Terry Hunter, MD, CyberDMG
Recent activity
Comments (5)
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Comment on: Online spending growth hits record low
Ecommerce is the best way to minimise time and distance and provide customers with convenience, accessibility, connectivity, and reliability. However, having a high performing ecommerce site is not enough in today's economic climate. Leading online retailers have already invested in eSupply Chain Management systems that can be fully integrated into their ecommerce application software. This provides the coordination, movement of products, information and currency from suppliers, manufacturers, distributers, online retailers through to the consumer, that can be a differentiator from competitors. The typical eSupply Chain. Suppliers - Manufacturers - Distributors-Retailers-Consumers Online retailers know that the fulfillment process is critical to satisfying customer expectations and ensure that their ecommerce software can be integrated with backend/warehouse fulfillment software that receive products electronically against an ecommerce site generated purchase order to minimise receiving errors and pick items on the order by electronic scanner. Linking their systems with multiple mail carriers that provide facilities for consumers to have visibility to track their purchase, reduces reliance on the Royal Mail and goes a long way to consolidate high customer experience, from the initial contact with an ecommerce website to the customer receiving their order in their hands.
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Comment on: Retail sales grow in September
These figures are a real shot in the arm for retailers, especially for those who have cultivated a strong online presence, as it is clear that their hard work is paying dividends. It should be no surprise that online and mail order shopping are out stripping the high street. The continued investment in ecommerce has seen significant improvements in convenience, infrastructure and user experience. But this serves as a timely reminder for any brands which has not yet got their ecommerce site up to scratch. We are racing head first into the critical winter shopping period and any retailer which is not prepared to cater to consumers' high standards will soon be left behind.
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Comment on: Marks & Spencer poised for online expansion to hit etail targets
I agree that a significant first step for Marks and Spencer’s meeting its 2011 online sales target will be to further improve its online offering, to not only improve the site with short term objectives of generating greater sales, but also gear itself up to deliver more dynamic, personalised, localised and targeted experiences to customers. This can be achieved by M&S fully embracing advances in the collection and utilisation of real-time (online) and historic (offline) data to provide greater customer insight and creating an online shopping environment that adapts, evolves and offers highly targeted content, offers and incentives. Extending overseas delivery of online orders from the current 50 to a planned 73 countries is also a positive move. However it will be interesting to see how or if M&S’ online strategy will incorporate ideas of globalisation and localisation into the mix, specifically because the existing site is only in English. I’m sure that M&S will not fall into the trap many online retailers have in the past; just because the brand can reach customers around the globe doesn`t mean it is able to speak their language and understand their cultures and regulation with a ‘one-site fits all’ approach. M&S has established a loyal customer base and knows it can’t afford to have its reputation damaged by unsatisfied customers anywhere around the globe. Crucial to this will be finding a way to fulfil international orders in a timely and cost-effective manner.
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Comment on: Online grocery shopping yet to catch on
The findings from Mintel, although interesting, should be put in perspective. The sample size is only 1,000 UK consumers out of a population of more than 60 million and in a recent study from Research and Markets it was estimated that the value of the internet grocery market will more than double by 2013. In an economic downturn the already fickle state of customer loyalty within the grocery shopping market will test the ingenuity of online grocery retailers. Those companies which architect their technology into a framework that consolidates and leverages customer intelligence data from across the business and external sources will lead the charge in increasing customer satisfaction and loyalty. Combine this with the creative use of online communities and ‘word of type’ as well as 'word of mouth' and the future shouldn't look bad at all.
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Comment on: H&M to go online in the UK
H&M's potentially large product catalogue size makes it an ideal candidate to adopt ecommerce, offering its complete range online in a manner that adopts best practices for online store visual design, product layout, user experience, information architecture and interaction design. One observation of its high street retail presence is the sheer volume of different items on offer; while this extensive choice needs to be reflected online, visiting customers must also be given a way to easily navigate around the virtual shop floor, without being overwhelmed by the experience. The issue of a lack of spring / summer stock must also be avoided once the ecommerce offer is live – obviously any customer clicking through to its site only to be told items are unavailable will be highly unlikely to return. A key factor for H&M to avoid stock-outs would be to ensure their ecommerce platform and its supporting business processes are tightly integrated within an end-to-end supply chain strategy.
