Very hot weather, it turns out, may not be as good for online shopping as it is for the population at large. For come July’s heatwave, it seems, shoppers turned off their screens and headed to the beach – and the high street. That’s certainly the story that’s been reflected in all of this month’s retail sales reports, from the BRC and the ONS to this week’s IMRG sales figures. And this week’s figures are perhaps more striking because they show a month-on-month fall in internet sales for the first time since the IMRG’s index began.
Still, things will be better at Christmas, when it’s not so hot. Or will they? A report from Peerius suggests that retailers would be best to apply caution when considering their Christmas sales this year. Find out more about both in the newsletter stories below.
Today we also have news on an upturn for Facebook ads, Uniqlo’s online-first childrenswear launch, fans’ enthuasistic online response as Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games tickets went on sale, and the Government’s move to rule out the online sales tax.
Webinars
We have an upcoming date in our series of free-to-attend webinars to let you know about today.
On Thursday September 5, Nuance focuses on customer service in, Creating satisfied customers – meet Nina Web, the new face of online customer experience. Tim Atkinson, business development director at Nuance, is the speaker for this event, to be held at 11am. He’ll be showing how Nuance’s intelligent virtual assistant can talk to, serve and listen to customers around the clock, and demonstrating how it works for existing customers including Coca Cola and Michelin. Click here for more information and to register.
And on Wednesday September 11, Silverpop explains how personalised multichannel experiences will ensure your customers love you to death in Behavioural marketing and how to get your customers to love you. The event takes place at 3pm – register and find out more by clicking here.
More information about our webinar programme is available here.
Events
The 8th Internet Retailing Conference will be held on October 16 in London, when keynote speakers will include Sir Stuart Rose, chairman of Ocado and Dressipi, and Laura Wade-Geary, executive director, multichannel ecommerce, Marks & Spencer. For more details, visit
www.internetretailingconference.com.
Today’s stories
Ecommerce sales fell for the first time, month-on-month, in July: IMRG
Retailers plan for strong retail growth this Christmas, but consumers are less sure: study
Uniqlo launches childrenswear range online first
Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games ticket sales get off to an ‘enthusiastic’ start online
Facebook ads show improved revenue and conversion, says report
Government rules out online sales tax
