Retail Week Ecommerce Summit: Best practice in etailing

The tides have turned in the ecommerce revolution over the past year. The relentless growth of online sales has wilted slightly - falling 2% in July, according to IMRG - and bricks-and-mortar retailers have upped their game, coming up with new and innovative ways to use technology to encourage shoppers to part with cash in stores.

Martin Newman, founder of ecommerce consultancy Practicology, is chairing October’s Retail Week Ecommerce Summit in London. He says the past year has been pivotal for retailers: “There has clearly been a tipping point for many major high street retailers in the past 12 months.” Some bricks-and-mortar retailers are reporting that their ecommerce sales now account for 25% of total sales.

Etail has always been a particularly fast-moving industry, so the pace of change over the past year shouldn’t surprise anyone.

Some of the big themes of the summit are outlined below.

1. Social media

White goods etailer Appliances Online was launched in 2000 and has really hit its stride in the past couple of years.

Its use of social media is a masterclass in how to approach the channel. Facebook is a network that generally works well for visual brands such as Asos or Burberry. But Appliances Online has generated a level of engagement that many retailers can only dream of, proving it’s not just trendy or aspirational fashion brands that can make the medium work for them.

Yossi Erdman, Appliances Online’s head of brand and social media, will talk at the summit about how the retailer has increased sales using the network, and how social media has helped it thrive in an environment that was tough enough to kill off bigger sector players such as Comet.

2. Big data

Data analytics has been central to etailing for years - one of the key advantages etailers have enjoyed over traditional retailers is easy access to the personal details and browsing habits of shoppers.

When a customer registers with an etailer, it knows exactly who they are, where they live, and what they’ve looked at on the site. But the range of data available is complex, and the volume can be difficult to manage. Luke Vinogradov, mobile experience director at Tesco, will be part of a summit panel discussing how most effectively to use data, and how it can change the way things are done in the industry.

3. Etail leadership

Some of retail’s best talent has emerged in the online space over the past decade, and the UK’s advanced ecommerce sector is starting to attract prying eyes from overseas, as evidenced by the poaching of Aurora multichannel director Ish Patel by Victoria’s Secret.

Newman says: “Our most senior ecommerce names are beginning to be poached by retailers overseas - and there are now many more specialised roles that require filling within ecommerce and multichannel teams - so it’s a major issue that the pipeline of talent needs feeding.” Richard Pennycook, chairman of The Hut, will talk about developing the etail leadership of the future, from ensuring retailers have the skills they need in the business to nurturing the next generation of leaders.

4. Logistics

The best marketing and products in the world don’t matter if orders can’t be fulfilled. Logistics has always been a crucial part of any etail operation but, as delivery becomes a source of competitive advantage, it’s more important than ever.

Over the past year bricks-and-mortar retailers have focused on delivery mechanisms such as click-and-collect, and the systems needed to ensure a smooth process from browsing to fulfilment are an investment priority for many.

Lovehoney founder Richard Longhurst, Feelunique.com operations director Craig Wheeler, and Manhattan Associates managing director Craig Sears-Black will form part of a panel exploring logistics issues. Topics of discussion will include how delivery will change in the future and how to manage spiralling costs.

5. Responsive design

A website with responsive design certainly sounds appealing - it enables a site to scale and adapt to the device consumers are viewing it on. But relatively few big names are using it yet.

Dixons Retail ecommerce director Jeremy Fennell will discuss the retailer’s experiences with the technology.

Newman says: “As Currys is one of the few major retail brands to have adopted responsive design for its site, I’m certainly looking forward to hearing his views.”

6. The rise of tablets

Mobile has continued to ramp up this year. A third of DFS’s traffic comes from tablets alone, and retailers across the board report higher engagement and conversion on tablets compared with smartphones. The mobile channel as a whole will keep growing, but tablets have emerged as a retail winner this year. It’s not just the larger screen and higher resolution that help etailers - shoppers tend to use them at home, where they are more likely to buy.

Shop Direct ecommerce director Jonathan Wall will speak about the growth of tablets at the summit.

A range of other speakers will address key industry issues - Argos digital director Bertrand Bodson will take a look at how consumer behaviour is expected to change over the next five years, while a panel including Mothercare head of international ecommerce Olga Nazarkova will discuss different approaches to international online trading.