The Trading Intelligence Quarterly (Issue 1)
By eCommera, July 2010

Welcome to the first edition of The Trading Intelligence Quarterly

Ecommerce is of critical importance to retailers and brand owners, yet we see many organisations failing to take it seriously and grasping the opportunity it represents. We hope to offer you insights and advice that help provoke your thinking on how to make your ecommerce more successful.

"The most successful retailers of the future will be those who understand profoundly both the physical and virtual channels." Sir Martin Sorrell, CEO, WPP

In our opening edition, we present the findings of independent research into how UK ecommerce directors are viewing and developing online retail offerings. It offers a fascinating perspective on the roles, challenges and opportunities within this newly forming sector. While physical retail is a mature industry, with fairly consistent views and approaches to growth, ecommerce is clearly much more diverse with organisations at very different levels of development and understanding. This makes it an exciting place to be – with huge opportunities for those who innovate and adapt quickly to the new market dynamics.

We are also delighted to include thoughts from some of the industry’s leading names. In this edition, Sir Martin Sorrell discusses how ecommerce is changing the rules of retail and Sir Tom Hunter considers the critical role of the board.

It is clear that ecommerce is not the same as retail. To succeed online retailers must think differently. They must consider how to organise their operations. They must gain clarity on the metrics that drive ecommerce success. If they are to compete with companies like Amazon they must move towards real-time trading. They must grasp the opportunities for significant growth, and never be satisfied with growth rates benchmarked to store like-for-likes.

I hope you enjoy this first edition of The Trading Intelligence Quarterly, and find it helpful as you consider how to make the most of ecommerce within your own business.

Download The Trading Intelligence Quarterly (pdf, 2.7Mb)