With an educative undertone and a clear aim to address the challenges and subsequent emerging opportunities that the current cross-border payments and ecommerce landscape has to offer, the Cross-Border Payments and Ecommerce Report 2023–2024 follows an intuitive structure that allows you to dive into specific trends and ways to solve the challenges faced when considering an international expansion.
Ad spending on European retail media channels grew by approximately 2.3% in 2023. That might seem like a small increase, but it’s big news for this specific strategy. Retail media is on the rise in the European market. Here, we’ll explore the benefits and challenges of leveraging this approach to marketing.
Influencer and content creator marketing can do wonders to improve a brand’s reach, but launching a successful campaign can be challenging. Stanley 1913’s immensely popular Stanley Cup provides a perfect example of how key partnerships with creators, a targeted strategy, and a little bit of luck can make a brand go viral.
Experiential shopping is completely changing the way shoppers make purchases and experience brands, and technology is providing them with unparalleled access. Decathlon’s new shopping app for the Apple Vision Pro is an excellent example of what the future shopping experience will be like. In this article, we’ll explore Decathlon’s new app and what it means for the future of retail and eCommerce.
Plenty of retail and eCommerce organizations are already using AI-powered chatbots for customer assistance, but Zalando has taken the technology a step further. It has even launched a new invitation-only shopping experience that is sure to build hype (and customer loyalty). In this article, we explore Zalando’s latest innovations and how they are impacting the industry.
Artificial Intelligence is rapidly reshaping the landscape of the retail industry, introducing a new era of innovation and customer engagement. Our latest article delves into how Carrefour is pioneering the use of AI to transform its operations and consumer experience.
We so often in these articles focus on the business of attracting customers to our ecommerce platforms and servicing them in the moment-to-moment interactions which are directly tied to the purchase process. However, one area of the ecommerce process which is becoming increasingly challenging is the business of actually getting purchased products from our stores or fulfilment centres to the customer’s address. Logistics are become significantly more complex as customer expectations grow and the number of packages being dispatched also increase.
Personalisation is now one of the core tenets of ecommerce. Research has consistently shown that customers desire personalised services from the retailers they choose to do business with and are even willing to pay more for the same products to get one.
Data has been the lifeblood of industry for more years than we can count at this point. From the moment people first started keeping business records, data has been used in some capacity to guide business decisions and inform the direction of future retail.
Almost half of the world’s population is on social media – that’s close to four billion people! – which makes these platforms one of the most valuable methods for connecting with new and existing audiences and targeting them with your marketing efforts.
Cross-channel marketing is vital to success in the contemporary retail landscape. In fact, 87% of retailers [according to Research Live] have confirmed this belief. However, where traditional methods of marketing would have seen a single strategy which was blind to the specific channels being used – a unidimensional approach – modern marketers understand more clearly that this does not work in a world where brands and customers have so many channels with which to engage with one another.
British retail brand Marks & Spencer has had an incredibly storied history. In fact, it wasn’t too long ago the company was in serious trouble and was on the verge of disappearing from UK high streets entirely. However, the business persevered and came back swinging with a significant rebrand which saw it embrace its middle-class place in the market and an advertising focus on the high quality of its products – most famously in its slow motion "This is not food, this is M&S food…” advertisements.
Amazon has been riding high as the undisputed king of the ecommerce castle for quite some time now and has seen nothing but growth since founder Jeff Bezos first started selling books online from his Bellevue, Washington garage in 1994. However, multiple factors such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the supply chain crunch, inflation, and now the UK cost-of-living crisis have conspired to harm Amazon’s ability to deliver its core ecommerce mission, resulting in a steep dive in online sales growth and its share price falling by a third in 2022.
