Whatever the retail question, right now multichannel is the answer – or so it appears in today’s Internet Retailing newsletter. It’s only that drive towards giving customers the opportunity to buy the products they want, when and where they want to, say Debenhams and Tesco , that will lead towards profitable retail in the long-term. That’s why both are putting the emphasis on developing new and more convenient ways to buy as they look to lift sales and boost profits.
Meanwhile Burberry is also seeing the effect of changing consumer behaviour. It says sales are growing online, but weakening in store. How to tackle that change is the conundrum that many retailers are now facing.
Among them, no doubt, Harvey Nichols, which has just updated its website in a step towards multichannel retailing that sees it introduce new channel-linking operations such as its Click & Try service.
Our guest comment today comes from Craig Sears-Black of Manhattan Associates, who discusses ways that retailers can put the customer at the heart of their business. Finally, we report on LCP Consulting research that concludes UK retailers are behind the US when it comes to taking multichannel a step further towards omnichannel – where IT and fulfillment services are fully joined-up in order to give customers a seamless service regardless of the touchpoint through which they access the retail service. Click to read more on our current research and events, including our third annual Internet Retailing Awards, for which nominations are now open.
Our research
We’re currently looking at the use of ecommerce techniques in the B2B sector. Take part in our survey to contribute to a research briefing that will be published later this spring.
Our awards
Nominations are now open 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. There’s also plenty of time to snap up a discounted early bird ticket to the event – though be warned, the opportunity expires at midnight on Thursday May 1.
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.
