In today’s Internet Retailing newsletter, we’re struck by the forecast, from the Centre for Retail Research and RetailMeNot, that online shopping will be worth £60bn in the year ahead. Of particular note is the finding that multichannel shoppers, who buy via mobile and through PCs, will spend significantly more than those who just shop from their PC. Separately, figures out today from the IMRG show that mobile commerce grew significantly faster in August than ecommerce as a whole.
These are merely the latest pieces in a growing body of evidence that a sales approach that crosses channels is simply more profitable than others. Today we also report on retailers that are learning from this evidence. Kingfisher, for example, detailed today how it will expand its Screwfix business as the power of its omnichannel approach becomes clearer. Ocado, which was one of the first retailers to harness the power of selling both online and via mobile devices, today reports fast growth in its sales figures.
Today we also recognise traders who have found a formula that works for them, in the shortlist for the Internet Retailing Awards 2015. Finally, today’s guest comment comes from John Ernsberger of StellaService who considers what might be missing from marketing strategies.
Our webinars
We’ll be looking ahead to Black Friday in our next webinar, to be held with Bronto today. Kestrel Lemen will be with us to advise retailers and marketers on planning ecommerce marketing plans ahead of the Christmas 2015 shopping season. Black Friday is coming: will you be ready? is on September 15 at 2pm. Visit the Bronto webinar page for more information and to register for the free-to-attend event.
A week later, we’ll be with dotmailer for a webinar considering ways of engaging B2B customers. Skip Fidura, client services director at dotmailer, will be discussing how to use email to market to this group of buyers in The role of multichannel in B2B ecommerce. The webinar is at 2pm on September 22. Visit the dotmailer webinar page to find out more and to register for free.
Click to visit the Internet Retailing webinars page to catch up on any that you may have missed.
The Internet Retailing Awards
The Internet Retailing Retailing Awards will be held on September 24 at the Mandarin Oriental, London. Nominations are now open – click here to nominate your own company or one whose work you admire, and tickets are now available to buy.
The Internet Retailing Conference
This week we have new speakers to unveil for the tenth annual Internet Retailing Conference, to be held in the Novotel Hammersmith, London, hotel on October 14. Patrick Bousquet-Chavanne, member of the board and executive director – marketing & International at Marks and Spencer will be a keynote speaker. Also joining the line up are David Lindsay, senior vice president – technology at Farfetch.com and Aaron Chatterley, founder of Feelunique. Find out more about the line-up and about details including how to buy tickets on the Internet Retailing Conference website.
Our research reports
Our research editors research and produce regular reports on pertinent ecommerce issues. The latest, on Conversion Rate Optimisation, comes from Liz Morrell who explains here why this is a must-read report. Click on the links too to download your free copies of the Seasonal Commerce Report and Customer Experience Report.
