4


Flying Brands divests retail divisions


JML teams up with ITV for new home shopping show


Multibrand home shopping company Flying Brands has announced plans to sell all its retail divisions exiting the catalogue market and refocusing as a Jersey-based growing and live-despatch business, supplying live plants and shrubs to retailers. Terms have been agreed to sell the trade and certain assets of Garden Bird Supplies, Garden Centre Online and Listen2 businesses to the Garden and Home Trading Company Ltd, a subsidiary of home entertainment products distributor MBL Group plc, for £720,000. In


February, Flying Brands sold its loss-making gifts division, comprising the business and assets of Flying Flowers and Flowers Direct, to Interflora for £2.4 million. The company is


currently marketing its flagship Gardening Direct business for sale and says it’s in talks with a number of interested parties. In order to reduce central overheads and “slim down” the business, Flying Brands has announced the closure of its Chelmsford head office and the


outsourcing of its remaining contact centre operations to Prolog from early June.


TV-shopping specialist JML has partnered with ITV1 to launch a new retail TV format. Dubbed the “chatmercial”, the new venture combines the visual language and style of a chat show format with TV home shopping all shot in front of a studio audience. “The Store with JML” launches on ITV1 on Saturday, 28th April, broadcasting across the channel’s late-night two-hour retail teleshopping schedule on Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays. The deal enables ITV1 viewers to access JML’s range on terrestrial television for the first time, including products from cookware to shapewear, DIY lines and celebrity brands such as Myleene Klass Nails.


The presenter-led show will have interaction with a panel of experts and a studio audience.


It will be split up into bite-sized chunks focusing on one product every 15 minutes.


William van Rest, director of commerce and ventures at ITV says it is a “new style of TV shopping”. Commenting on the launch,


JML’s commercial director, Hannah Treble says, “This partnership between ITV and JML enables viewers to see some of JML’s best-loved products being used by presenter and audience, giving them a full review of the product before their purchase decision. It combines a chat show- style format with shopping TV and audience interaction. This UK first is another step towards making us Britain’s leading multichannel retailer/distributor.”


It has been confirmed that ITV and JML will share the revenue generated from the show.


Video is key to buying decisions


As more retailers tap into video to inform, entertain, educate and aid in selling products, a new report into the role video plays in influencing customer behaviour has been released by US- based video specialist Invodo and consultancy The E-tailing Group.


The aim of the study was to understand current product video consumption habits and the role these videos play in consumers’ online browsing and buying behaviours. It found that among consumers, viewing product videos boosts confidence, engagement and purchasing along with subsequent loyalty towards websites. Videos can also be inspirational and in line with a company’s brand values—for example, the report’s authors highlighted how luxury brands engage


cross-channel shoppers with behind-the-scenes footage of photo shoots and fashion shows that connect customers to the labels they love. The study underlined that videos are integral to the buying decision and that videos that educate and demonstrate are given the greatest attention, with consumers watching multiple times prior to purchasing. What’s more, a third of all respondents to the survey said they spent more than three minutes watching educational and demonstrative videos.


The main reason consumers watch videos more than once is to better understand a complicated product (54 percent), closely followed by gaining confidence to make a first-time purchase in a new category (52 percent). Product price is another


Direct Commerce | Catalogue e-business | www.catalog-biz.com


major consideration, as well as familiarity with a company—highlighting the importance of a video that looks professionally produced to instil trust in a business.


Other notable findings in the study include that almost a third of consumers bought products from a website as a result of being influenced by a product video, with 44 percent confirming they felt more “engaged” with a brand thanks to the product videos it produced. Further, the study showed that introducing product videos to ecommerce websites can reduce returns rates. More than half of those surveyed (52 percent) said they felt more confident in making a purchase after watching a video and therefore less likely to return the purchased item.


NEWS


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36