Email we love: Feelunique

How’s this for a really clever—and sensible—use of technology? I placed an order with beauty products etailer Feelunique and instantly received an order confirmation email. So far, so standard.

A couple of days later my order was delivered and signed for by my boyfriend while I was not at home. I received an email just two hours later: “your recent order was successfully delivered to you at 11:48 today & was signed for by…” followed by a screenshot of my boyfriend’s autograph. Nifty, eh?—MT

Catalogue we love: George

Heading straight to the top of the class is George with its second-ever catalogue.

Received towards the end of April, the catalogue adheres to several best-practice guidelines.

The bright and inviting front cover highlights clear benefits of shopping with George, such as free delivery to store and an “exclusive” discount.

The back cover repeats the discount and features a call to action to check out the website for “even more”.

Inside, page 3 does a great job of advising customers how they can shop and further promotes the discount, while the rest of the catalogue uses QR codes, celebrity style ideas and cross-selling tactics to engage with customers.

My only criticism is that at only 16 pages, it left me wanting more. —MT

April Catalogue Log

After four months of heavy discounting, April’s haul of catalogues was a lot less promotional. We logged 119 catalogues in April 2013—a 28 percent increase on April 2012. However, whereas last April saw 63 percent of catalogues feature some sort of special offer on the cover, this year only 54 percent did so.

At individual-offer level, the biggest recorded decline came in the number of catalogues that promoted a sale or discount. In April 2012, 40.9 percent of the catalogues we tracked did so. March 2013 saw a similar level of discounting—41.3 percent of covers. Last month, that dropped to 33.6 percent, the lowest level since November 2012.

Among those using special-price promotions was the spring/summer Bodie and Fou catalogue, which offered customers 15 percent off when they spent £100 or more. Furniture retailer Myakka promised customers 12 percent off their first order, while living-aids catalogue Elderberry encouraged customers to shop and save 10 percent on orders of £45 or more.

Twenty-eight of the catalogues we received in April (23.5 percent) made mention on free shipping on the cover. That’s marginally down on March 2013, but in line with the far more promotional April 2012, proving once again that free delivery is become ever more popular with cataloguers. Of those 28 catalogues, many teamed up free p&p with another offer—a tactic popular among apparel catalogues Gray & Osbourn (20 percent off plus free postage and returns), Figleaves (10 percent off plus free delivery and returns) and Boden (15 percent off plus free delivery and returns), for example.  Those that elected to use free shipping as a solo offer to tempt customers were predominantly b-to-b cataloguers such as Toolstation, Nisbets and Viking. 

Free gifts were less popular in April 2013 than they were at the same time last year. They were also less popular than in March 2013. Just 13 catalogue covers of the 119 we logged last month offered a freebie with purchase—that’s just 10.9 percent. However, putting it into a wider context, 10.9 percent is quite high when you consider that the average for the whole of 2012 was just 7.9 percent.

Looking at the data, free gifts are most popular during March, April, May and August. My theory is that those are prime mailing times for gardening and business-to-business catalogues, which tend to be the most prevalent users of free gift promotions.

On a side note; have you picked up your copy of the Abacus Trends Report yet? The third Annual Trends Report from Abacus is the data cooperative’s most comprehensive to date. This new-look edition features the home shopping revenue trends and mailing volumes of 2012—and makes reference to our very own Catalogue Log data. In addition, it includes interviews with key industry figures including Rosemary Stockdale of Sterling Marketing, More2’s Kevin McSpadden and Direct Commerce editorial director Miri Thomas. Download your copy on the Abacus website.--MT

Venda-ECMOD Awards Highlights Video

If your memory of the venda-ecmod awards 2013 is a little hazy, you might want to check out this video.

Held at Chelsea Football Club on 18th April, the venda-ecmod awards recognise the hard work, flair and commitment of businesses in the catalogue and multichannel retail sector. With categories designed for those targeting sales to businesses as well as for those selling to consumers, these awards also seek to celebrate the achievements of businesses of all scales and at all stages of development.

Recapping the highlights from the night, including backstage interviews with the delighted winners, this video catches up with our sector’s very own champions.--MT

Congratulations winners!

Multichannel retailers celebrate excellence at venda-ecmod awards

Online, catalogue and multichannel retailers representing the full spectrum of the sector celebrated success at the venda-ecmod direct commerce awards on Thursday, 18th April 2013.

