Ecommerce sales grew this Christmas
Econsultancy reports that Christmas 2011 saw a substantial growth in online sales, with purchases up 30% year-on-year. The last week before Christmas increased ecommerce sales even further with the week almost doubling last year’s figures. Boxing Day however was the biggest day ever for online retail in the UK, with 96 million UK internet users visiting ecommerce sites and 13 million hours spent on online shopping.

Facebook photos often flagged for all the wrong reasons
Sure, you can untag yourself from Facebook photos that you don’t think show your most flattering side, but they’re still there in your friend’s photo album for all your mutual friends and – depending on their settings – the rest of the Facebook world to see. And if said friend refuses to delete them from their album, there really isn’t a lot more you can do. That didn’t stop many displeased featured users however as Facebook revealed that throughout 2011, the majority of reported photos were not flagged because of offensive content but rather the reporter simply didn’t like the shot of them.

In August, Facebook added “I don’t like this photo of me” as an option for reported photos – a complaint that proved all too popular by Facebook users it seems!

Barack Obama joins Instagram
Anyone can turn their hand to photography with the ease and fun of Instagram – including it seems the US President. @BarackObama may have only taken posted 7 photos so far but he’s rallied up a promising following of over 56,000 fellow users.

Grazia teams up with the biggest British fashion bloggers
Women’s magazine Grazia has started the year with a range of masterclasses for fashion bloggers at Covent Garden’s flagship Apple store. With top fashion bloggers including  Susie Bubble, Disney Roller Girl, Fashion Foie Gras and The Clothes Whisperer, Grazia are offering a range of free masterclasses and workshops (though with limited availability) throughout January.

This week we’ve been watching… We love this video of a dad asking his daughter which parent he prefers – and with a little bit of light interrogation, he gets the answer he was looking for!

This week we’ve been listening to… ‘Glory’ – the song written and sung by Jay-Z feat. B.I.C to celebrate the birth of his daughter Blue Ivy Carter with Beyonce Knowles. After some confusion over the budding superstar’s name – some reported Ivy Blue whilst others correctly said Blue Ivy – she was welcomed to the world with a Tweet and this song published on her daddy’s website Life + Times on Monday.

We thoroughly enjoyed insights from David Duplantis, EVP of Global Web and Digital Media for Coach. Within his talk he revealed that Coach’s e-commerce doubled last year and will double again next year – a feat that he in part puts down to the brand’s strong social media activity. Having taken over an unofficial Coach Facebook page and relaunched it with an in-store gift with purchase. Coach also invests heavily in its blogger outreach – a range of influencers that David said “makes a brand more believable”. Later in a panel discussing mobile commerce, David added: “Optimising your web store for mobile might not be the right thing if your customers only search for store location details on their mobile device”.

Imran Ahmed, Founder and editor of the Business of Fashion, began the seminar’s talks by discussing everything from digital marketing to mobile commerce. On the subject of social media he said: “Advertising interrupts, whilst social sharing is an earned media”.

The afternoon session held more enlightening discussions with panels including Jorg Henson of Ventee-Privee, Caroline Rolfe of Links of London, James Quarles of Facebook and Michael Ward of Harrods.

Here are some more quotes from the day’s speakers – including Imran Amed, the founder and editor of the Business of Fashion, and Martin Gill, Principal Analyst for Forrester Research – that we found encouraging…

• By 2020, there will be 10 billion mobile-connected devices in the world
• Mobile video makes up 47% of peak hour traffic
• By 2014-15, mobile internet will be the mainstream technology
• 39% of people who research a product on the internet will end up purchasing it

Invariably questions will be asked about what this means for the viability of Facebook to generate sales on lower value items. In response, the supermarket has taught society that convenience cannot be understated; thus it is unlikely that people will start to browse profiles, purchasing mayonnaise from one and cola from another (etc) as part of a weekly shop. However, what it does reaffirm is that Facebook remains a high-impact way to generate relatively low-budget brand or product recognition (certainly in comparison with television campaigns), which, owing to the ability to link eCommerce functionality, allows the brand to monetise consumer awareness.

