PUBLISHER’S NOTE


WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES


Sidestep the supermarket woes. Overall the multichannel & home shopping market is doing quite well by comparison. In its latest Annual Trends Report based


on sales in 2014, published this month, Epsilon Abacus says that sales in the home shopping market had increased by 12.0 per cent year on year with average order values 1.1 per cent up on those achieved in 2013. November sales boomed, up by 14.3 per cent, driven by greater exploitation of Black Friday and Cyber Monday which helped to counter the reduced demand which many experienced in September and October. Te report spans the activity of the 500+ multichannel retail brands which are members of the Abacus Alliance and take into account the 500 million transactions these businesses generated which are estimated to be worth £20 billion. Interestingly mailing volumes for the


year were said to be down by 8.1 per cent year on year but this is widely a result of better targeting. Some home shopping businesses had slashed their catalogue budgets in favour of greater spend online. Mailing costs have, of course, risen significantly and reducing mailing volume has made economic sense for many sector businesses which have found little or no impact on sales as a result of their mailings being more intelligently targeted. Commenting on the year for the report


DCA Multichannel Council co-Chair Katy Ingram, head of marketing for Feather and Black said “Many businesses in the home furnishings sector continue to experience improved trading after the toughest recession in recent history. Investments in digital, social, and supply chain have been areas of priority for many. Customers can research products,


Issue Number 225 May/June 2015 ISSN 2049-8993 www.directcommercemagazine.com


Official Magazine for Members


DIRECT COMMERCE ASSOCIATION


find the lowest prices and quickest delivery terms more easily than ever before. In 2014 at Feather and Black we saw strong growth online driven by increased investment in paid and natural search. We also increased our investment in cold list mailings on the back of positive results in the prior year with a good proportion of customers choosing to shop online as well as in store.” What Direct Commerce magazine


is seeing bears this out. Readers are now taking a more holistic view of their businesses and leveraging whichever combination of media or touch point delivers the best response at each stage of the year. Many say that 2015 is the year in which they must master “joined up” personalisation in all customer interactions and to do this effectively and to a high standard they need first to achieve a single customer view. Most direct businesses have no problem with this as all sales are processed via a centralised order management solution which feeds the customer database but whilst they may masters at personalising promotions they do not always carry that personal touch


through the transactional and fulfilment process. It is when retail stores, trade counters,


pop-up outlets and other face to face selling is brought into the mix that the bigger challenges kick in. At retail POS a good customer experience can never be guaranteed and the opportunity to fully capture customer data is not always exploited as well as it could be. Tere is, as we know, considerably more to it than shoving a store card application across the counter. It is here where the work needs doing as often the front line store staff are not always fully aware of their potential contribution to the wider business. Leveraging mobile marketing opportunities to be able to influence store visits or specific purchases when the customer is in “sight” is reaping dividends but often let down by store staff having no prior knowledge of certain promotions. And woe betide any retailer who does not expertly manage its Click & Collect operations.


Pricing & Margin Optimization


Inside: 8


Catalogues Back in the Spotlight


New Look at this Powerful Medium


Clicks to Bricks 11 12


TV: Time for a 20


Writing this with the general election looming, office deluged with ECMOD Direct Commerce Awards entry consignments, and nominations for our Direct Commerce magazine Reader’s Award pinging into our 2015 Awards in box. Exciting times these. Tere’s a definite frisson in the air. What’s been great to see here is the


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Publisher & Acting Editor Jane Revell-Higgins


Design and production Dean Fraiquin


Website Manager Jenny Squire


Editorial/Content Executive Jane Emerson


Advertising & Sponsorship Hannah Davies Samantha Astill-Chandler


Subscriptions Sarah Cassim


Stay in touch follow us on @direct_commerce and join our Group


Direct Commerce is published by Direct Commerce Enterprises Ltd. Every effort is made to ensure that the content is accurate and provides honest representation of the facts. As publishers we can accept no responsibility for errors or misleading claims made by our editorial staff, contributors or advertisers. The copyright for all content of Direct Commerce is held by Direct Commerce Enterprises Ltd and no material may be reproduced without our express prior consent.


©2015 Direct Commerce Enterprises Ltd.


increase in the number of first time entrants into the Awards as well as the volume of first time nominees. When these are added to our roster of highly valued regular “contestants” and our loyal reader “electorate” together with our committed Awards supporters and sponsors we can’t help but feel that the atmosphere at this year’s Awards celebration is going to be electric. Tere’s plenty more to be excited about on the 4th June too. Te DCA’s Annual Summit will pack a punch with information-rich sessions, round tables and Council led special interest group pow-wows. All at the superbly appointed Hurlingham Club which we have secured for “DCA Summit by day & ECMOD Direct Commerce Awards by evening” once more. It’s a brilliant venue in superb grounds and with plenty of “nooks and crannies” for private meetings as well as spacious conference, banqueting and networking areas. Tickets are already well on the way to selling out as this is one “full- on” events day not to be missed.


CONTENTS


4 NEWS ROUND-UP 6 MOVERS AND SHAKERS 7 DIRECT COMMERCE ASSOCIATION


8 PRICING AND MARGIN OPTIMIZATION SEE THE BIGGER PICTURE


10 RETAILERS LIVE OR DIE: NOW IS THE TIME TO EMBRACE DIGITAL


11 CLICKS TO BRICKS: WHY ARE ONLINE RETAILERS TAKING TO HIGH STREET RETAILING?


12 CATALOGUES BACK IN THE SPOTLIGHT 20 TV: TIME FOR A NEW LOOK AT THIS POWERFUL MEDIUM


23 DELIVERY EXPERTS WISH RETAILERS MANY FEWER UNHAPPY RETURNS


24 LIST, MEDIA & AFFINITY OPPORTUNITIES 26 EXPERT ROSTER 31 VIEWPOINT


Direct Commerce | www.directcommercemagazine.com In this issue we turn the spotlight


onto what seems to be the re-birth of respect for the catalogue medium and its new broader based role in driving sales via reader websites and stores. It was a joy to hear from readers at the recent DCA Spring conference who measure forensically and can attribute the huge contribution their catalogues make to sales across all channels. TV is also working beautifully in conjunction with catalogues and stores as well as driving web orders for many member companies. Te DCA’s new Councils have a wealth of new insight to air on all channels to market and will move on to share experience and first- hand expertise at the Annual Summit. It’s a great way to take the pulse of the sector, find out who is doing what and how, and where the next challenges are. It is not just for members either, non-members are welcome too but pay “market” rate for their places rather than the preferential rate enjoyed by member companies. A quick visit to www.direct-commerce- association.com will provide access to the day’s programme along with details of other upcoming DCA events and any businesses joining prior to June 4th can make great savings on their Summit places. Looking forward to seeing you all on


June 4th! JRH


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