, here I'm going to focus on testing, looking at retail Ecommerce examples.  I will looking at testing and optimisation point of view, starting with a review of…

 New research on consumer feedback on buyer omnichannel fulfilment requirements

Value: [rating=3] Recommended link: Comscore and UPS's 2013 Pulse of the Online Shopper survey ComScore was commissioned by UPS  to survey over 3,000 US consumers, to find out about their online shopping experience and the impact of the range of channels now available to the consumer. The research looks at the consumer journey from pre-purchase, to check out, delivery and post sales. It provides insight into how businesses need to adapt to consumers expectations of an integrated sales experience and the focus on the customer experience. 'Overall, satisfaction with online shopping is high at 83%. However, it drops below 50% when shoppers are asked about: flexibility to choose delivery date; ability to choose a specified time of day for delivery of purchase; flexibility to re-route packages; and a green shipping option' Key…

New Verdict research for retailers

Here we're sharing new e-commerce findings by Verdict, who surveyed over 10,000 on-line shoppers to reveal a forecast that the 'UK’s e-retail market will grow by almost 50% over the next five years to reach £50bn by 2018. One pound in every seven will be made online'.

Something that I found interesting and surprising from the research is that

‘Only 4% more people considered store shopping more enjoyable than online, a gap that’s lowered since the 25% recorded 18 months ago'.

The report highlights some other interesting findings about buyer behaviour:

35-54 males prefer Internet buying.Mobile consumers are savvy enough to know that they will only buy from a trusted, secure network as expected.Smartphones and tablets are used by consumers in-store to research prices and product details. 41% research in store before they purchase online.67% of respondents still shop from their ‘living room’ – second screening…

Examples of the cultural customisation needed for international retail sales

Our friends at Practicology recently held an event looking at approaches to customising Ecommerce for local markets. We thought it would be useful to share the presentations for marketers working on tailoring their proposition to increase international sales. We highlighting the retail e-commerce case studies from Clarks and Debenhams, along with multi-channel research from Amplience.

In their presentation, they shared '6 strategies in play' for e-commerce:

1. Do nothing: Don't allow anyone to buy from overseas.2. Standardisation: Switch on the buy button only.3. Adaptation:  Localise some aspects.4. Localisation: Fully localise the customer proposition online.5. Multi-channel market entry: Lead with online, open stores.6. Lead with stores; then localise online.

Clarks case study : Going Global with e-commerce

Head of E-commerce for Europe at Clarks, Dave Elston shared his experience on Clark's global e-commerce strategy and…

Learning from an example of how one startup failed

Ecomom was a small startup internet retail company selling earth friendly mom and maternity products including food, toys, apparel, and other baby related items. With headquarters in Las Vegas and San Francisco and a third-party fulfillment in Los Angeles, any volume could be shipped within 24 hours. Founded in 2007, by 2011 it had turnover of just over $1 million, but a further round of investment of $12 million required further growth, but at what cost? Business Insider describes the story of the eventual failure of the company in 2013  With hindsight it's difficult to understand investment in the company, but perhaps this was buoyed by the success story of Tony Hsieh building Las Vegas-based Zappos into an online shoe and retail business that Amazon acquired for $1.2 billion. Of course, investors, require growth and Ecomum did achieve revenues of nearly $4 million in…

Learning from the global expansion of ASOS

You will probably have heard of ASOS, they are inspiring example of how to achieve online retail growth. Their most recent figures show the scale they have achieved: "ASOS attracts over 17.5 million unique visitors a month, had 8.0 million registered users and 4.4 million active customers from 160 countries who have shopped in the last 12 months. In addition to the global reach of the core asos.com website, ASOS also has country-specific websites targeting the USA, Australia, France, Germany, Spain and Italy. All products on asos.com can also be bought through the ASOS mobile site, whilst ASOS also offers customers the ability to shop through iPhone and iPad applications".

Source: ASOS annual report

I was fortunate to recently work with them for a year as a placement student and Dave Chaffey,…

Trends in Ecommerce and E-retail based on year-on-year comparisons

The world of ecommerce seemed to go through a more major mainstream media awakening in 2012 with most focus being on the bearing of fruit of mobile commerce which finally proved, then exceeded longstanding hopes. In 2013 we can expect to see a rush of retailers attempting to get ‘mobile’ to try and capitalize on the mobile revenue stream. SME and enterprise level retailers will most likely opt for mobile optimisation of existing sites through third party solutions such as Mobify, with only the larger retailers or retailers with a very specific tactical reason opting to go native with apps. See the recording or slide deck of the Smart Insights webcast by mobile specialist Rob Thurner on mobile priorities for 2013. This recent data from network Affiliate Window across their range of UK retail clients shows the growing importance of handset…

Practical examples of offline retail techniques that also work online

Ecommerce is often considered completely separately from offline retail due to the logistics of both channels. However, if you have worked in the offline retail world as I have, you will know that many selling strategies that work offline to increase sales and increase average transaction values can work online. In this post I'll examine some of the frequent offline selling strategies and show how similar effects can be achieved online.

1. Line of Sight Merchandising Techniques

In many offline retail stores, the layout of the shop floor is governed by the line of sight from the entrance of the store. Line of sight is the natural or common focus points for a consumers eye to be drawn to as they enter a shop. It is within these focal points that stores will place their top selling and highest turnover categories for the season…