Saviour, light and beacon of our (modern) lives. If ever there was a product that really has transformed the way we use the telephone then it must be the smartphone. Last year alone there were 1.5 billion searches made from mobile devices and Information Week reported that there are over 61.5 million smartphones in use today. With such staggering sales figures and the burgeoning tablet market starting to skyrocket, coupled with far greater access to more robust mobile data networks, the internet is now being accessed by users in a multitude of new, super-efficient ways.

Now if you’re thinking that this means business for your business, then you’d be on the money. However, what you really have to consider is making your site mobile-compatible, otherwise you’re just wasting everyone’s time. There’s nothing more frustrating than getting onto a website from your mobile only to find you can’t click through to see what you want.

The big question: how do you go about it? Testing your site on mobile devices can be time-consuming and expensive due to the vast number of different mobile devices.

Fear not, because there are some handy tools available at your disposal for making sure that your website behaves appropriately on the Mobile Web. Here are some great ways to test your site on mobile devices to ensure it’s not lost in translation…

1) iPhoney: this is an excellent free iPhone tester. Though it will not emulate your site exactly, it will allow you to test images and code in a pixel-perfect Apple-Safari-powered environment, with all normal features such as Portrait and Landscape modes, fullscreen, zoom and plugins.

2) iPad peek: this nifty little web-based tool allows you to see how your website will look when put on an iPad. If you click on the top border to switch from landscape to portrait mode. The virtual keyboard and the buttons on the iPad browser are just for show, but the reload button works. The virtual keyboard and the buttons on the iPad browser are just for show, but the reload button works. However, Flash works on this and it shouldn’t. For as accurate a simulation as possible use a WebKit-based browser such as Apple Safari or Google Chrome.

3) WC3  mobileOK checker: this tool invites web authors to run the alpha release of the W3C mobileOK checker and make their content work on a broad range of mobile devices. The W3C mobileOK checker runs the tests defined in the W3C mobileO and checks to see how mobile-device-friendly your website is.

4) Gomez: this popular tool gives you a rating of between 1 to 5 based on an analaysis of over 30 proven mobile web development techniques ranging from stylesheet use to caching techniques and standards-compliant code. Your results will be displayed in a straightforward document that will offer you advice on how to make your site better. The only flip-side is that you must enter personal information such as your address, in order to use the tool.

5) MobiReady: this is similar but more detailed version of Gomez in that it is a free report which gives your site a score (from 1 to 5) and in-depth analysis of pages to determine how well your site performs on mobile devices. You can enter a URL and it will  perform a set of evaluations including a Page Test and Site Test. MobiRead evaluates mobile-readiness using industry best practices and standards.

There that’s our round up! What do you think?

Bear in mind, there are more out there but we don’t want to bore you. One thing to remember though is that your business will feel the benefits immediately, and your customers will appreciate the effort.

The average person in the UK spends £81 a month on online retail, according to recent figures, and retailers keen to get a share of this lucrative market have been launching new and updated sites focusing on commerce in the third quarter of this year.

Results from the IMRG/Capgemini e-Retail Sales Index show that British shoppers spent £5bn online in July, which represents a year-on-year rise of 18 per cent – and is a possible sign that the recession is lifting. Retailers are now attempting to tap into this potential market with sites that aim to bring the offline experience online and use social media to drive traffic.

Linford Haggie, managing director of consultancy Graphic Alliance, which specialises in online retail, says, ’The economic circumstances are certainly affecting people’s ability to spend online.’ He adds, ’What is happening a lot now is that the commerce site is becoming the final stop in the online journey. Social media is drawing people in and engaging them with the brand’s compelling content before they go to the commerce site at the end. Because of social media networks like Facebook and Twitter, content can be pushed at the consumer, as well as having them search for it.’

Graphic Alliance worked on the relaunch of the Conran Shop website, which went live earlier this month. The consultancy collaborated with the Conran Shop’s in-house team on the design of the site, while E-Inbusiness worked on the site build, based on an Episerver platform. Liam Butler, head of marketing at the Conran Shop, says the £250 000 project aims to drive online sales from their current level of just under £2m a year to £10m a year in 2014-15.

