We’ve just started working with technology business AIMES Grid Services to advise bu

We have conducted research into North West retail businesses with turnovers of between £1million and £5million and how they are competing online.  These are the companies that should see maybe local store offerings transformed by national reach online. In the North West alone, we estimate there are circa 400 of these mid-range retailers who are missing out on the increased sales which transacting online could bring.

Importantly what is the potential lost revenue from this?  As a starting point, most of these retailers should be capable of generating an extra 10 per cent of sales by moving into transacting online. Again we conservatively estimate that collectively they are missing out on £40million a year in lost revenue.

You can safely add a nought onto that figure to give you the national picture – and all because retailers have been unable to justify the cost or do not have the in-house expertise to set up an e-tail platform.

But innovation and technological advances mean that businesses who couldn’t afford to start selling online just a year or so ago can find a solution which will help them compete.  Cloud computing and next generation, energy efficient digital architecture means that there are new cost-effective ways to replicate and even improve on the services offered by traditional software providers.  Set up and running costs can now be up to 50 per cent lower than traditional solutions – and some proactive universities now offer two-year subsidised secondments, providing you with the manpower to roll out your e-tail site.

Now that buying online has become second nature to a growing percentage of UK shoppers, the inevitable question is just how far internet shopping will permeate into the retail landscape.  Many of the High Street’s major players are already using the web as an additional sales platform – not only as an extra customer service but also giving them a significant advantage over smaller competitors.  The retail climate is tough enough for many small to mid-range businesses as it is, without having to compete on an uneven playing field.

We’ve just started working with technology business AIMES Grid Services to advise businesses with turnovers of between £1million and £5million how they can compete – and the research we’ve completed shows the startling extent of the picture.  In the North West alone, there are 400 mid-range retailers who are missing out on the increased sales which transacting online can bring – and collectively they are missing out on £40million a year in lost revenue.  You can safely add a nought onto that figure to give you the national picture – and all because retailers have been unable to justify the cost or do not have the in-house expertise to set up an e-tail platform.  As a starting point, most of these retailers should be capable of generating an extra 10 per cent of sales by moving into transacting online.

But innovation and technological advances mean that businesses who couldn’t afford to start selling online just a year or so ago can find a solution which will help them compete.  Cloud computing and next generation, energy efficient digital architecture means that there are new cost-effective ways to replicate and even improve on the services offered by traditional software providers.  Set up and running costs can now be up to 50 per cent lower than traditional solutions – and some proactive universities now offer two-year subsidised secondments, providing you with the manpower to roll out your e-tail site.

Increasingly retailers need an on-line platform built around their specific needs, both current and future, but at an affordable cost.  Across the country there are retailers, ranging from the very small upwards, who perceive the need for their business to be selling online but have not be able to resource this vital platform, particularly in the current economic climate.  But this is just the time that such a move is vital to protect the future of many of these businesses by serving their customers better and defending themselves competitively.

In previous years it has been predicted to be the Monday of the first full week in December, but although the 8th was big last year the 15th surpassed it.  This phenomena is caused by

• Monday is always peak trading day of the week for remote retailing
• Gradually increasing confidence in delivery close to the date.
• Improved delivery speed and reliability for major
• With Xmas on a Friday, most people will look to clear their major online purchase decisions the week before, with last minute store shopping still an option for four days prior to the big day.

The ongoing postal strike disputes may be the only thing to bring this forward this year.

The re-launch of the TJ Hughes online store at the beginning of June was the key to its impressive recent sales figures that showed overall like-for-likes sales growth and its internet shop growing by 80 per cent for the first six months of its current financial year.

Steve Goodheart of the Transaction Partnership, which planned and implemented the re-launch, says the investment in improved e-commerce, website technology, and improved customer service were crucial in helping the fashion retailer achieve its impressive results for the half-year to August 1.

The work also allowed TJ Hughes to increase its number of product ranges available online and tap into the rising number of shoppers researching prices before buying online. Goodheart says the move by TJ Hughes is further evidence of how discount retailers are gearing up to take advantage of stronger online demand for value created by the current economic climate, following on from Matalan’s online launch at the start of the year.

“TJ Hughes’ results demonstrate that, as internet shoppers become more fickle and prepared to search online for the best bargains, particularly in the recession, investing in website performance and customer service can go a long way to build customer loyalty. The site is now operating on a much more stable platform which, from a customer point of view, means that the site performs much more consistently,” suggests Goodheart.

Two-thirds of SME retailers still lack ecommerce

New research into online selling by small and medium sized retailers has found that ecommerce is now in use by just over a third of retailers and multi-channel retailing has only reached a quarter

New research from multi-channel systems specialist Actinic has found significant increases in the adoption of ecommerce amongst small and medium sized retailers.

However, operating across multiple channels — where outlets are selling online and taking orders via the mail or phone — is lagging behind with only a quarter of retailers falling into this category.

http://www.internetretailing.net/news/two-thirds-of-sme-retailers-still-lack-ecommerce