Eccomplished have released their latest issue based on the investment, innovation and growth of online retail.
Research was carried out with 100 UK eCommerce directors and Heads of eCommerce by Coleman Parks in April 2012. UK companies with annual online revenues of £3 million were asked the prearranged set of questions, which then made up the Eccomplished report.All of the questions asked were based on the critical issues that face eCommerce and it’s growth in 2012 and beyond.
Online Revenue Performance in 2011
To gain an insight into the growth plans of the top UK companies in 2012, first we need to take a look at the revenue performance of eCommerce last year. Unfortunately, the figures seemed pretty dismal, which is to be expected in this economic downturn. Only 4% of ‘online only’ companies described their online revenue performance as exceeding expectations in some way, during 2011, with the majority of online only retailers, 42%, saying that their revenues met expectations. Those with a physical and online presence seemed to be reporting better than expected revenues, however, would this ensure they were more ambitious in 2012, or would it spur on the online only retailers to look further into growth?
Growth Plans for 2012
UK retailers are keen to improve online only sales, with more than 60% planning to improve their online sales by at least 10%. Just 4% of online retailers are expecting no growth at all, which is surprising considering the UK economy shrank for the first six months of this year and is expected to remain the same over 2012. When looking further into the growth barriers with these UK companies it is unsurprising to see that budget constraints are the biggest worry and the most likely reason to slow down or prevent growth. A large percentage of retailers are also worried about the technology barriers that face them, as more and more retailing is now done online.
Survival of the digital fittest
With the planned growth of many online retailers, as well as those that are multi-channel, it can be an exciting time for those online marketers. Online retail has become more competitive than ever, which means that marketing will play a key element in becoming a dominating presence in the World of internet retail. Mobile applications and social media seem to be at the forefront of many UK companies growth plans, as they know the advertising potential on these frequently used formats is huge. As Steve Rivers, the Managing Director of Intelligent Reach says;
“Retailers are determined to get to grips with the increasingly sophisticated and fickle demands of constantly connected consumers – the digital natives…”
Companies will be clambering over each other to ensure that they have the best marketing plan that attracts all of those “digital natives” including the mobile apps, social networking sites and whatever is due to be the next big thing, just to hit that growth target for 2012. This could be a very lucrative time for those willing and able to help these top UK companies become the largest online retailer.
You can get a copy of the full report here.
