6
NEWS
Made.com increases website performance just in time for January sales
Made.com, the London- based provider of direct-from- the-maker designer furniture, chose CDNetworks to enhance its user’s online shopping experience all over Europe. CDNetworks is helping Made. com achieve this by decreasing website page load times during and after their peak holiday shopping and post holiday sales period.
“Te online-only shopping model
offers designer furniture for a fraction of the price, but also requires our website user experience to be the best possible,” said Jonathan Howell, CTO,
Made.com. “Tis is why we chose CDNetworks to accelerate our website throughout Europe, offering customers a fast online shopping experience.”
Made.com’s website showcases great
furniture design using rich content including high resolution photos, videos, color swatching and granulated searching. All of these enhanced website features could cause slower web page loading. By utilising CDNetworks, the content is brought closer to customers at a lower cost than running it in multiple datacenters.
Made.com will perform in France, Italy and the Netherlands at the same speed as in the UK, even during January sales traffic spikes. CDNetworks will also manage traffic fluctuations automatically. “We are pleased to have such
a prestigious online shopping site running on CDNetworks,” said Alex Nam, Country Manager, EMEA, CDNetworks. “With CDNetworks quick implementation services, we will have
Made.com ready for their busiest season.”
Bigger discounts & a sharp fall in January sales could fuel rise in administrations
Pay4Later, a UK provider of point of sale credit, is warning that January could see a number of retailers fall into administration. Tis will be fuelled by the negative impact on profitability as a result of higher than average discounts during Black Friday, Cyber Monday and the festive period, and the sharp decline in sales most retailers see in January. Pay4Later’s analysis of government
data reveals that in 2012 and 2013, January retail sales were 31.7 per cent and 33.8 per cent below those achieved in December for those respective years. For internet only sales the figures are higher at 40.6 per cent and 50 per cent and a growing percentage of retail sales are now online. In 2012 for example, the percentage of retail sales carried out online was on average 9.25 per cent per month, but in November 2014 it was 13 per cent so the fall off in sales in January is having a bigger impact on many retailers. Scott Law, CEO of Pay4Later said:
“December is the busiest month of the year for retailers and can be the last lifeline for those struggling. If the festive
Direct Commerce |
www.directcommercemagazine.com
period does not go well for them and they face a difficult January, this can be the month when many announce they are going into administration. Many retailers struggled last year because a mild-Autumn hit winter fashion sales and slow wage inflation has meant consumers have kept their spending down. Higher than average discounts offered during November and December will also have hit profitability.” To help fuel sales, Pay4Later says that
it is seeing a growing number of retailers looking to provide credit to customers to help them buy more. Its research with retailers reveals that between now and 2017, two thirds (66 per cent) said they expect their sales via white labelled customer finance packages to rise, with 36 per cent claiming they will increase by over 10 per cent. Te company estimates that retailers who cannot provide finance packages for major purchases are missing out on around £4.9 billion in sales a year with its analysis showing retailers that offer credit can see sales increases of up to 40 per cent and order values rise by up to 300 per cent.
FACT-Finder acquires PrismaStar
FACT-Finder is bolstering its footprint in the UK with the acquisition of PrismaStar, the UK provider of guided selling solutions for ecommerce retailers. Te acquisition complements FACT-
Finder’s current offering, providing a foothold in the UK market and a base in Cambridge, one of Europe’s key technology hubs. FACT-Finder will use PrismaStar’s expertise and knowledge of the UK market to further enhance and develop its UK strategy as well as integrating PrismaStar’s existing products and services with the well-established FACT-Finder product set. Tis creates an even richer “conversion engine” covering on-site search, product guidance, personalisation, recommendations and product data optimisation. “I’m delighted to bring PrismaStar’s
expertise on board,” said Carsten Kraus, Founder and CEO,
FACT-Finder.com. “We will integrate PrismaStar’s product approach into FACT-Finder to provide an even more comprehensive offering to our ecommerce customers.” PrismaStar has a built a reputation
in the UK with customers including Vodafone, Tesco, Currys, Very, Phones4U and Deutsche Telekom.
MySale withdraws from US market
Online flash sales business MySale has withdrawn from the US and Korean markets in order to focus more fully on countries where it has a stronger opportunity for success. Tese include the UK, where it has recruited close to 1.8 million members, in addition to its home market of Australia, New Zealand and South East Asia. Te business recorded an increase of 8 per cent in its revenues for the first half for 30 June 2015.
USC bought out of administration by Republic
Sports Direct fashion chain USC was placed in administration and then bought by another of the group’s chains, Republic. All stores have been retained and jobs secured.
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 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40