Merry Christmas and Best Wishes for 2023

With today marking the very last collection for next day shipping, we want to wish you a very Merry Christmas and our Best Wishes for 2023.

2022 was always going to be a challenging year, but no one could have predicted a war in Europe, spiralling cost of living and a Peak period beset with strikes. Carriers took the unprecedented step of bringing forward final delivery dates for next day shipping to a full 8 days before Christmas, with only Evri collecting up until the 21st with an expected delivery before the big day.

This has been a fraught run up to the holidays, more so than any previous year in the history of ecommerce, and we hope you get a well deserved break over the bank holidays. It’s a time when many take a pause and spend time with our family and closest friends and never has that been needed more than in 2022.

The team at ChannelX represent a mixed bag of religions and, recognise that this is also reflected in our readership… so whether you are celebrating a Christian Christmas, Jewish Hanukkah, Pagan Yule, Japanese Omisoka or simply enjoying a secular festival, we’d like to sincerely with you a very Merry Christmas and our sincere best wishes for 2023 and the New Year.

We do recognise that some work through the Christmas break, so we’ll check in from time to time so please do feel free to comment. We’ll be reachable on email from time to time over the break so if you have news please do get in touch. With the disruption before Christmas, we’re already predicting that the New Year sales will be a bumper clearance event so we know a busy period is about to start for retailers – both online and on the High Street.

We’ll be taking a break from our normal editorial coverage and be back in the New Year when we’ll be sharing news of upcoming events such as ChannelX Live in March and ChannelX World in the Autumn.

Have a very Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year!

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2022 – A year in review

We take a look back at the articles you engaged with the most throughout 2022. We always value your comments and here’s what mattered the most to you from the past 12 months:

January – 2022 Predictions

We started the year with an interview with Murray Lambell, VP eBay UK, and Murray looked back at the challenges of the pandemic and how it had impacted ecommerce. Murray reviewed the support eBay had powered through the pandemic but pointed out that 2022 would be a year where many of the previous year’s challenges were set to continue, with economic uncertainty, supply chain issues and inflation at the top of many shoppers’ and sellers’ minds.

Little could Murray have known how prophetic his predictions would be, with the war in Ukraine, spiralling cost of living and strikes exacerbating these challenges.

February – Royal Mail excuses

In February we asked if the end of Covid restrictions would end Royal Mail excuses. They didn’t, instead their Union took them out on strike in the second half of the year and the service has plummeted to it’s most unreliable ever.

By December, Ofcom published their findings saying that “We do not expect Covid-19 to have a continuing, significant impact on the company’s service levels. We believe Royal Mail has had plenty of time to learn lessons from the pandemic, and we are unlikely to consider it as exceptional and beyond the company’s control in future”.

Ofcom aren’t likely to take strikes into account as a reasonable excuse as that’s a business matter and not unforeseen circumstances, so their next report should make interesting reading.

March – Hermes becomes Evri

Evri have turned out to be one of the stars of the Royal Mail strikes with countless businesses turning to them and discovering that their service is pretty darn good and their next day prices are cheaper than Royal Mail once you get to certain weight parcels.

However, readers weren’t quite as complimentary in comments when they rebrandedd in March– it would be interesting to here thoughts from the same retailers today.

April – Brexit is still an issue

If anyone thought that Brexit was a done deal, your made your views known in comments when we published 5 Post-Brexit Trade Myths from GFS. Brexit is still a significant challenge for many businesses.

When the pandemic hit so soon after the final split from the EU, it masked many of the cross border issues as retailers were either deluged with orders or had none at all. As a country dealing with Brexit was put on the back burner and many of the challenges are yet to be resolved.

May – eBay Promoted Listing Fees

Pretty much no one was pleased when eBay announced that they would be changing the eBay Promoted Listing Fees to include any taxes, shipping, and other applicable fees rather than just the final bid amount.

