Online retail, or e-tail, is going from strength to strength around the world, according to a new report from business advisory firm KPMG and the Oxford Institute of Retail Management (OXIRM). The groups’ Loyalty4Profit research programme shows that the e-tailing sector is confident and is predicting further growth and expansion.
The research says that web retailers are now developing more sophisticated customer loyalty and retention methods and are moving away from a concentration on top-line brand marketing. This means a shift to focusing on the ‘back-room’ of the business and ensuring that retailers are able to deliver goods, particularly in busy periods, says the report.
There is also a move from operational effectiveness toward financial effectiveness now that many companies are beginning to mature into their business.
Commenting on the latest findings, Patrick-Hubert Petit, global retail chair with KPMG, said: “There is certainly an optimistic feel to the responses we have had in this latest research phase. The outlook for e-tailing appears to be developing positively, with future expectations of sales growth, further mergers and acquisitions and with fewer technological and delivery problems.
“For the multi-channel retailers, we are also seeing how the digital channel is evolving as an important marketing channel as well as being an incremental sales channel.”
A recent report from the Interactive Media in Retail Group found that online retail growth in the UK is outpacting that of High Street retail (see UK Online Retail Growth Outpaces High Street). A separate report from Which? Online paints a rosy picture of the UK’s e-tailing sector (see Future Of Online Shopping Is ‘Rosy’, Says Report).