There have been so many challenges sent our way over the last few years that a new term has entered the lexicon to describe this almost continues flow from one crisis to another – permacrisis. Starting with the global COVID-19 crisis, then the Russian invasion of Ukraine, rising inflation, the cost-of-living crisis, the energy crisis, and many more besides have all conspired to put extreme pressure on supply chains, households tying to make ends meet, businesses trying to fulfil orders, and almost every other corner of society.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, people all around the globe flocked to online supermarkets to fulfil their grocery needs, whilst simultaneously remaining tucked away safe at home. Significant numbers of UK households began relying on home delivery services for their weekly shop, so much so that delivery slots at some of the country’s most popular supermarket brands were often booked solid for weeks in advance. And, now the danger has largely passed, there is evidence that this pattern of online grocery shopping will continue to grow.
It’s fair to say the global COVID-19 crisis had a significant effect on customer shopping behaviour with lockdown restrictions and lack of confidence in public spaces driving billions to embrace online retail and eschew brick-and-mortar locations. One sector which perhaps felt this transformation more than most was the retail cosmetics and pharmaceutical space. With the desire for off-the-shelf medicines and other related products at an all-time high – and supply chains buckling under the weight of increased demand – brands in this industry had to scramble to ensure they could fill orders and meet their customers online.
It’s fair to say we’re all tentatively looking forward to the holiday season in 2021. Many of us avoid the crowds by doing our holiday shopping online these days and Amazon has produced a way to make it even easier to purchase gifts for those loved ones you won’t be seeing in person over the season.
Our valiant supermarkets have really been holding the line during the COVID-19 crisis and we should all feel an immense sense of gratitude and pride in those retail staff who got out of bed each morning and dealt with the challenges of the pandemic head on. However, now [hopefully] the worst of the crisis has passed, the business of supermarket ecommerce can start focusing on innovation again.
The ecommerce business has been booming during the pandemic and brands in that space are now scrambling to make sure they maintain that lead in the post-pandemic world. ASOS has achieved its continued success by putting customer satisfaction first and making sure all its ecommerce innovations are built around that objective.
Not interested in resting on its laurels, BooHoo has been aggressively expanding its offering and is taking several other brands along for the ride, while simultaneously making intelligent partnerships to augment its already considerable presence.
Amazon now looks set to overtake supermarket chain Tesco as the UK’s biggest retailer – a position Tesco had held for a significant amount of time – over the next four years. However, a massive brand such as Tesco isn’t likely to take this challenge lying down and has been taking aim at one of Amazon’s more innovative brands – Amazon’s innovative checkout free digital convenience store brand, Amazon Go.
Even before the pandemic, high street retail had found itself in a tough situation. We are going to focus on high-end department store brand John Lewis & Partners and how it has been adapting in the face of changing customer behavior brought about by the COVID-19 crisis.
The direct-to-customer retail business model has been growing in popularity in recent years as brands the world over discover the benefits of targeting the end user exclusively. Zalando has been in the vanguard of this growth and has been succeeding due to its sharp focus on sustainable value-based buying and connected retail.
Luxury fashion brands have historically been resistant to immersing themselves into the world of ecommerce. One brand which was ahead of this curve is London, England-based Farfetch, which has long been making serious waves in the luxury fashion ecommerce market thanks to a focus on collaboration and leveraging the power of digital technology.
The COVID-19 crisis posed significant challenges for businesses in almost every industry. One industry which had to keep operating was the supermarket business. It’s little surprise therefore that we saw a massive surge in people ordering their groceries online, something supermarket giants such as Sainsbury’s were especially cognizant of.
Some brands have been slow to fully immerse themselves in the ecommerce world. Veteran British fashion and grocery retailer, Marks & Spencer is one such brand, choosing to focus on its impressive network of middle to upper class stores, instead of diverting too many resources into its online presence. Better late than never however, as Marks & Spencer has spent the last year devoting serious time and energy to becoming a force majeure in the ecommerce space.
Many retailers successfully pivoted during the COVID-19 crisis to not only maintain business continuity but also thrive in the new digital-first environment. But retailers are now looking toward what's next for the sector, and after an unprecedented year, it's clear that nothing will ever be the same. Consumer habits were already changing with the continual adoption of digital retail touchpoints and ecommerce, but the pandemic sped up this process. Now, retailers must determine how they can bridge the gap between the online and offline customer experience, so they can meet the expectations of the new shopper as stores reopen.