June – eBay 2FA

When eBay 2FA rolled out it appeared to be a little too stringent and readers quickly voiced their opinions. eBay didn’t have much choice as it was a requirement under the revised Payment Services Directive (PSD2), a regulation affecting users in the United Kingdom and the EU. That didn’t mean you liked it though.

Noise on this issue quickly died down however and it appears the dial is in the right place as we’ve heard nothing since to suggest this still impacts your business.

July – Does a penny matter?

You were intrigued when we discovered that from clicking buy it now to an item landing in your shopping cart the price could change by a penny. It turned out to almost certainly be a rounding error due to VAT deductions and additions and just one of those weirdnesses that accountants love to hate.

August – Postal Strikes start

August was the month when the first postal strikes were confirmed, originally 8 days of strikes were announced but with further strikes still scheduled for the 23rd and Christmas Eve not end to the dispute is in sight.

The ramifications have been huge with every carrier in the country impacted as retailers move their volumes to alternative carriers.

September – The Queen dies

Almost everyone alive today only remembers the Queen as monarch, that is until the 8th of September when Charles III ascended to the throne. 2022 saw the sombre state funeral but in 2023 we can look forward to an additional Bank Holiday to celebrate the coronation festivities.

October – ChannelX World

We opened the doors to the first ChannelX World conference in London and dozens of speakers freely shared their time, expertise and knowledge with delegates, drawn from elite retailers, brands and industry experts who took to the multiple stages throughout the day.

We’ll be back next Autumn with ChannelX World, but look out for an announcement early in the New Year for an online event – ChannelX Live – which will take place in March.

November – Strikes, Strikes, Strikes

Strikes have been the theme of the Autumn, with Royal Mail top of retailers minds. But the postal works have been joined by just about everyone from Nurses and Ambulance drivers to the rail network, buses, National Highways, and airports, with Teachers and Firefighters likely to be next to walk out.

December – Small business losses

Never before in the Internet age has online shopping closed a full week before Christmas, but that’s the case for the majority of retailers this year and it’s hurting small businesses.

No one argues against the right of workers to strike and protests to take place, but the devastating impact of industrial action on innocent businesses is crucifying and will have a losting impact on the economy.

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Google’s Harmony Murphy on retail trends

With 2022 drawing to a close, we sat down with Harmony Murphy, Head of Retail UK/I at Google, to talk advertising and retail trends and what to expect from the year ahead.

As Head of Retail at Google, Harmony looks after retail customers and assist them with their growth strategies. She also shares some exclusive insights from Google as well as setting out a focus for retailers to embrace as we enter 2023.

In this interviews, Harmony discusses:

00:41 What’s the most important thing for retailers to be focussing on after multiple crises?

05:20 How can a retailer use their online presence to support their high street store?

07:10 Consumer spend – What tactics should retailers use?

11:34 How should advertising programmes change in 2023?

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Validated quality trumps Brand Equity

New research from Bazaarvoice’s Influenster community reveals the impact of inflation on consumer shopping habits ahead of Christmas. As purse strings tighten amid rising inflation, the research reveals that British consumers are most willing to splash the cash on quality skincare and cosmetics.

The squeeze caused by the cost-of-living crisis means that in the run-up to Christmas over two-thirds of UK consumers say their shopping habits have been affected by inflation (68%), with almost all Brits actively price-matching to get the best deals (98%). Despite many retailers celebrating their biggest Black Friday sales ever, a third of consumers felt under pressure to make the most of the sales events in order to get the best deals (34%).

Paying for quality

In a further effort to cut costs, half of Brits have also been choosing to purchase more private labelled products (48%) in recent months, with greater emphasis on the quality of a product versus the brand name. 

Almost 4 in 5 consumers agree that the quality of a product is most likely to convince them to pay more for a purchase (79%), far ahead of the product’s brand name (31%) or even whether it’s cruelty-free or eco-friendly (23%). This is particularly important for the self-care categories, with skincare (77%), cosmetics (71%) and haircare (66%) the top three categories British consumers are willing to pay more for, followed by homeware (46%) and apparel (33%).

