Sunny weather and a British win at Wimbledon can be expected to help lift spirits over the week ahead. But figures out today give another reason for multichannel retailers to be cheerful, with news of both rising online and offline retail sales. Combined with data on rising shopping centre investment and falling retail administrations, both the BRC and Barclaycard are detecting a real potential uplift for retail. Find out more in the stories below.
In today’s Internet Retailing newsletter, we also report on fast online growth at Marks & Spencer, and have news of face detection technology that echoes the prescient 2002 sci-fi film Minority Report and, says outdoor advertising network Amscreen, could revolutionise advertising as it brings the online and outdoor together.
We also have news from multichannel retailer Bathrooms.com, report on an eighth Unilever launch for technology company E-Tale, and of a network designed to help retailers take off for new markets.
Webinars
We have a number of upcoming webinars to let you know about today.
Later today, Tuesday July 9, Shane Irons of Motorcycle Superstore and Bill Loller, VP of IBM company Mobile Tealeaf, will join us for a webinar on Creating Inspiring Digital Experiences at Motorcycle Superstore. The event will consider how Motorcycle Superstore has committed to providing their customers with an optimal experience. Participants will find out about effective management of online channels, best practice case studies around web analytics and customer experience management, and the impact of online behaviour on the brand. Find out more about the event and register here.
And on Tuesday July 16, SLI Systems bring together Snow + Rock and Javelin Group to discuss SaaS (software as a service): risks and rewards in retail. The event takes place at 11am, when Fraser Davidson, director, technology services, at Javelin Group, and David Kohn, head of multichannel at Snow + Rock, will speak. Find out more and register for the free webinar here.
Finally, on Tuesday August 13, Jim Davidson, manager of marketing research at Bronto, joins us for Bam! Ka-Pow! Power-packing your post-purchase programs . During the event, to be held at 2pm, he will be considering how post-purchase email marketing can help to ensure long-term customer loyalty and repeat sales. It’s an under-used part of the customer lifecycle, he says, that can give a strong boost to online sales and conversion by talking direclty to the multi-device, multi-tasking consumer. Find out more on the Bronto webinar page, where you can also register for free.
More information about our webinar programme is available here.
Events
We’re also excited to have the first details of the 8th Internet Retailing Conference. The event will be held on October 16 in London. 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 and early bird supersaver registration, visit
www.internetretailingconference.com.
Today’s stories
Reasons for retail optimism as online and offline spending grows
M&S chalks up near 30% rise in online sales as multichannel services broaden
Face detection technology promises the convergence of online and outdoor advertising
Bathrooms.com opts for new search technology
New network to help retailers take off for overseas markets
UK technology company sees referral solution go live on eighth Unilever website