What’s fast becoming clear, we conclude from the stories in today’s InternetRetailing newsletter, is that retailers who embraced multichannel early and put in place the necessary infrastructure to support customers who want to buy wherever and whenever they want, have fared better in a very competitive Christmas shopping period.
Thus multichannel veterans Asos, Debenhams and AO.com report fast UK online growth in their Christmas figures this week, but relative newcomer Morrisons, which recently recorded its millionth online grocery order, has seen its sales fall back this year – though its position is improving slowly. Overall, BRC figures out today, show that online helped pull back non-food retailing from falling sales in December, and that despite relatively slow ecommerce growth last month.
The figures come as a new and illuminating report from Kantar Retail and law firm Squire Patton Boggs shows that stores remain an essential part of multichannel retailing. Today we also feature a guest comment from the report authors mapping the rise and rise of click and collect. The march of multichannel, in the meantime, is mapped through our own news today of a collaboration between Internet Retailing Magazine and Events, and eTailing India.
Our webinars
Our first webinar of 2015 comes from dotmailer, whose group account director Lili Boev will explore why potential shoppers abandon shopping carts – an average 68% of all online retail shopping carts are left before a purchase is completed – and how to craft strategies to make the most of those abandoned carts and convert lost browsing sessions. The free webinar, A sense of abandonment?, takes place at 2pm on January 27. To find our more and register, visit the dotmailer webinar page.
Click to visit the Internet Retailing webinars page to catch up on any that you may have missed.
Our research reports
Our research editors research and produce regular reports on pertinent ecommerce issues. Click on the links to download your free copies of the Seasonal Commerce Report and Customer Experience Report.