The gift of loyalty

Whilst brand name alone is not enough to convince the majority of consumers to pay more for a product, almost a third of consumers would consider themselves to be brand loyal (29%), with over half willing to pay more for a product that has become their “go-to” choice following a good previous experience (58%). 

We’re in the final stretch before Christmas now and many consumers will be in panic mode. They will be comparing the quality of items and looking for easy ways to justify the amount of money being spent on gifts. Moreover, selecting an item of quality that is appreciated by the recipient has the potential to create a future loyal customer.

User-generated content is a fantastic way for consumers to validate their decisions prior to purchase; over three quarters of consumers find UGC the most influential reference point when shopping. What’s more, the availability of great first-hand reviews and previous customer photos will not only convince them to buy, but would influence almost half of consumers to pay more for that product.

– Ed Hill, SVP EMEA, Bazaarvoice

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Five tips to avoiding excess stock this Christmas

With a very challenging Christmas trading period this year, Vladi Shlesman, Managing Director EMEA of ChannelAdvisor, share five tips to avoiding excess stock this Christmas:

Correctly stocking products is not an exact science. Last year, following on from the pandemic, many retailers struggled with supply chain issues, a rise in fuel prices and lack of delivery drivers. This resulted in the dreaded out-of-stock stickers and empty shelves leaving many customers disappointed. This year however, the pendulum has swung in the other direction, with some figures estimating UK businesses had £2.8bn worth of excess products to sell in 2022.   

A pile up of stock may occur for a variety of reasons, but in the current climate, with a potential global recession and a cost of living crisis, this is more of a concern than usual as consumers are more frugal with their spending. 

Additionally, as retailers prepare for Christmas, another problem many will deal with in the aftermath and going into the New Year, is the excess of unsold and returned stock. While Boxing Day sales will move a lot of this inventory, retailers should prepare to be a bit more creative with ways to reduce surplus stock. 

So what are some ways retailers can manage their excess inventory? Whilst there isn’t one strategy that will work for all, there are some which have proven to be useful.

Pay attention to your paid search

Stating the blindingly obvious, the best way to deal with excess stock is to sell it. Paid search is an important part of the marketing mix and in order to get the most out of your paid search campaigns, you should experiment with new keywords to find the right selection which fits both your budget and profit margins. There are some key pieces of advice that you should follow to maximise your investment: 

Don’t blow your budget on key selling days. Customers shop around for deals in the days and weeks surrounding sales, so advertise your promotions around excess products then. If you avoid the peak selling days, your ads will have less competition and prices will be lower so reaching them will be more cost-effective. 

It is also crucial to properly segment your products in order to advertise them effectively. You can do this by using Google Merchant Promotions and separate them into appropriate product categories. 

In addition, make sure you customise your feed to specific product sets. You can use Google and Bing feeds to flag high inventory product sets and plan your campaigns accordingly.

Expand your marketplace reach

Consider tapping into international markets, but only if you can still be profitable. It has become more of a challenge for UK retailers since Brexit as the additional burden of customs declarations and import taxes has made it a less attractive option. Using global options within the platforms you already use may be a good way to test the water. For example, Amazon and eBay have global selling and shipping programmes which you can use to trade globally to consumers who are using these platforms.

Another way to expand your reach is by starting on a new marketplace. ChannelAdvisor’s Commerce Network allows sellers and channels to discover and connect with one another, so you can find a channel that is looking for products like yours.

Focus on fulfilment

Improving your fulfilment is a long term strategy. But, in addition to discounts, new channels and advertising, you should make sure your fulfilment approach is attractive to customers. You may consider lowering your threshold for free delivery, or using data to guide delivery pricing and working with a third-party logistics provider (3PL). These changes can increase efficiency, cut costs and potentially enable you to pass savings onto customers. CommerceHub Delivery Suite not only improves Last-Mile delivery efficiency and cost reduction, it can also enhance Customer Experience as part of your longer term strategy.

