The conclave of judges for the Internet Retailing Awards – sponsored by Venda – has gathered and are considering the entries to the ten categories in this year’s awards and we expect to see white smoke from the chimney next Tuesday when the shortlist is unveiled.
This year’s awards are in eight categories: The Innovation Award; the Omni Award; the M-Retailing Award; the IRIS Award for Internet Retailing In-Store; the Customer Award; the Capability Award; the International Awards and the Global Award. Then there are also two overall judges’ awards: the Judges’ Award and the Internet Retailing Award 2013.
From a mobile point of view, the nominations for the M-Retailing Award cover a broad range of services, but the thrust of the criteria for entry is that retailers have to demonstrate more than just rolling out some apps and hoping for the best. Mobile has moved on, and it forms the centrepiece of a more joined up digital engagement strategy. And we expect the judges shortlist out next Tuesday to reflect this.
The 18-strong judging panel includes key multichannel retailers, vendors and industry analysts, who will face the challenge of assessing the nominations in order to come up with a list of commended retailers. The judges hail from a wide variety of businesses, among them M&S, Selfridges, House of Fraser, Asos, Morrisons/Kiddicare, B&Q, as well as Venda, Kurt Salmon, and Shop.org. They will be meeting online or in person in London this afternoon in order to make their decisions.
Thanks to Internet Retailing readers who made their nominations alongside the title’s editors, the judges say they have a strong line-up to consider.
Internet Retailing editor-in-chief Ian Jindal thanked those who took the time to make their nominations. He said: “It’s no surprise to see the major retailers being nominated strongly. But our readers and editors have also looked broadly for exemplary companies under each of the categories.”
We hope to be able to share the list of Commended retailers, from whom the overall winners will be announced on the night of the awards, next Tuesday. For live updates, follow @etail #theawards.
The Internet Retailing Awards ceremony itself will be held on June 26, at the SushiSamba restaurant at Heron Tower in the City of London.
For more information about the event, click here, and for information about tickets, click here.
