In the U.K., the retail industry has seen four months of continuous growth, but the latest report showed that sales dipped slightly in March. The Confederation of British Industry's Distributive Trades Survey revealed that the sales balance dipped to +13 percent growth, the lowest it had been since November, which is a stark contrast to February during which time sales reached their highest point since June 2012.

"The pace of growth has slowed, likely in part down to the later timing of Mother's Day and Easter this year," said Barry Williams, the chair of the CBI Distributive Trades Survey Panel and chief merchandising officer for food at Asda, a British supermarket chain owned by Wal-Mart.

According to Reuters, analysts had predicted a slight drop from February's +37 to +28 percent growth, but the actual numbers fell rather short of these expectations. Fortunately, experts are predicting an uptick in sales for April that should bring the numbers back to about +36 percent and on par with February. RTT News reported that this would be the largest amount of month-over-month growth since December 2010, indicating that the U.K. marketplace continues to recover from the recent recession.

This entry was posted by Retail Pro on Tuesday, March 25th, 2014 at 12:34 pm .

Shopping cart abandonment is an issue that plagues online retailers, but adapting marketing and sales strategies can help reduce the rate of shoppers abandoning their purchases at the point of sale. The Baymard Institute compiled cart abandonment rates from 27 separate studies and found the average rate between 2006 and 2014 to be 67.91 percent. With more than half of consumers deciding against buying items from online retailers after browsing, there is great potential for merchants to make improvements to POS software and marketing techniques to convert abandoned sales to fulfilled orders.

A recent eMarketer study examining this issue revealed that while shopping cart abandonment may be troubling for retailers, it can actually help them tailor their marketing strategies. When online shoppers add items to their virtual shopping carts, retailers are able to see what they were planning to buy even if they don't go through with the purchase.

This information can be used to appeal to these customers in cart abandonment emails. Sending an email to a consumer who abandoned a cart can help complete a sale. SeeWhy reported that 41 percent of abandonment was due to customers not being ready to make purchases, so sending reminder emails can help bring them back to complete the transaction. This can help drive sales up, as returning customers are nine times more likely to buy something than those visiting a site for the first time.

This entry was posted by Retail Pro on Tuesday, March 25th, 2014 at 9:41 am .

All across Europe, the online retail sector is quickly becoming a major part of the industry, and much of that growth is occurring in Germany. A recent study by the Centre for Retail Research found that Germany saw the most growth in online sales in 2013. The ecommerce sector rose 39.2 percent, and the researchers predicted it would increase another 22 percent in 2014.

This prediction was strengthened by the latest retail sales forecast from GfK, a global market research firm. GfK researchers found that online sales in Germany would increase 25 percent in 2014, but Reuters reported that even with this growth, the online retail sector would only account for about one-quarter of total sales in Germany this year. 

"The forecasted retail turnover reflects changing consumer behavior," Simone Baecker-Neuchl told Reuters. "The online boom also offers opportunities to stationary retail."

Such opportunities may include omnichannel strategies that employ ecommerce software to enhance the shopping experience across all platforms. Providing a better point of sale experience, whether by offering more efficient service with modern POS software, accepting mobile payments like LevelUp, or providing loyalty programs for frequent customers, can strengthen the shopping experience for customers.

This entry was posted by Retail Pro on Tuesday, March 25th, 2014 at 5:26 am .

As technology advances, it continually shapes the face of nearly every industry, and retail is no exception. A few decades ago, computers were not a part of the retail equation, but now they help with everything from running POS software and managing inventory to tracking sales and marketing efforts. Many brick-and-mortar stores employ modern technology like tablets and smartphones to enhance the customer experience as well, and odds are that this trend will continue as more devices, new technology and better retail management software become available.

One product in the pipeline that could have far-reaching possibilities in the retail world is Google Glass. Sales associates on the retail floor may be able to use the wearable technology to better assist their clientele and enhance onmichannel opportunities for businesses. The Washington Post reported one way for retailers to take advantage of this is to create a system that links customer data with Google Glass, allowing employees to better serve shoppers, as they'll have access to an individual's preferences and past purchases.

