In 2012, we conducted research into how the recession had affected attitudes towards global trading opportunities.
We found that many of the respondents had been forced to rely heavily on global markets to maintain or grow their revenues.
Over the last few years Black Friday and Cyber Monday have developed from being a purely US phenomenon to a global sales event, marking the start of the all-important Christmas shopping season.
In 2014 the effects of Black Friday saw UK retail sales rise at their fastest annual rate in more than 10 years, with £810m spent and online sales jumping 13% year-on-year.
Ecommerce traffic is shifting. Forrester projects that retail sales on smartphones and tablets will total $115bn in 2015 and $252bn in the US by 2020.
However, according to its recent survey: “There is a big disconnect between traffic and sales on mobile devices. While 47% of traffic comes from mobile devices, only 28% of sales do. This is in large part because of problems with the mobile experience.”
‘Fast fashion’ is here to stay, as British fashion etailer Boohoo.com’s recent announcement of a 35% jump in revenue in the first half of 2015 impressively demonstrates.
The fast fashion model refers to fashion brands and retailers that successfully embrace the quickly changing tastes of their customers.
A hot topic of 2015 is beacons and we’re all excited, but what’s the potential for beacons in hotels?
What could we marketers do to stop the consumer turning their back on them before we even begin?
It’s warm outside and Christmas is far from most people’s minds at the moment. But for commerce marketers, it’s a different story.
Retailers are already thinking about how they can captivate consumers and drive revenue this year.
With IMRG reporting that UK shoppers spent £21.6bn in the eight weeks running up to Christmas in 2014, it’s no surprise to see why it’s a priority now.
The announcement that Apple Pay would be extending to the UK in July 2015 created a buzz of excitement in the technology and payments world.
Apple claims the new product will enable consumers to substitute their existing bank card and use their iPhone 6, 6 Plus or Apple Watch instead.
In marketing it seems like there are new techniques emerging constantly – yet many of these vanish as quickly as they appeared.
Real-time marketing, however, has been tipped to stick around by some of the industry’s leading experts – why is that?
In previous articles I have discussed my admiration for the online experiences offered by the likes of ASOS, Booking.com and (yes, honestly) Lingscars.com.
Now it is time to add another online experience to the pantheon of greats; the phenomenal ecommerce experience that is AO.com (formerly Appliances Online).
My opinion is that AO.com is among the most customer-centric retailers I have had the pleasure of knowing in more than 15 years working in the ecommerce industry.
In the angry aftermath of Amazon’s big Prime Day sales event, the internet’s support of the ecommerce giant turned from #PrimeDay to #PrimeDayFail.
To keep eyes fixated on their content, brands are using the simple sophistication of cinemagraphs in pursuit of creating snackable formats that really stand out.
Whether it’s for email, website, or social media, cinemagraphs are increasingly on show on our screens.
Facebook is the largest online social network in the world, but it’s increasingly looking to make its billion-user service relevant offline as well.
The latest example of that can be seen with Place Tips, a feature “that helps people learn about and connect with the places they visit.”