GSI Commerce goes upscale with RueLaLa.com acquisition
The good life isn't so good for luxury brands these days. Thanks to the Great Recession, many consumers aren't as eager to spend big bucks on high-end fashion and accessories. Spending less is in vogue and that has been good news for companies that are ready with bargains.
And that explains why GSI Commerce, an e-commerce and multichannel solutions provider, is paying up to $350m for Retail Convergence, the company that operates private sale website RueLaLa.com and off-price e-commerce website SmartBargains.com.
Q&A: Bec Clarke on selling luxury goods online
AstleyClarke.com, an online retailer of exclusive jewellery, launched its redesigned website this week, as well as a revamped showroom in London.
The company has been trading for three years, and received £2.75m of investment from Index Ventures in 2008.
I've been talking to Founder and MD Bec Clarke about the company, the thinking behind the new website, and the challenges of selling luxury goods online...
The importance of recession decision-making
During a recession, many companies are forced to make very difficult decisions. This has been especially true in the current recession, which has been not only been deep, but global.
Most recession decision-making is pragmatic. The future is not guaranteed and depending on your company's financial situation, short-term survival often trumps long-term strategy. But while surviving may be your priority, decisions made during a recession can have a significant impact on the future of your business well beyond the recession.
Customer engagement index plunges 15%
Customers are not happy. And unless you are an ultra-high end brand, they're checking out of their attachment with you...and telling each about it via social media channels.
Those are some of the results of the PeopleMetrics second annual Customer Engagement Report. It shows that when it comes to value and emotional connection, one man's search result is another man's luxury suite. According to the survey, consumers connect emotionally to brands that provide value, and that emotional connection has dropped 15% over 2007.
