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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
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COMING IN OUR NEXT ISSUES July/August 2015 (High Summer)
ECMOD DIRECT COMMERCE AWARD WINNERS
Detailed profiles for all of the businesses that took the trophies at this year’s prestigious event (June 4th, The Hurlingham Club). Which businesses won & why ? This is a super feature for all suppliers to the winners to support their clients with related case studies and congratulatory messages.
INTERNATIONAL: KEY CONSIDERATIONS WHEN SELECTING TARGET COUNTRIES
There are strong opportunities for most British multichannel businesses to develop profitable sales in other countries. However not all target countries are equal either in the opportunity they present or in the ways they should be approached. How best can a UK based business test the water without making a major financial commitment and how are issues like duties, shipping, payment mechanisms and regulations overcome.
SOCIAL & PR: MEASURING ROI
For every business that optimises its return on PR and social media, there are many that that are not quite sure how these activities can be best leveraged and measured. We look at successful examples of planned social and PR campaigns from multichannel businesses in several merchandise categories – and what their experience has been. Tips, advice and pointers on how campaigns can be created and executed for the best results.
September October 2015 DELIVERY UPDATED
Success this coming Christmas season will hinge on the delivery options chosens for UK and overseas customers – the four C’s – convenience, cost, click and collect – come firmly under the Direct Commerce editorial survey spotlight. Who is offering the best services for each weight and dimension bands – why are collection lockers and other neutral collection points growing in importance for those without their own store chains – and how can direct retailers reliably offer those services to their customers …. and when it comes to overseas order shipments who is offering the best and most reliable solutions at affordable rates ? We review all the players – large and small and exactly what is being offered to our readers (including the returns solutions on offer) . Case studies, comment and news of new service developments and solutions welcome.
DATA ANALYTICS: WHAT TO MEASURE, WHICH TOOLS TO USE, WHAT’S NEW
We often take it as read that every multichannel businesses knows what to measure and how to establish which KPIs really matter. Instead many are swamped with data, none of which is helping to understand how to improve business performance. We invite experts to advise and inform our readers via new-to-market case studies, fresh insight and advice applicable to businesses of all scales and at all stages of development.
PERSONALISING THE MOBILE & WEB EXPERIENCE
More customers are using online channels to place their orders which means that merchants have the potential to gather fantastic insight into each customer’s interests, browsing and buying patterns. We call upon successful practitioners to share their experience in exploiting the true relevance these analytics enable them to apply across the online experience. From tailored product selection and deeply relevant offers, delivery choices and more – we aim to help readers to prioritise their digital development to deliver the strongest ROI over the immediate and longer term.
To have your business message & branding included in these editorial features or in any of our regular columns please call Sam on 01271 866112 – always happy to help.
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