Now in their 15th year, these annual awards recognise the hard work, flair and commitment of businesses in the catalogue and multichannel retail sector. With categories designed for those targeting sales to businesses as well as for those selling to consumers, these awards also seek to celebrate the achievements of businesses of all scales and at all stages of development.

Held this year at Stamford Bridge, the home of Chelsea Football Club, the awards were presented by Sky News anchor Dermot Murnaghan.

Best Multichannel Business CategoryB2B – annual sales up to £5 million: ESE Direct
Consumer – annual sales up to £5 million: Bloom
B2B – annual sales of £5 million - £30 million: International Dance Supplies
Consumer – annual sales of £5 million - £30 million: Scotts of Stow
Consumer – annual sales over £30 million: Charles Tyrwhitt

Consumer Categories
Children’s Sector: Great Little Trading Co
Womenswear & Accessories: BoPeeps
Menswear & Accessories: Loake Shoemakers
Home including Food & Wine: Victoria Plumb
Gardening & Outdoors: Hingstons
Gifts & Gadgets: The Handpicked Collection
Luxury Brands: Wall London
Charity Trading Operation: RNLI (Sales)

Business-to-Business Categories
Industrial & Warehouse Supplies: ESE Direct
Hotel, Restaurant, Catering: Lyco
Education & Teaching: TTS
Maintenance, Facilities Management: Lyco

Best Catalogue Creative & Production: Seasalt
Best Website: Direct Golf
Best Mobile Commerce Site: Diamond Manufacturers
Best Use of Social Media: Littlewoods
Exploitation of Technology - businesses with sales up to £25 million: This Works
Exploitation of Technology - businesses with sales over £25 million: Argos
Outstanding Customer Service: Bureau Direct
Direct Commerce Readers' Choice: Home Leisure Direct - commended for customer service and continuous innovation.

The Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Nick Wheeler of Charles Tyrwhitt and Chrissie Rucker of The White Company for their contribution to the catalogue and home shopping sector. Previous recipients of the lifetime achievement award include Peter Harris and Angus Thirlwell of Hotel Chocolat, Fran Cotton of Cotton Traders, Johnnie Boden of Boden and Tony Laithwaite of Direct Wines.

The competition was fierce and although not crowned winners, the following companies were highly commended by the panel of independent ECMOD judges. 
•    Thompson & Morgan 
•    Worldstores 
•    Long Tall Sally 
•    Railbookers 
•    Bodie and Fou

Jessops video review

At the end of March, Dragons’ Den star and entrepreneur Peter Jones relaunched the Jessops business. He’s ploughed £4 million of his own money into the business and forecasts sales of £80 million in the first year. But can the Jessops website deliver on this ambitious aim? I take a look in this video review--MT.

SHORTLIST UNVEILED FOR THE VENDA-ECMOD DIRECT COMMERCE AWARDS

Top names including Argos, Diamond Manufacturers, Seasalt, Victoria Plumb and WorldStores, have all made it onto the prestigious venda-ecmod direct commerce awards shortlist.

Celebrating business excellence among cataloguers and multichannel marketers, the shortlist includes companies in the running for all categories, including the Direct Commerce Readers’ Choice Award, outstanding customer service, best catalogue creative and production, and best use of social media.

The full list, in alphabetical order:

Argos, Atterley Road, BigDug, Bloom, Bodie and Fou, BoPeeps, Bureau Direct, Charles Tyrwhitt, Diamond Manufacturers, Direct Golf UK, ESE Direct, Firebox, Great Little Trading Co, Handpicked Collection, Hingstons, Home Leisure Direct, International Dance Supplies, John Lewis, Lakeland, Littlewoods, Loake Shoemakers, Long Tall Sally, Lyco, Railbookers, RNLI (Sales), Scotts of Stow, Seasalt, The White Company, This Works, Thompson & Morgan, Toast, TTS, Victoria Plumb, Wall, WorldStores.

All entrants on the shortlist have undergone a rigorous judging process by a panel of independent judges, with the final winners announced on the evening of 18th April at a fabulous gala dinner awards event at Chelsea Football Club. Sky TV presenter Dermot Murnaghan will present trophies to the winner in each category, with a special—and top secret—lifetime achievement award also in the pipeline.

Tickets for the event may be purchased subject to availability. Call 01271-866112 or email info@ecmod.com to secure your seat.