Apple's iBeacon will likely play a large role in this technology. The new ecommerce software, which has been included in Apple products since last year, gives retailers the ability to target potential customers within a small radius of the brick-and-mortar location. The Guardian suggested that this could be used to alert shoppers to special deals or even give them the opportunity to submit shopping lists and have their items ready for pickup later on.

This entry was posted by Retail Pro on Monday, March 24th, 2014 at 11:39 am .

Brick-and-mortar retail is not going to be replaced by online shopping – far from it. More retailers are integrating their shopping experiences across all mediums with omnichannel strategies and ecommerce software that allow customers to seamlessly transition from online browsing to in-store shopping, and this seems to be paying off.

Myth #1: Consumers prefer shopping online.
While online shopping is a growing sector of retail, consumers are not shying away from visiting store locations to make purchases. A study conducted in 2013 by global management consulting firm A.T. Kearney found that more U.S. and U.K. shoppers were heading to brick-and-mortar locations than shopping online. Specifically, 61 percent bought items in-store versus only 31 percent who shopped online.

Myth #2: Physical stores are just showrooms now.
For a while it looked like consumers were beginning to visit stores exclusively to examine products before returning home and ordering these items online, but that stampede has slowed significantly. In 2012, roughly 50 percent of online purchases were made after consumers visited stores, but this number dropped to just 30 percent in 2013, according to IBM studies as reported by AdAge.

Myth #3: Brick-and-mortar stores cannot compete with online technology.
There have been many advancements in technology that make it easier than ever for retailers to enhance the way they run their brick-and-mortar locations. For instance, the point of sale experience can be enhanced with modern POS software that makes transactions more efficient. Merchants may be able to track their customers' purchases to tailor special promotions to the individual. Retail Customer Experience pointed out that customer-specific data can be used for loyalty and rewards programs that have the potential to drive in-store sales even higher.

Myth #4: Online prices are too competitive for brick-and-mortar to match.
Online retailers may be able to offer lower prices on the same goods that are sold for more in brick-and-mortar stores, because the businesses don't have to factor in extra costs of running a store. However, more than 50 percent of shoppers said they would buy in-store after researching product information and reviews online, according to a report titled "Showrooming and the Rise of the Mobile-Assisted Shopper."

"[Mobile] shoppers show a strong willingness to join loyalty programs in exchange for rewards, and this gives retailers the chance to build long-term relationships with them," said study co-author Rick Ferguson, vice president of knowledge development at Aimia, a global loyalty expert that partnered with Columbia Business school to conduct the research. 

The rise of online retail presents new challenges for the brick-and-mortar sector, but there are myriad ways for businesses to enhance their physical locations to continue to appeal to shoppers.

This entry was posted by Retail Pro on Monday, March 24th, 2014 at 8:02 am .

Marketing through email used to be a relatively straightforward process, but now that ecommerce software has become more popular and consumers check their messages on a slew of devices, the process has grown more complex. The key to a successful retail marketing email campaign is to appeal to all platforms so messages are displayed correctly and coherently whether recipients are reading them on the small screen of a smartphone or at home on their desktop computer.

Recent data indicated that about 48 percent of emails are read on smartphones and tablets, according to Litmus, an analytics firm that focuses on email data. This means that if a marketing email is designed to be read on a computer, mobile users might not be able to see the message properly. This has the potential to significantly reduce the return on investment of the marketing campaign if half of the recipients aren't even able to see the call to action.

Practical Ecommerce pointed out that when crafting marketing emails, retailers can use responsive designs that are coded to adapt to the device on which the email is viewed. It is important to consider the layout of the email, as one with many columns of information may not appear correctly on a mobile device. The size of fonts, images and clickable buttons and links need to be considered as well, as they can change drastically when viewed on a computer versus a smartphone.

This entry was posted by Retail Pro on Monday, March 24th, 2014 at 4:47 am .

Consumers are more likely than ever to grab their smartphones to browse retailer websites, making it essential for your ecommerce software to be functional and intuitive on any device. A recent survey by ShopVisible found that mobile site traffic accounted for 30 percent of all traffic in 2013, which was a large jump over previous years.

