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Articles by Jean-René Boidron
Delivering digital ROI - how to measure your success
30-second summary: Budgets are under even more pressure than usual so it’s important to target tech investment where it will quickly achieve bottom-line impact and ROI. 98% of consumers leave websites without converting – addressing this dire statistic is key to digital success. Personalization and experimentation will help and models such as Forrester Consulting’s Total Economic Impact (TEI) will identify the costs, benefits, and risk factors to ensure the outlay is worth it.
EDITORIAL Hotel Chocolat, Naked Wines, Unilever, Gear4music and French Connection on how lockdown changed the way their shoppers buy
Image courtesy of Hotel Chocolat In today’s InternetRetailing newsletter we’re reporting as the latest official figures show how shoppers’ buying habits changed during lockdown. The ONS Retail Sales report for June shows how shoppers bought more online in June across all categories, while buying less in-store. The finding that customer habits have changed at least short-term is reflected in updates from retailers including Hotel Chocolat, French Connection, Unilever, Naked Wines and Gear4music.
French Connection points to slow recovery in store sales while online sales are 24% ahead
Image: Screenshot of Frenchconnection.com French Connection says sales in its stores have been improving slowly since it was allowed to reopen them on June 15 following lockdown. It says that visitor numbers have been down, but those who visit its shops have been more likely to spend than a year earlier.
EDITORIAL How Kingfisher, Missguided and Armani are building resilience
Giorgio Armani: part of the retail rethink (Image: Armani/Viviane Sassen) A recent assessment by the KPMG/Ipsos Retail Think Tank (RTT), which produces a Retail Health Index (RHI) – a quantitative and qualitative assessment of demand, margin and cost – saw drop of 10 points, bringing the index to a record low of just 61 – down nearly 40% if compared to its initial basing (RHI score of 100) in 2006. On that metric, retail is at a very low ebb.
Hotel Chocolat expects 3% sales rise after year of two very different halves
Image courtesy of Hotel Chocolat Hotel Chocolat today said it expected full-year sales to be 3% ahead of last time, after a year of two very different halves. Sales were up by 14% in the first half of the year – but fell by 14% in the second half as its shops closed during the coronavirus lockdown, although digital sales were up by more than 200%. The retailer now plans to create 200 new jobs this year as it expands its distribution and manufacturing capacity.
Gear4music expects significant profit rise after 'exceptionally strong' first quarter
Screenshot: Gear4music.com Gear4music today hailed an “exceptionally strong” first quarter of its financial year during the coronavirus lockdown, with UK sales up by 80% and total sales up by 68%. It now expects that full-year profits will be well ahead of last year. The online musical instrument and equipment retailer, ranked Top250 in RXUK Top500 research, has reported sales of £37.3m in the three months to June 30 2020. That’s up by 68% compared to the same time last year.
Dip in weekend visitors to English high streets more likely to be down to the weather than face masks: Springboard
The number of people visiting shops in the UK continued to rise last week, although visitor numbers dipped slightly over the weekend. It became mandatory to wear a facemask to protect against the spread of Covid-19 when visiting shops in England on Friday, but Springboard suggests the dip in visitor numbers may be because of heavy rain rather than avoiding having to mask up.
Latest ONS figures show how UK shoppers changed the way they buy during lockdown
Increased online spending and falling in-store sales in June suggest that the way shoppers buy has changed dramatically during the coronavirus lockdowns – although official figures suggest the amount they spend has now returned to pre-Covid levels. Last month, 31.8% of retail sales took pace online, according to the ONS Retail Sales report for June.
How do the best brands get it right? 2020 RXBX Brand Index deep-dive discussion with FatFace and Tealium
2020 will be remembered as a phase change, during which the biggest and best brands made a resolute leap from “wholesale + branding + some flagships” to wholly, capably and committedly multichannel. In the 2020 RXBX Brand Index we measure, analyse and rank the 500 best-performing brands selling direct to consumers in Europe. The index has doubled to 500 (from 2019’s ranking of 250) to reflect the growth and dynamism in this channel.
Naked Wines’ sales up by 77% - showing it's 'ideally positioned' for the shift online
Naked Wines today reported sales up by more than three-quarters and said it was “ideally positioned” for the ongoing shift as customers continue to buy more wine online and less in shops. Sales in June alone were up by 67%, compared to the same time last year, with the result that sales for the first quarter of Naked Wines financial year were 77% ahead of the same time last year.
Kingfisher sees ecommerce surge 200% across May and June as click and collect comes into its own
Kingfisher's B&Q reopening drove ecommerce to new heights in H1 (Image: B&Q) DIY homewares group Kingfisher – owner of B&Q and Screwfix in the UK along with a range of similar stores in France – has seen ecommerce surge in May and June as click and collect and delivery come into their own with stores reopening. With stores closed from mid-March the retailer has seen ecommerce more than fill the gap.
GUEST COMMENT How to pivot your Amazon strategy: now and after Covid-19
The Covid-19 pandemic has altered the face of the ecommerce industry and shopper behaviour. However, despite the new challenges that retailers face, the current situation provides sellers with massive growth opportunities. This new landscape is particularly true for those who sell through Amazon. From board games to beauty products, bidets, baby wipes and beyond, consumers rely on Amazon’s services more than ever.
GUEST COMMENT 5 trends transforming digital retail post-crisis
Making sense of digital trends vital to move retail forward (Image: Adobe) Jean-René Boidron, CEO, Kameleoon After the immediate impact of COVID-19 on life in general and retailers in particular lockdowns are easing, and we are entering a new normal. While the crisis has positively benefited many ecommerce retailers, such as those in sectors such as grocery, now is the time for every brand to understand the long-term impact on their business and what they should be focusing on moving forward.
Unilever reports 49% rise in ecommerce sales as shoppers changed buying habits during Covid-19 lockdowns
Unilever today reported ecommerce sales growth of 49%, while overall turnover fell by 1.6%, as shopping habits changed during the Covid-19 lockdown. Unilever says its performance during the Covid-19 lockdown showed its strength and agility. The organisation, whose brands include PG Tips, Dove, Hellmann’s and Magnum, said that the markets it sells in had changed considerably during Covid-19, as shoppers moved from offline to online channels during lockdowns.
The Need and Benefits of Personalization in Sales and Marketing today
Today, consumers have a greater choice than ever before – meaning brands face ever-increasing competition. Connecting with consumers, particularly online, and turning website visitors into customers, is difficult – an estimated 2% of people that come onto your website convert.
Why brands need to take a strategic approach to personalization
30-second summary: Whilst personalization can be complex, consumers respond positively to it. Recent global research found that 73% of consumers said they expect a personalized journey when they interact with brands digitally and 80% expect personalized emails. Effective personalization doesn’t necessarily require huge amounts of identifiable information to operate successfully. We have seen that algorithms can be trained to reliably predict after just 2,500 conversions.
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