How are we adapting as retail goes digital?

In today’s InternetRetailing newsletter we’re reflecting on how UK retailers and the Government are adapting to a world in which the importance of digital retail can no longer be downplayed. We report on what MP Adrian Bailey says is the need for the business rates system to change as retail moves ever further online. We also report on ways that multichannel traders and brands, whose roots lie in the pre-internet era, are adapting to the importance of digital both in their stores and beyond their walls. This is a theme that will be to the fore at IRX 2014. Today’s preview of our annual expo comes in an interview with keynote speaker Dr Jonathan Reynolds, academic director of the Oxford Institute of Retail Management, who will be speaking at IRX 2014 on strategies towards trading abroad.

Today’s variations on this theme include John Lewis, which this week launched a technology lab for start-ups working on future retail technologies, while Ford is using Facebook to sell cars, and DFS is using 3D technology to help its shoppers see how furniture would look in their homes. Finally we report on how Thorntons’ multichannel strategy is delivering growth in both ecommerce and profits.

Our events

We’re now gearing up for Internet Retailing Expo 2014 (IRX 2014) in Birmingham. The event will be held on March 26 and 27 at the NEC in Birmingham, where there’ll be an array of conference streams, workshops and a wide range of exhibitors showing off the latest cutting edge technologies. Watch the Internet Retailing website for the latest news on speakers and exhibitors, while registrations are open on the IRX 2014 website.

Catch-up on IRC 2013

If you missed an Internet Retailing Conference 2013 presentation that you’d like to catch up on, you can do so now through the post-event website. Visitors to www.internetretailingconference.com can access all the presentations that we’ve been given permission to share with our audiences.