Butler says one aspect of the new site’s development will be to use social media to engage shoppers. The Conran Shop has appointed consultancy We Are Social to work on this aspect.

The site features a Sketchbook tool, which allows users to create ’personal mood boards’ by placing items in their wish lists on to a variety of backgrounds to create virtual rooms. These can then be shared with others through e-mail and Facebook. Butler says the aim is to exploit social networks further, ’so that Twitter can act as online concierge for us’.

The Conran Shop site itself ’aims to bring the offline experience online’ and ’ensure that the product is the hero’, according to Haggie. Butler says, ’A lot of companies go down the route of very expensive lifestyle photography – this can suck up the budget.’

He says the Conran Shop site is currently in phase one and is set to launch in France, the US and Japan in the next three months. Phase two of the site will roll out over the next six months, he says, allowing time to stabilise the platform and roll out more functionality. Butler adds, ’We see phase two rolling out with video or 360-degree coverage of products, so we can tell some of the background story.’

Like the Conran Shop, Japanese clothes retailer Uniqlo, which relaunched its website last Thursday, also aims to harness social media, in this case to alert shoppers to its new site. Dentsu Japan, which designed the site, also developed two social media initiatives in the run-up to the launch, called Lucky Machine and Lucky Counter.

Lucky Machine was an online pinball game in which players were given the opportunity to win a £1000 cash prize as well as online discount vouchers. Crucially, to get balls for the game, players had to invite friends to play using Facebook or Twitter.

The Lucky Counter initiative, which ran in the week leading up to the site launch, encouraged users to tweet about selected Uniqlo items to reduce costs – the more tweets there were, the lower the cost became. The site itself, like the Conran Shop site, offers more product images, with increased zoom levels on the products.

Uniqlo’s high street rivals Gap and Zara have both launched transactional websites in the past weeks, both designed in-house, while H&M is set to launch an in-house-designed site on 16 September. All three sites are global roll-outs and are posited by the brands as part of their ongoing expansion plans. Pablo Isla, deputy chairman and chief executive of Zara owner Inditex, says, ’The Internet and the world of social networking are indispensable tools and extraordinary channels for communication and fit perfectly with our group’s philosophy.’

Online shopping

51% of British adults shop online

76% of people in the UK have Internet access

UK shoppers spent £5bn online in July 2010

Source: IMRG/Capgemini

Graphic Alliance fashions website for Vivienne Westwood with ‘blank canvas’ pages.

Graphic Alliance has created a new website for fashion designer Vivienne Westwood.

The site, which launches this week, acts as an online base for the Vivienne Westwood brand, as well as having e-commerce functionality. The consultancy developed creative concepts for the site in collaboration with the team behind fashion magazine Tank.

The site has been designed as a blank canvas, on which dynamic elements can be placed as the client or designer wishes. This has been created using a content management system developed by GA. Consultancy managing director Linford Haggie says, ‘There’s no order to it – no grid. It’s as close as a website has got to the style of editorial design while still having an e-commerce function. ‘

Visitors to the site can move elements around on the homepage, including links to the brand story, the collections and the online store. If a user redesigns the site, then navigates away from it, it will remember their bespoke designs for the next time they visit the site.

A navigation bar also provides links, and a button on the site allows the users to flip between ‘random’ and ‘grid’ settings.

The blank canvas concept is used throughout the site, apart from point-of-purchase, where clarity is required and a grid system is used.

The site uses fashion photography and archive material, to reflect Westwood’s history.

Haggie says, ‘We wanted the site to reflect the brand, which is unconventional, quirky, eccentric and chaotic.’

He says GA was appointed about nine months ago and has been working on the site for some six months. He says GA and Tank previously worked together on the designs for fashion site Because.

Westwood was last week awarded a special commendation in the 2010 Prince Philip Designers Prize. It was also announced that she will be customising next year’s Brit Awards trophy, as part of a branding exercise led by Manchester consultancy Music.

Visit the new Vivienne Westwood site and tell us what you think. Click here.

