In the run up to our annual conference, Internet Retailing 2010, we’re talking to some of the key speakers who will appear at the event. Today we have a double serving. Our first interview today is with David Walmsley, director of ecommerce at Dixons Retail, who is a keynote speaker at Internet Retailing 2010, next Tuesday.

Leading electricals retailer Dixons Retail, sums up its ecommerce strategy in one simple phrase: ‘winning on the internet’.

But while it is an idea expressed simply, it’s also an ambitious one. For as veterans of the online space well know, ‘winning on the internet’ is far from straightforward. So how does Dixons plan to achieve its goal? We asked David Walmsley, director of ecommerce at the group, which includes high street names Dixons, Currys and PC World, trades in 28 countries through 1,200 stores and online stores, and employs more than 40,000 people across Europe.

Internet Retailing: Dixons’ strategic goal is to ‘win on the internet’. How are you approaching this, what tools are you using to best effect, and how do you think you’re doing?
David Walmsley: Our approach is a simple one – balancing value, choice and service in our offering to customers, whether that’s instore or online. To better meet our customers’ needs we’ve increased the range of what we’re selling online significantly in the past year, we’re working to improve the customer experience by making the web sites easier to shop and more engaging, and we’re also very focused on our service and delivery proposition.

IR: What have been the biggest challenges that you’ve faced, and what are you proudest of having achieved?
DW: The business is very focused on winning on the internet but the biggest challenge is driving towards this goal in the economic downturn. However we know that investing now will position us for the economic upswing. We’re very proud of our online operations overall but in particular of the multichannel experience we can now offer our customers. Our Reserve & Collect services matches the way our customers want to shop. It ensures the key item they are looking for will be there waiting for them when they head instore.

IR: Looking to the future, what do you now want to achieve with ecommerce at Dixons?
DW: Our goal remains a simple one – to offer our customers the best value, choice and service across all points of contact. Our customers are already happy “shopping multichannel”, our challenge is to deliver a consistent high quality level of offer and service in the multichannel world.

For more information about Internet Retailing 2010 or to reserve a place click here.

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