Learn how New Look is achieving more by doing less after reducing its in-store inventory by 25% and its online inventory by 32%
Retailers are most affected by geopolitical disruptions. As the political landscape shifts, we must adapt and identify new opportunities amidst uncertainties.
Many eCommerce brands are still not using personalisation to its fullest potential. Learn how you can hyper-personalise your customer interactions.
Customers today are more demanding than ever. Mobile-optimized sites, personalization, etc are now just the baseline.
For many years now, analysts and industry experts have been sounding the death knell for the high street and the ascendance of ecommerce to the retail throne. And while it's quite possibly true that things may be heading in that direction, it's certainly too soon to count brick and mortar out yet.
In the arms race for fast and cheap home delivery options, it is the final mile of a package's journey which causes the biggest headache for retailers serving the ecommerce space. One way in which retailers are tackling the issue of the last mile is with click and collect, where customers arrange to have their package left at a separate location — usually a supermarket or other business premises — for them to pick up at a convenient time.
As environmental consciousness and social responsibility gain a greater share of public awareness, sustainability is becoming a desirable option for retailers in all segments. Though there's no "one size fits all" approach that can suit all organizations, there are several routes that a brand can take, and there are compelling reasons for retailers to adopt sustainability best practices of one kind or another.
The shift to eCommerce has led to a dramatic rise in physical store closures, with even household names like Marks and Spencer, Debenhams, and Mothercare feeling the pinch. With convenience and a world of choice merely a click away, and direct-to-consumer brands capable of delivering products to the customer within hours, retailers are having to rethink the part that physical outlets play in promoting their survival in this new economic reality.
Customer experience is quickly emerging as the number one business differentiator and driver of growth — the battleground upon which customers are won and lost. A recent study reveals that experience-led businesses have 1.6x higher brand awareness, 1.9x higher order values, 1.6x higher customer satisfaction rates, 1.7x higher customer retention rates, 1.9x higher return on spend, and 1.5x higher employee satisfaction.
As we begin a new decade, retailers are wondering how to stay ahead of the curve and maintain their innovative and competitive edge over the next ten years. Several emerging trends and current realities will have to be taken into account by organizations looking to be market leaders in the 2020s.
To diversify one's revenue streams means to identify new ways to bring money into your organization and leverage those opportunities. At this point, you may be thinking this means acquiring new brands or starting up the next Netflix like our examples above, but the reality can be much simpler and require far less investment on your behalf.
For retailers, understanding the steps that a customer takes before making a purchase can be just as valuable as the sale itself. Being able to identify these steps empowers marketers to create environments where these stages can be recreated with other consumers, leading to further sales. Achieving this insight and monitoring marketing performance requires skills and specialist techniques — one of which is attribution modeling.
We are all aware of the proliferation of showrooming — the practice of viewing or trying on products in-store only to purchase them online — and its popularity with customers. While the practice does result in lost revenue for physical retailers, it does suggest that the brick and mortar store does still have a role to play in even the most digitally native shopper's buying journey.
When a business has long held a reputation as a brick and mortar experience, it can be difficult for them to achieve these goals in the digital age. This is especially true of restaurant brands who are known for being predominantly dine-in experiences rather than for takeaway.
During 2018's Chinese Singles Day, shoppers in China racked up a staggering $30.8 billion in retail sales - a 27 percent rise on the previous year. The day has now eclipsed Cyber Monday in the US in terms of sales and now has Black Friday firmly in its sights.
Moleskine's concept was to launch a magazine style content hub from which all its blog posts could be accessed. Launched a year ago, Fold Magazine has since evolved into a stylish and diverse content source with a wide range of articles and topics from which users can select.
Brexit - deal or no-deal - it will almost certainly result in the British people have less disposable income in their pockets. The resultant tightening of the belts of a poorer population will likely reduce consumer spending, especially on the sorts of non-essential goods Amazon specializes in.
