Optimistic consumers and businesses suggest that e-commerce in
2010 continues to grow stronger than traditional commerce. At year end
predicted it to be over 24 billion. There are approximately 4.5 percent
of retail trade turnover. Profiles each eTailer & compares markets in Scandinavia. Report is in Swedish.
A 2010 report on Swedish consumers’ usage and attitudes re mail order. Looks at products bought, cross-border purchases. Reasons for using, payment methods. (NB it’s in Swedish)
Read MoreAustrian Post has extended its cooperation with the two major mail order companies, Quelle and Neckermann, by a further five years.
Read MoreOne respected industry analysis firm estimates that one in four UK mail order companies are now operating at a loss. Of nearly 900 mail order companies analysed, over 200 are currently rated by Plimsoll as being ‘in danger’. Jotham Danquah MD of Zmags (UK) explains more.
Many of the industry’s problems are converging at exactly the same moment – high inflation in raw materials, printing costs and transport are all combining with an economic downturn which was reflected in June’s record 3.9 per cent drop in retail sales (the highest drop ever recorded).
The key question therefore is whether postal mail order as a business model is doomed? Bloomingdales, the famous US retailer seems to think so. The company recently announced that it sees no future in postal mail order and is quitting it altogether in 2009. Given that Bloomingdales is owned by Macy’s, the second largest US retailer, such a move is not insignificant.
What has driven Bloomingdales’ decision? Online mail order. After all, why spend millions printing and distributing catalogues when the internet is readily available at a fraction of the cost? Bloomingdales expects USD 1 billion in internet sales this year alone which is not far behind its high street retail sales figure.
The internet is now transforming the mail order industry as demonstrated in the UK by Littlewoods Shop Direct (the UK’s market leader) where one in three sales are now made online. In fact, Littlewoods expects online orders to represent half of all sales by 2009. This is the future.
A key part of this transition to the internet is the growth of online digital page-turning software. These solutions, of which Zmags is one example, are downloaded quickly, are fully functional and offer a few advantages over postal catalogues. One example? Page-turning software can incorporate still photos that come to life and move as embedded video when clicked-upon.
Furthermore, catalogues are easily transferred online using pdf software conversions. It’s a straightforward process that transforms a postal catalogue into a digital page-turning version within the space of a few minutes. Free trials are readily available through most providers.
In short, digital catalogues offer an especially powerful way of tapping into the power of the internet and harnessing its ability to generate catalogue sales.
What are the cost advantages? Well that depends on factors such as list costs, email broadcast etc but as a rule digital catalogue versions cost 10 per cent of the postal catalogue costs. With the mail order industry working to 2% pre-tax margins that’s a critical cost saving.
The postal catalogue is not finished – far from it because people will always want to read a hard copy from the comfort of their sofa. However, postal mail order is coming under severe pressure from two sides: catalogue production/distribution inflation on one side and the rise in internet sales from the other. For the above reasons, I expect postal catalogues to continue their decline with digital catalogues taking their place.
Read MoreLatest industry report shows sharp drop in volume of shipments of retail goods, with weakness expected to flow through summer.
A significant drop in volume of imported retail goods into the United States is providing fresh evidence that a slowing economy has pinched American consumers’ ability to shop freely, according to an industry report Wednesday.
In-bound container traffic to the U.S. was down 4.8% in March from February, which traditionally is the slowest month of the year for retail-related imports, according to the latest joint monthly Port Tracker report from the National Retail Federation (NRF) and forecasting firm Global Insight.
That figure represented the lowest monthly volume since February 2006.
What’s more, the NRF forecasts that growth in-bound container traffic will remain at or below last year’s levels through the summer months “due to the underlying weakness in consumer demand in the U.S. economy,” said Jonathan Gold, vice president for supply chain and customs policy with the NRF.
Looking forward at year-over-year figures, Port Tracker estimates a 3.2% dip in April, a 4.8% fall in May, a 7% drop in June, and a 2% decline in July. In September, in-bound container traffic is finally seen rising by 3%.
Read More
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