Etailers | The GATE WAY Blog

Maturing eCommerce Means Web Retailers Must Think Differently

April 14, 2010

I saw a very interesting article on the Financial Times online today and thought I would share it here. Entitled “Maturing ecommerce means web retailers must think differently” Michael Ross, director at eCommera, put some interesting points forward for small businesses.

Read highlights below or the full article here

...But the indicators of ecommerce’s problems are not so obvious as long queues or a tired looking store front are to a physical high street retailer.

For online retailers, store layout means optimising the position of their most popular and most profitable products; check-out queues equate to the ease and speed of completing an order and the time from order to delivery. For the friendliness of the affable village butcher, online retailers must think about their after sales care and the tone and tailoring of their outreach.

Online, a company with a compelling and competitive service has an almost infinite catchment area, and it is often the big names who are investing most in understanding the science of effective retail and will prevail in the land grab.

So to avoid going the way of local stores, squeezed out by the major players – the supermarkets of the physical world – online retailers of all sizes must monitor and understand the importance of several key metrics.

First comes the number of visits and orders, and the source of traffic. This allows more sophisticated analysis than physical in-store footfall as it not only reveals total consumer number but also how they are finding the site – whether driven by direct marketing, banner ads, affiliates, search or other means…

And finally, the most obvious KPI for businesses to monitor – customer satisfaction. Many say they do so but their methodology is often based on the wrong metrics.

Businesses need a holistic view of end-to-end customer service and the efficiency of the website and back-end in delivering what those consumers want, when they want it…

Also tagged eCommerce, Financial Times – 1 Comment

China Sourcing Trends

March 1, 2010

In the January issue of the UK’s ‘Internet Retailing’ magazine, I wrote the below piece for their ’Insights from Around the World’ column on the sourcing trends in China for overseas retailers. It includes some information that many of you will find interesting. Let me know your thoughts!

Insights from Around the World: China

Despite the winter chill, China was red-hot at the close of 2009.The country’s manufacturing activity accelerated in December at its fastest pace in several years and foreign exports were up USD$130.7bn, up 17.7% year-on-year. J.P. Morgan said it expects China’s growth momentum to continue throughout 2010. All this at the same time as internet shopping in the UK grew at its fastest rate for 22 months in December, as millions of shoppers migrated online to buy their Christmas goods.

Controversy over Beijing’s policy of pegging its currency to the U.S. dollar may continue to concern economists, but for the time being the fixed exchange rate gives China’s factories a nearly unbeatable price advantage against manufacturers in other countries.

The price advantage has grown even larger after the U.S. dollar, and therefore the Chinese yuan, fell sharply against other major currencies last year. Combine this financial situation with the growth of an already mammoth manufacturing industry and you get a retail buyers market.

Retailers purchasing inventory in China via DHgate.com demonstrated some interesting trends in 2009. Although Apparel and Accessories remained strong, technology purchases ranked as the most popular, accounting for around a third of transactions and a rise of over 10% on the previous year. Strong growth was also seen in the Health and Beauty and Home and Gardens categories, both showing year-on-year increases of around 40%. And with total Christmas stock purchasing representing DHgate’s busiest in its five year history, Chinese manufacturers are expecting to see huge growth in 2010.

With an increasing number of Chinese businesses setting up wholesale and manufacturing operations online, those who source from China will have a distinct advantage. Traditionally it has been the Big Box retailers who benefit from China sourcing. The new evolution of this industry online allows smaller business to also benefit and pass on savings to their customers – increasing profits.

As consumers resume normal spending habits, retailers capitalizing on the surge of quality goods provided by Chinese manufacturers have the potential to expand their market share.

Also tagged China suppliers, exports, Internet Retailing – No Comments

Ecommerce Challenges – And Solutions

January 7, 2010

Online publication, Internet Retailer, recently published the findings of a report prepared by Retail Systems Research LLC entitled “Online Commerce in 2009: The Game Has Changed—Have Retailers?”. The prospects for online retailers in the coming 12 months looks promising. IR conclude that “in an increasingly multichannel retail world, retailers surveyed in the report listed online merchandising and cross-channel capabilities as the two technology areas that will bring the most value.”

See some of the findings below. Are these in line with your thoughts? Let me know!

Also tagged eCommerce, report findings, trends – No Comments

Turkey Sandwiches and Black Friday

November 24, 2009

The New Black Friday

As American readers will know, Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving, i.e. this Friday!), signals the beginning of holiday shopping season and is frequently the U.S’s busiest retail day of the year. If you are one of the brave people who like to take on the crowds, then keep in mind that Black Friday is also a good time for small businesses to secure an office bargain.

In her recent blog for USA Today (here), Rhonda Abrams suggest the following strategies which may prove helpful

Strategies for successful small business Black Friday shopping:

1. Make a list of stuff you really need. Don’t buy just because something’s cheap. It’s tempting, I know.

2. Check to see which version of Windows 7 you need. If you have a server you’ll need at least the Pro or Ultimate edition. Upgrades are very expensive so buy the right one.

3. Before Friday, find out whether Windows 7 will work with your current software and peripherals before you buy. Otherwise, things can get really costly.

4. Shop online. Many retailers and even manufacturers are offering deals online beginning as early as midnight Friday morning. You may find the best stuff for small businesses — higher levels of Windows 7 for example — online.

5. Apply for your rebates. Make copies of everything and send rebates out immediately.

6. Check the office stores. They often have equipment more suited for business, rather than just consumer, use.

Especially good buys for small business on Black Friday include media — jump drives, CDs, DVDs, media cards. These can be dirt cheap. And you can find really good deals on smaller office equipment like surge protectors, scanners and label makers.

Personally, I find the prospect of Cyber Monday much more exciting – But more of that later this week! For those preparing to take on Friday’s challenges and win, my recommendation is to pack a left-over turkey sandwich and use the event to burn off some of the Turkey Day excesses! Good luck.

To all my American readers, happy thanksgiving!

As American readers will know, Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving, i.e. this Friday!), signals the beginning of holiday shopping season and is frequently the U.S’s busiest retail day of the year. If you are one of the brave people who like to take on the crowds, then keep in mind that Black Friday is also a good time for small businesses to secure an office bargain.

thanksgiving