There’s still time to win one of 10 free tickets to this year’s Internet Retailing Awards.
Judges of the event say they will still take into consideration nominations received today and tomorrow. Everyone who puts forward a nomination will have the chance of winning a sought-after ticket to the glitzy party and awards ceremony, to be held on June 26 on what’s believed to be London’s highest balcony terrace, 600ft up at Heron’s Tower, at SushiSamba.
Researchers at our research partner Kurt Salmon are already starting to put together their research reports for the judging panel, who include previous winners of the awards, and will soon be meeting to consider the longlist.
Internet Retailing editor-in-chief Ian Jindal, who is coordinating the judging, said: “Noticing successful retailers is straightforward, but understanding why they are successful, and celebrating that capability is more interesting. Our long-list is suggested by retailers who themselves look ‘beneath the hood’ to appreciate the skill of their competitors; our research partner, Kurt Salmon, draws up details of the nominated businesses and finally our expert and experienced judges assess the quality of the operating achievements that underpin the nominees’ success. As such, our awards give a view not only of excellence, but of the professional practice necessary to sustain this performance. We look forward to the judges deliberations and to the celebrations on June 26.”
This year’s awards are in eight categories. The Innovation Award recognises, in the words of the judge’s guidelines, “inventive and inspiration solutions for problems, or the creation of new opportunities.” It was won in 2012 jointly by Aurora Fashions and House of Fraser. The Omni Award, won last year by Apple, is for a company who has successfully extended their ecommerce footprint across a range of devices and channels. It’s for, say the judges guidelines, “a company that astounds us with its appetite for ‘more’ and its ability to tame complexity and deliver in every dimension, simultaneously.”
The M-Retailing Award, new this year, is for retailers who go beyond that app and tablet optimized site to, in the words of the judges, “create an integrated, coherent and compelling experience under their brand, via the mobile, for a customer on the move.” Also new this year is the IRIS Award for internet retailing in-store. It will recognise a retailer that has successfully grappled with the challenges of the digitally-enabled store to, say the judges, “recognise retailers who have moved beyond digital displays and point digital offerings to create an immersive, connected and compelling realization of this next iteration of retail.”
The Customer Award, won jointly in 2012 by Mr Porter and Net-a-Porter, recognises the impact on the customer of the website experience. The winner, say the judges, “will have done things that make the customer go ‘wow’ and the rest of the industry long to emulate them.” And The Capability Award, won in 2012 by Amazon, is for the 90% of ecommerce that is rooted in consistency and development. “The winner of this award,” say the judges, “may or may not have the snazziest interface or the most-hyped consumer brand, but boy oh boy do we look at them and wonder just how on earth they can be so efficient, effective and all-conquering.”
This year’s awards roster is capped by two international awards, both new this year. Both the International Award and the Global Award recognise pureplay and multichannel businesses who have made international growth part of their ongoing business as usual.
If you are a retailer, fill in this short form here and tell us which retailers you think should win and why.
If not, record a Vine video of yourself completing this sentence: “[Impressive retailer of your choosing] should win [the ‘x’ Award] because…” — then tweet it to @etail on Twitter with the hashtag #theawards. The best Vines will be hosted here on InternetRetailing.net.
We’ll be aiming to bring you news of the lucky winners soon. There’s more information about the awards evening here, and information on buying a ticket here .
We’ll be running regular previews of the awards as we get closer to the date. Next week we’ll be focusing on the judging panel, as they meet to consider the long list.