When you have a mobile site that works well, shoppers will be better able to browse your products and make purchases. Here are a few tips to keep in mind for setting up a mobile site:

Choose one approach. Practical Ecommerce pointed out that retailers can create a standalone mobile site, use adaptive web design that covers desktop, phone and tablet browsing, or opt for responsive web design that changes the site layout based on the size of the device. The third option tends to be the most popular, according to the source. You can customize layouts and content for various screen sizes, and the URL is the same no matter which platform your customers are using.

Since mobile screens are smaller than desktop monitors, you'll want to come up with a simpler presentation style. Trying to include too much information on a mobile site will only make it more confusing and difficult to use.

This entry was posted by Retail Pro on Thursday, March 20th, 2014 at 9:59 am .

Staying current on the latest retail customer trends can help businesses tailor their marketing and sales efforts to drive up sales and draw in customers. The latest report from Interactions, a retail solutions provider, indicated that most women research products before they buy, and the majority do so through merchant websites.

According to the survey findings, 91 percent of women research before they buy, and good reviews are enough for 92 percent to pay more for a particular brand. Conversely, negative reviews are enough to turn 67 percent of female shoppers off from buying an item. Most women (60 percent) turn to retailer websites to find these reviews, while only 3 percent check social media sites, making it increasingly important for retailers to focus on ecommerce software and marketing strategies. More female shoppers are also using their mobile devices to research, with 37 percent whipping out their phones while at brick-and-mortar locations.

"These numbers speak to the impact that mobile is having in the retail industry," said Giovanni DeMeo, Interactions' vice president of global marketing and analytics. "Consumers want information on their terms and their schedules, which means that both retailers and manufacturers need to adapt, if they haven't already." 

This entry was posted by Retail Pro on Thursday, March 20th, 2014 at 7:59 am .

Efficient point of sale software and trained employees can help keep lines moving smoothly and quickly. When a retail POS system works well, cashiers are able to quickly ring up a consumer's purchases, which can be key to keeping lines short and wait times to a minimum. In turn, this may increase sales revenue, as evidenced by a recent U.K. study.

The British have long been known for their ability to stand in line, and even the BBC acknowledges this unique skill to "queue" that Brits all seem to possess. However, even they have a breaking point. EE, a leading digital communications company in the U.K., recently surveyed 2,000 British consumers about the shopping experience, and found that most respondents would rather abandon their items than wait in line for more than a few minutes.

Some shoppers had more patience than others, as 29 percent would give up after waiting for two minutes, 59 percent said they could last at most for four minutes, and 73 percent indicated that six minutes was the maximum amount of time they'd spend in line before leaving without buying anything. EE estimated that this led to a loss of about £1 billion (about $1.7 billion) in annual sales across the U.K. 

This entry was posted by Retail Pro on Wednesday, March 19th, 2014 at 12:00 pm .

The latest retail business intelligence indicates that the ecommerce industry is quickly becoming an international affair, leading U.S.-based online merchants to prepare for global customers and sales. Multichannel Merchant recently released its MCM Outlook 2014 Survey, which revealed that only 27 percent of online merchants in the U.S. are ready for global ecommerce. Yet, retailers surveyed for the report indicated that, on average, 8.75 percent of their online sales came from other countries.

"Whether you sell B2B or B2C, U.S.-based merchants need to have a global game plan," said Tim Parry, MCM's managing editor. "There are several emerging economies with a hunger for goods they can only get from the United States, and several ways those U.S.-based merchants can reach those customers."

Perhaps most importantly, you will want to ensure your point of sale is internationally friendly. According to the report, one-third of merchants have created international versions of their online stores that may incorporate POS systems that can provide international payment options. They have also worked with international marketing companies to help gain visibility in other countries. Retailers just testing the waters may want to investigate international marketplaces like Alibaba and Amazon, as 40.5 percent of survey respondents have already begun doing.

This entry was posted by Retail Pro on Wednesday, March 19th, 2014 at 9:37 am .