Google is set to make its first significant foray in to the fashion world with the launch of Boutiques.com later this week. Announced at the “High Tech Fuses With High Fashion” Google event, it would seem as though Google are taking a leaf out of Polyvore and Shopstyle’s books.

The site will allow users to “create and share their own personalized shop by selecting style preferences and the looks, brands and items they love” (Polyvore), while linking out to a pre-existing e-tailer like net-a-porter, Austique, or my-wardrobe for purchases (ShopStyle).

The site will allow users to save items, brands and looks they love in their own personalised shop.

Sarah Jessica Parker and Katie Holmes have reportedly been approached by Google to set up their own virtual shops, thereby encouraging users to do the same. The site will also feature a live data feed from its retail partners which will allow for images, making it look like a high end boutique rather than a search results page.

Designers including Oscar de la Renta, Tory Burch, Cynthia Rowley, Marchesa and Erin Fetherston have already agreed to set up their own virtual stores on the site, WWD reports.

Boutiques.com is preparing to launch tomorrow…

However, in case you’re still thinking about what you can do to increase your sales this Christmas, here’s a checklist of 12 things etailers should be doing this festive season…

1. Make gift shopping easy

Adding navigational categories dedicated to gifts can provide Christmas shoppers with gift inspiration – especially when they’re uncertain of what to buy.

As an example, austique.co.uk has a ‘gift ideas’ category located on the main navigation which enables shoppers to search for gifts by price or style.

2. Offer gift wrapping

If you don’t normally offer a gift wrapping option, it’s definitely worth considering – especially at Christmas. It’s a useful option for people who aren’t the best at wrapping presents and can be used on the shopping basket page to increase average order values.

3. Provide flexible delivery options

Offering a range of delivery options is a good idea all year round, and can be a key differentiator. However, it becomes even more important in the run-up to Christmas. If you can offer next day, or even same day, delivery then you can sell right up to Christmas Eve, and attract more last minute shoppers.

4. Make delivery cut off times and dates clear

If customers can order and have items delivered in time for Christmas, then the cut-off dates and times should be clearly communicated to customers. Many sites provide a countdown clock which not only helps communication, but also creates a sense of urgency in customers’ minds.

5. Make sure your customer service team is ready

Be ready for calls and emails from customers with questions about products they are thinking of buying, or deliveries they are chasing. Make sure you have the resources to cope with this quickly and efficiently and ensure that your contact details are displayed clearly on site.

6. Make returns policies and delivery charges clear

The cost of delivery and returns are always significant factors in the decision making process – and not just at Christmas. Make sure customers can find this information without having to work too hard. It should be clearly accessible from product pages.

7. Offer hassle-free returns

Returns policies become even more important at Christmas and, since it’s more likely that items will be returned after and around this time of year, customers need to be assured that this will be easy.

Clear messaging about a no hassle returns policy is one way to do it, and Javari does it well.

Also, if you are a multichannel retailer, it’s a good idea to give customers the option to return items in store – rather then by post.

8. Offer free delivery

Free delivery is an effective tactic, and in a competitive pre-Christmas market this may give you the edge over competitors.

Displaying free delivery offers on the homepage and elsewhere on the site immediately answers any customer questions about delivery charges.

9. Adjust your PPC strategy

Searches will change according to the season and there are always a few must-have items around Christmas. Things like the iPad or the Kindle are likely to be popular this year so, if you stock these items, this is one way of pulling customers in. The same goes for Christmas-y treats such as cashmere and gift hampers.

Another good idea is to offer an incentive in your sponsored ad. So if you’re going to offer free delivery, shout about it, as this may attract more clicks and give you an edge over your competitors.

10. Offer gift vouchers

If you don’t normally offer them, gift vouchers can provide an alternative for customers who cannot decide which present to buy. They are also a useful option for last minute shoppers, as they can be delivered by email.

11. Offer reserve and collect

Reserve and collect services have worked well for certain retailers, and can also give you the edge at Christmas time. Reserve and collect allows customers to save time in stores by researching and selecting items in the comfort of their own homes first. It can also save the customer a wasted journey by allowing them to check local product stock levels.

