The enthusiastic turnout was matched by many success stories, but also a warning from Verdict that the gravy train of internet sales growth is coming to an end.
Verdict believes that UK retailers are on the cusp of entering a new phase of online retail.
Verdict analyst Neil Saunders pointed out that the sales growth of internet retailing in the UK now stands at about 30 per cent per year; down from 109.8 per cent in the heydays of 1996 to 2001. However, between 2010 and 2012 he expects this to drop further to 21.5 per cent growth.
Of course, these future growth figures will be off a higher base, so there is still much money to be made online. But note that lower growth rates will inevitably lead to more furious competition for market share.
Saunders says that retailers need to start work now on getting their online conversion rates up; something which has perhaps been less of a concern when visitor numbers have kept on rising.
Verdict estimates that close to a billion pounds in sales is foregone on the web each year through missed sales to the 33 per cent of consumers who are concerned about one of the top three barriers to purchasing online. It’s still the usual suspects of data security worries, delivery concerns and delivery charges leading to missed sales.
Saunders says that a good multichannel offer is one way to help overcome these issues.
But despite consumers wanting good service and to be able to trust the online retailers they deal with, another factor that still influences shoppers’ minds is price. Verdict estimates that 49 per cent of consumers make purchase choices based on price online, compared to 39 per cent in physical stores.
So it was good to hear speakers and delegates yesterday linking all the talk of innovation and new technology back to the fundamentals of making it easy for customers to get at the products they want at a price they can stomach.
Getting the basics of retail right online has never been more important.
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