We’re taking an oblique look at the future in today’s Internet Retailing newsletter, where we report on a new study that suggests shoppers would rather pay through biometric technologies such as palm prints or iris scans than over what might seem a more straightforward PIN-enabled smartphone, or, indeed, social media. We also report on Tesco’s plans for a customer-centred strategy, both for its fast-growing digital entertainment business and for its multichannel shopping services. What will future shopping look like? Read our stories below for more.
Today we preview the fast-approaching Internet Retailing Awards through two facets. We consider the shortlist of commended retailers in two of the eight awards categories, Innovation and Omni, and we also have style advice on what to wear at altitude from Dressipi stylist Natalie Theo. We also report on news of investment and expansion at Clothes2Order, and on new social commerce site Set That.
Tickets for the Internet Retailing Awards (more info here) are now available to book. The shortlist of award winners has is now out. Do take a look.
And a reminder too that it’s catch-up time for anyone who missed that vital briefing at Internet Retailing Expo (IRX2013). Presentations and panels from the across the six conferences of the event, the workshops and Innovation TV Studio are now available to view online at InternetRetailingExpo.com.
Webinars
We have a number of upcoming webinars to let you know about today. On Tuesday June 18, Gary Lombardo, solutions market lead at Demandware will be joining us, along with Nick Rawlings, marketing director at Lands End, to tell the story of how the US retailer has grown from a catalogue business into a digital commerce business with global operations in North America, Europe and Asia. The event, Global Brand, Local Commerce: Evolution of Lands’ End into a Digital Commerce Powerhouse, will be held at 4pm on June 18 and free to attend. For more information and to register for the event, visit the Demandware webinar page here.
On Wednesday June 26 Amazon UK’s director of merchant services Chris Poad will be with us for a webinar on the Total cost of ownership for ecommerce. He’ll be looking at how merchants can keep costs low and act quickly to launch into ecommerce, whether setting up a primary or secondary stores online. The event takes place at 2pm, and more information is available on the Amazon webinar page.
And on Tuesday July 2, we host Sitecore and Blueleaf for a webinar looking at how one tailor used personalisation online. Personalising the user journey for Emmetts Shirts is at 2pm, when the speaker will be Rob Smith strategy director at Blueleaf. More information is available here, on the Sitecore webinar page.
More information about our webinar programme is available here.
Jumpstart events
Internet Retailing’s signature JumpStart events offer a chance for retailers to get quickly up to speed on the latest developments in a given area, hearing directly from expert suppliers and identifying and presenting the key questions retailers need to ask when procuring their own systems. Each full-morning event is held in Tower 42, 25 Old Broad Street, London and retailers can register to attend for free here.
The customer experience is in focus for the event of June 19, when we’ll be looking at how to provide an enhanced customer experience, not only optimising each channel but also considering how to bridge the experience over time and across channels. Topics will include interaction design, service planning, testing and customer service, delivery and logistics, and extend to how best practice analytics and behavioural tracking can help us towards that elusive ‘single view of the customer’ in order to sell more effectively. Find out more and register to attend here.
Today’s newsletter
Consumers favour iris scans or palm prints as future payment methods: report
Tesco pushes forward customer-centred online services as digital division expands
INTERNET RETAILING AWARDS Focus on the shortlist: Innovation and omni awards
INTERNET RETAILING AWARDS What to wear at high altitude
UK retailers team up with new social commerce website Set That
Clothes2Order invests in ecommerce operation
