From the RetailX Brand Index to Waitrose and Hema: How leading brands are responding at a time of fast change in retail

Fashion, technology and sports brands top the new RetailX Brand Index 2019. The report, published today, comes at a time of fast change in retail, says InternetRetailing editor-in-chief Ian Jindal. Direct-selling brands can reach further and more easily than ever before, but they must meet consumers’ demanding expectations in order to succeed, he says. The brands who top the list are among those that are most effectively meeting these challenges, adopting competitive delivery and collection techniques alongside top-rated customer engagement and customer service in order to please the all-important customer, and so boost their sales. Our congratulations to Adidas, Apple, H&M, New Look and Nike, who top this year’s index for performances that span a continent.

Getting the experience right for the customer is important across retail, including on the high street where footfall has dipped over previous years. While most retail purchases still take place in store, some retailers are now seeing half – or even more than half – of their transactions taking place online. So what now is the role of the store? Today we’re also looking at how retailers and brands alike can use technology in-store in order to attract shoppers and boost their high street sales. Ideas put forward through two research reports here include stores as showrooms, using real-time local data showing where goods are in stock to bring customers into their local shops, mobile in-store payments apps, and more. We report as Waitrose launches a second customer fulfilment centre, as the FTA reports logistics businesses saying that 15% of HGV driver vacancies will stay empty, and, from our European coverage, as Dutch retailer Hema sells via third-party retailer Wehkamp for the first time. 

Our guest comment comes from Anoop Vasish of Dynamic Yield, who makes the case for how retailers can use in-app messages in order to prevent their mobile app from being deleted.