In today’s InternetRetailing newsletter, we’re reporting on the tactics that retailers are using to drive growth strategies. UK retailers are now working in an environment of often unpredictable sales. While both online and stores traded well in heatwave June, rainy July saw lower sales. Added to this is the overall competition in the market – and those retailers that make it both easy and convenient for shoppers to buy are likely to win more sales.
This week, then, we report on how Asos is introducing visual search, and making it easier for shoppers to act on inspiration, searching its site for clothes that they’ve seen others wearing, either in real life, on social media or other sources of ideas. DFS this week said it was focused on growth across channels, despite its own falling revenues in a spring and early summer season that it says was affected by uncertainty. Meanwhile, Zalando is taking action to get ever closer to its customers across Europe as it looks for ways to grow its incomes. The aim of giving convenient delivery and returns lies behind its expansion of its fulfillment network.
Today we also report on UK payment processor Worldpay as it reports its merger with US business Vantiv, and on Amazon as questions are raised about its tax bill.
Today’s preview of the 2017 InternetRetailing Conference focuses on international retailing in the Adapt and Expand conerence, while our guest comment comes from Anne Benoist of Kantar Media, who argues that how retailers sell should reflect the channel and the shopping style of purchasers.
The Tamebay Ecommerce Cup
The Tamebay Ecommerce Cup 2017 will be held on September 7 and five-a-side teams are now being invited to sign up. The tournament, now in its fifth year, is moving to a new venue in Shepherd’s Bush and promises FA refs and a comfy new players’ lounge complete with screens to keep tabs on competitors’ matches.
“We had a total of 26 teams enter last year, and it was great to have both suppliers and retailers competing, with Deliveroo taking the top spot and runners up Uber narrowly missing out,” says Mark Pigou, founder of InternetRetailing Media. “This year promises to be just as competitive.” To enter a team of up to 10 people (five players and five subs), sign up here.
Sponsorship opportunities are limited to three companies: email Joey Evans (joe.evans@tamebay.com) for more.
Webinars
Find out more about upcoming InternetRetailing webinars and register for free on the InternetRetailing webinar page. You can also catch up with past webinars on the page: recent sessions have come from IBM Watson on using AI to improve the customer experience, and from SmartFocus and The Entertainer on using social to reach digital customers.
