Blog: It's an etail world, but don't over promise

By now we all know that most retailers should be embracing online. It was by far the stand out performer over Christmas, according to the British Retail Consortium, and is the area where much of a retailer’s investment is going at the moment.

But it still brings its own set of challenges.

Yesterday Retail Week hosted a webinar to discuss etail at Christmas, the challenges retailers face, and where 2013 will take us in the etail world. The Retail Week Etail Webinar - with a fantastic panel made up of an online specialist at John Lewis, the boss of Practicology, and representatives from Paypal, Fits.me and Unipart Logistics - spelled out both the excitement about the growth in online and the issues facing retailers on etail this year.

Etail came of age over Christmas, the panel said. And within that, mobile and tablet usage exploded. Another key part of the customer offer was click and collect, which will only grow this year as convenience is a key selling point.

Just some of the issues discussed included delivery options and returns. Customers want as many delivery options as possible but retailers have to ensure they don’t over promise. There is nothing more likely to turn customers away from a retailer is if they promise something they can’t deliver - literally.

With returns, retailers are battling to stay on top of them. The process is costly but necessary for many. Retailers are busy working out how to limit returns but also how to capitalise on them if returns are made to a store.

As for 2013, there is more excitement to come. Whether it is taking advantage of the growth in mobile or looking further ahead to something such as Smart TV, there is so much to go for.