multichannel | Internet Marketing Blog

Q&A: Jennifer Day on the new Endsleigh website

Insurance firm Endsleigh recently launched a completely new website, aiming to attract and service more customers online. This is part of a wider decision which involved the closure of its branches.

I've been talking to Jennifer Day, Online Sales Performance Manager at Endsleigh, about the company's online strategy, keeping insurance applications usable, and its approach to multichannel marketing...

by Graham Charlton 09 March 2010 11:44am 2 comments

Are multichannel retailers providing a better customer experience?

A new study of online retailers in the UK suggests that, thanks to the ability to offer a 'seamless and consistent' customer experience both online and offline, multichannel retailers have the edge over pure plays.

In the eDigital Research Benchmark study, which used mystery shoppers to look at 58 UK e-commerce sites, found that multichannel retailers dominate the top 20, with only three spots occupied by pure plays.

So why is this?

by Graham Charlton 22 February 2010 11:12am 3 comments

Multichannel retailers need multichannel returns policies

Customers shopping from multichannel retailers will naturally expect that they can return their purchases to their local store. After all, it's all the same company, isn't it?

It turns out that some companies are multichannel in name only. These are multichannel brands that sell and - theoretically - service customers and prospects across multiple channels, but all too often they are not joined up. The left hand doesn't have a clue what the right one is doing, and seemingly doesn't want to.

For example, some multichannel retailers don't cater for returns in a sensible way, and they run the risk of losing customers and repeat business as a result...

by Graham Charlton 15 February 2010 13:40pm 5 comments

The “unbundling” of the shopping experience across channels: implications for retailers

Do you remember when “unbundling” hit the travel sector? Popularised, maybe even invented, by the likes of Expedia and lastminute.com, the internet allowed customers to create their own ‘custom’ travel experience by breaking down the components, like flights, hotels, car hire and so on, into discrete elements which the customer then configured.

I think the same is happening to the retail shopping experience. And, if I’m right, there are some very considerable implications for retailers and those that play in the retail chain.

by Ashley Friedlein 10 February 2010 13:53pm 5 comments

Retailers risk losing customers between channels

A new report suggests that multichannel retailers need to integrate their offline and online inventory more closely to avoid losing sales as customers switch between channels.

According to the Multichannel Retail Report from GSI Commerce, if customers can't find an item instore and decide to look for it online, 69% would compare prices across other websites, meaning that risk losing potential sales to rivals.

by Graham Charlton 29 January 2010 08:51am 5 comments

Zara releases a pointless iPhone app

Fashion retailer Zara released an iPhone app recently, which falls well short of what a retailer could achieve with an iPhone app, in terms of promoting products and providing useful information for users.

The app offers a few pictures of its clothing range and new arrivals, but little else. Having looked at the app, I do wonder why they have bothered at all...

by Graham Charlton 06 January 2010 13:17pm 14 comments

21 e-commerce experts interviewed

We've interviewed nearly 100 industry experts this year on various topics, from affiliate marketing to web analytics.

I've gathered together our interviews on the subject of e-commerce in 2009, all 21 of them...

by Graham Charlton 15 December 2009 10:38am 3 comments

Q&A: Tom Allason on e-commerce delivery startup Shutl

Shutl Shutl promises to revolutionise e-commerce by solving issues around delivery and providing customers and retailers with same day and named hour delivery options.

The company's official launch will be announced at LeWeb today by founder and CEO Tom Allason, who also founded eCourier in 2003.

I spoke to Tom last week about how Shutl works, and why Tom thinks it will be a game changer for e-commerce...

by Graham Charlton 09 December 2009 11:25am 3 comments

Argos uses check and reserve to beat the postal strike

The postal strikes last month cost retailers a total of £53m in lost sales, but some retailers managed to offset customer concerns around delivery by offering collect in store services.

Argos is one example, reporting growth in use of its Check and Reserve service around the time of the strikes, and providing an example for other multichannel retailers of how to minimise the disruption caused by postal strikes.

by Graham Charlton 01 December 2009 14:09pm 4 comments

Mobile site review: Comet

Comet launched its first mobile site, the first for any UK electrical retailer, earlier this month. The site allows users to browse the retailer's product range and reserve items for collection at local stores.

I've been trying the Comet mobile site (on an iPhone) to see how well it performs...

by Graham Charlton 01 December 2009 09:38am 2 comments