In this InternetRetailing newsletter, we report on how leading retailers are working to join up their online and store experiences, with sometimes surprising results.
M&S this week explained to investors why multichannel is important to its business, while Argos showed how selling online and through stores could drive sales, even if it also costs profits in the shorter-term.
Today is the last working day to submit nominations and get your early bird tickets for this year’s Internet Retailing Awards. To avoid spending the bank holiday brainstorming synonyms for ‘great’, get your entries in, grab a ticket and relax.
Stores, showed Next this week, can have a positive effect on sales growth – as long as they’re profitable. Meanwhile, N Brown Group confirmed its plans for an Oxford Street flagship store for previously pureplay brands Simply Be and Jacamo, and spelt out how stores boost online sales in its business.
Today we also report on DPD’s move to deliver on Sundays, a Sage Pay report that suggests retailers must consider omnichannel and new technologies as they look to improve their payments. Finally, today’s guest comment comes from Paul Bantick, of Beazley, who considers why, and how, retailers can protect their data from theft.
Click to read more on our upcoming events, including our third annual Internet Retailing Awards, for which nominations are about to close! (Listen to our podcast to inspire your nominations!)
Our webinars
On May 8, Martin Newman, chief executive of usability specialist Practicology joins Tim Callan, CMO of SLI Systems, for a revealing webinar that will consider how understanding customers’ shopping behaviour can help retailers give them a more relevant experience online. SLI Systems: Connecting shoppers to products to accelerate ecommerce revenues will be held at 11am on May 8. Find out more and register for the free webinar here.
On May 20, Amplience founder and chief executive James Brooke leads a hands-on webinar that will show how retailers from Tesco to L’Oreal are using rich and dynamic media to creating compelling shopping experiences. Amplience: Customer experience masterclass takes place at 2pm on May 20. Click here to find out more and register for the free event.
Finally, on May 21, Jim Davidson, managing of marketing research at Bronto, will host a webinar demystifying the responsive design for marketing messages. Bronto: The responsive inbox: marketing to multidevice consumers takes palce at 2pm on May 21. Click here for more information and to register for free.
Our awards
Nominations are closing for the 2014 Internet Retailing Awards. Last year the winners of these multichannel and ecommerce industry awards included Tesco, Burberry, Asos, Lakeland, eBay, Amazon, Oasis/Warehouse and LoveHoney, who celebrated their wins at a roof top party in the middle of the City. Who will take this year’s titles? This year’s awards will be announced at an exclusive event at One Mayfair on Thursday June 26. Discounted early bird tickets will end at midnight on May 5 (date extended). If you’re still considering who to nominate, you may find inspiration in our podcasts discussing just that subject.
Catch-up on IRx 2014
If you missed an Internet Retailing Expo 2014 presentation that you’d like to catch up on, you can do so now through the post-event website. Visitors to www.internetretailingexpo.com can access all the presentations that we’ve been given permission to share with our audiences.
