Reading about the imminent launch of a Gap ecommerce site in the UK got me thinking about to what extent online sales are incremental, or merely cannibalised from existing channels. Gap in the UK has been a notable latecomer to online retailing (along with Primark, H&M, Zara, Claire’s Accessories, Morrisons…). In the US it has […]
This is a fantastic article – So true, I could have written it myself… I particularly like the closing paragraph: Management must realise just how complex a job it is [managing a website] and ensure you have time dedicated to its execution. Perhaps you should print off this article and give it to them.
I became a member of Gilt.com, via an invitation from Gwyneth Paltrow no less! Gilt.com is a members only shopping site set up to recreate the buzz of a New York sample sale but online – you have to be a member to join (by invitation only), each “sale” of a particular brand lasts 36 […]
These are two important aspects of managing an ecommerce site which may not be top of your list when developing a new online shop. But thinking about these as early on in the design process (or better still when selecting an ecommerce platform) will bring immediate benefits and save time and expense later on. 1. […]
There are various ways that social media is slowly being adopted by online retailers. It’s becoming increasingly common to find facebook, twitter & blogs on ecommerce sites, and “share this’ bookmarking & product reviews seem fairly standard now on product pages. Apart from product reviews where there’s a proven link to increasing conversion rate (79% […]
This is an interesting trend from the US; businesses that operate different ecommerce sites under different brands using tabbed navigation at the top to switch between stores. For example: I haven’t come across any major UK examples yet. Potential sites might be the Arcadia brands (Topshop, Topman, Dorothy Perkins, Miss Selfridge, Wallis, Evans & Burtons) […]
I’ve encountered various companies where having an ecommerce website was seen as a threat to other channels in the business – either conflicting with other retail channels (“you’re stealing my customers!”) or conflicting with wholesale channels (“why should I buy from you when you’re selling direct?”). Perhaps people who are used to meetings and sales […]