If items can be collected from stores the same day, it is also a useful option for appealing to last minute shoppers. But remember, there should be no charge for reserve and collect.

12. Make sure your website can handle the Christmas rush

During the festive season you need to take steps to ensure that your website can handle the extra traffic. Talk to your hosting company, estimate the amount of extra traffic you are likely to receive, and purchase extra bandwidth necessary.

The monthly online retail spend report found that while sales were predicted to hit £6.4bn in December, those in September had already increased by 24% year on year as shoppers bought winter clothes and started Christmas shopping early.

Chris Webster, head of retail consulting and technology at Capgemini, said high-street sales were still declining as online sales continue to rise.

Bruce Fair, MD of Kelkoo UK, said, “The fact that online sales have risen in September despite consumer confidence dipping below expectations is an indication that the web is set to mount a real challenge to the dominance of the high street in the crucial run-up to Christmas.”

Click here to read the report.

With luxury fashion retailers stepping up in the online arena, so too have online men’s fashion retailers. In 2009, the market for menswear online grew by 1.5 % in 2009 to reach £9.5 billion (according to Mintel’s Men’s Fashion and Lifestyles UK April Report) – despite the recession. Mr Porter (net-a-porter but for men) launches soon, TopMan has had a site redesign (it also previously engaged in a music partnership with channel 4 on MySpace) and Lyle and Scott launched its first mobile commerce site earlier this year. Add to this that an item of men’s clothing is sold on eBay every 9 seconds (a piece of women’s clothing sells every 5), and it would seem as though the male demand for fashion online is certainly growing. So, let’s take a closer look into how and why the demand for menswear online continues to grow…

One of the key opportunities for brands looking to grow market share lies in meeting the demand for fashion advice via digital channels. Men’s magazine FHM launched an online menswear shop in November 2009, and one of the most popular parts of the website is the ‘what to wear’ section which attracts 10% of all page views.

Now, apologies for the sweeping generalisation but, as a rule, men do not enjoy shopping. Walking around the shops, getting advice on size, style, fit and fashion … it’s boring and intimidating to many men – hence the popularity of the online ‘What to Wear’ section or ‘Style Guide’. They are the perfect, non threatening place for men to get fashion advice they can trust.

Due to this, website functionality such as virtual wardrobes, advice and bespoke tailoring are beginning to feature more and more on menswear sites, helping men who are usually poor at high street shopping choose the right style, look and cut of clothes from the comfort of their own home. For example, Hawes & Curtis have launched a ‘Fits Me’ tool while Thomas Pink offer help videos on their site (similar to French Connection’s Youtique).

Additionally, when it comes to clothes shopping, men are often creatures of habit, and so by helping a man find the perfect style or fit, it is likely that he will become a loyal customer who will purchase again and again.  It would seem as though using digital to educate customers and make them feel more comfortable about shopping is proving to be a valuable tactic…

However, alongside the habitual male online shopper, there’s also another male market – one which is keen to buy based on the latest trends. But where do these trends come from? Magazines and popular culture – yes, but do not underestimate the force of the high profile male blogger. Blogs like The Sartorialist, Style Salvage (blogging boyfriend of Susie Bubble) and Hypebeast have hugely increased in popularity over the past couple of years and menswear companies are starting to take note.

The shift occurred last year when, for the first time, bloggers were seated in the coveted front row seats next to Anna Wintour and the usual sprinkling of famous faces. Marc Jacobs even named his ostrich bag ‘BB’ after the blogger Bryanboy. Why? Because some of these fashion blogs are as influential as editorial coverage. They are opinion formers with an often huge following (more than 10,000 people read Susie Bubble’s blog every day) and fashion brands and labels are itching to get involved. This is why so many companies today view blogs as a valuable platform and are choosing to boost their digital marketing strategies through engaging with specialist bloggers.

Men are certainly becoming more web savvy when it comes to fashion and my advice to any online menswear brand right now would be this: think about what attracts or deters a man from shopping for clothes and fashion, make him feel comfortable, play up to his senses and entertain him by applying this to a variety of online channels and media, and do not underestimate the power of blogs!