Having a custom website built from scratch, you can expect to pay anything from a few hundred to tens of thousands of pounds. Design, coding, hosting, ongoing maintenance, all these factors start racking up the cost.With a marketplace option, there is nothing but the usually very reasonable subscription fees to pay.
All of your company’s content, social messaging or advertising campaigns offer an opportunity for your customers to interact with your brand.
Germany-based Aldi and Lidl have been disrupting the UK supermarket industry for some time now with their low-price grocery strategy. Now they are looking to do the same thing to the digital world.
Chatbots are on the rise, creating a potential goldmine for ecommerce as businesses look for new ways to attract, entertain, and monetise an audience.
The omnichannel imperative for retailers has never been more pressing. In the UK, 95% of shoppers interact with a brand across multiple channels - meaning that there now remains only a very small minority that stick to just one channel.
Ever since Britain held a referendum to decide the future of its membership with the European Union the business world has been wracked with uncertainty. However, there are some ways post-Brexit ecommerce companies can make sure they're ready.
High-end UK department store chain John Lewis is widely regarded as somewhat of a trailblazer when it comes to customer experience - and its strategy to engage the mobile customer is no exception.
Retail data has been a major component of driving customer experience for a while now. However, as we move into 2018, fresh thinking is required to make sure methods don't go stale.
Discover how Lego creates and leverages tailored content to engage customers across its social media channels.
Data-fueled personalization is key to Graze's growth strategy. Here's how they do it.
As digital transformation ripple through almost every industry, brands need to future-proof themselves by addressing the digital skills shortage.
Bringing their online channel strategy into the store has been key for River Island's success on the high street.
Boots is in an ideal position to improve its services with this kind of assisted selling.
All of your company’s content, social messaging or advertising campaigns offer an opportunity for your customers to interact with your brand.
Most brands get around this by using social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. In fact, some of the more successful commercial social media accounts have almost developed a personality of their own and become minor celebrities in themselves
John Lewis make software development and quality assurance more intuitive. A consequence of this containerisation is that the end products are more accessible and intuitive across the entire ecommerce business.
The first of these steps is to significantly expand its operations in Europe. The London-based company recently announced its intention to open in four new European countries - Portugal, Italy, Denmark, and Sweden. Once completed, these additions will increase the brand's global footprint to 13 countries in total.
Depop is now considering adding a consignment option for users. In the past, an item would be listed and the seller would wait to receive offers from interested parties. However, the new service would have the item given off consignment to a third-party site which processes images and guarantees its authenticity
One of the key innovations which is allowing Joules to continually adapt to changing customer behaviour is its adoption of an intelligent recommendation engine.
To truly become a competitive force in this new marketplace, River Island needed a platform which was reliable and could scale up or down as was required. And what better provider for hosting an online retail platform than the undisputed kings of ecommerce - Amazon.
The company's recently-opened London headquarters and will be dedicated to coming up with new technology-based solutions to soothe Moonpig customers' gift-buying woes. This could potentially include new mobile app-based ways of interacting with the brand.
With more and more online shopping being carried out on smartphones, it's crucial that product listings and other elements of a brand's ecommerce presence are formatted for these devices.
M&S has started using the Instagram platform in earnest, sharing a wealth of content through its own account. The company is sharing material it knows younger people want to see, including fashion, food, and socially-conscious content such as body-positive imagery.
While it may seem data is constantly being discussed in a negative light, responsible companies should not be discouraged from using it to help them better understand their customers and drive new experiences and sales.
Texas-based craft spirits brand Tito's Homemade Vodka thinks it has come up with an innovative solution to marketing its products online - with a new partnership with food-based social media platform Allrecipes.
La Redoute has fully embraced the concept of user-generated content, with its Instagram account proving incredibly popular with its audience. In fact, La Redoute's Instagram has become so popular that one of its products, the Afaw Berber rug, has its own account.