Bundle items

Sell complementary items as a bundle or try a kitting technique like “buy one, get one free” to move more product. This not only helps you shift inventory, but provides  customers with better value for money. 

Get social

Boost visibility by promoting deals and new bundles on all your social media channels, especially Instagram and TikTok. According to ChannelAdvisor’s 2022 Online Consumer Behavior survey, 55% of 18-25-year-old US shoppers have discovered products they’ve purchased on social media in the past 12 months.  

A smooth shopping experience is key to driving sales when using social channels to promote product.  You may want to consider eliminating friction by using a shoppable media solution to get customers to a shoppable channel as quickly and easily as possible.

It may prove to be a matter of trial and error and finding out which advertising strategies work for your business, but there are a variety of options for reducing excess stock. You could even consider gifting excess products as part of your marketing if sales strategies don’t prove successful.

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Retail Trends 2023: What consumers want

Consumer research platform Attest have published their Retail Trends for 2023, and perhaps the most interesting is the prediction that Amazon may falter in the New Year. That’s not totally a surprise with 10,000 worldwide layoffs predicted for the marketplace, but it is a sign that the start of 2023 will be an extremely tough trading period for retailers.

Divided sentiment amongst consumers for 2023

The data reveals that a slim majority of British consumers (46%) are feeling positive ahead of 2023; by contrast, 30% feel negative as they head into the New Year.

Key findings for the retail industry include:

1. Shoppers pull back on spending plans for 2023; energy bills cause biggest worry:

●      When quizzed on how they’re spending money going into the new year, most (at 61%) are pulling back, while 18% say they are spending “freely” instead. This new data highlights the changes from last year: there has been a 10.2 point increase in “fairly cautious” spending and a 9.1 point increase in “very cautious” spending.

●      Meanwhile, unaffordable energy bills were by far the biggest issue (at 59%) worrying Britons for next year. This was followed far behind by the war in Ukraine (7%) and increases in petrol prices (6%).

2. Eight in ten Britons say their diets have been impacted by price rises for food:

●      83% of shoppers say that the rising cost of food is having an impact on their diet. Of this 83%, a fifth (21%) say such rapid price rises are having a “big” effect.

●      The top issue cited is being able to afford to eat out (at 38%). This is followed by difficulty in affording fresh meat, fruit and vegetables (36%) and 35% being unable to stretch their budgets to buy preferred brands.

3. Older shoppers are returning to stores, while Amazon may struggle next year:

●      Despite having less money to spend, consumers aren’t going to the shops any less frequently. The research finds a 6.2 point increase in people shopping “daily” and “weekly”, to 65%.

●      And while the pandemic increased adoption of online shopping among older consumers, Boomers are returning to the high street. Over 40% of Boomers say they now “mostly or always” shop in-store. Younger shoppers, on the other hand, still favour online: 47.2% of Gen Z and 49.7% of Millennials “mostly or always” shop online.

●      Even ecommerce juggernaut Amazon doesn’t appear to be immune from Britons’ tighter budgets; Attest’s data finds a net -5.9% of Brits plan to shop less on the marketplace in 2023.

4. Rampant consumerism is going out of fashion, with discount shopping on the rise:

●      Frugality is cool for 2023; 40% of consumers say they are buying fewer things and consuming less – that’s an 8.5 point increase from last year.

●      Meanwhile, 44% of consumers will sell their unwanted goods, meaning the pre-loved market could be booming next year.

●      Shopping at charity and discount stores will also be a big trend in 2023, with 35% of consumers saying they’ll be hunting for a bargain in these shops to combat the rising cost of living.

●      The environmental effects of fast fashion have been in the spotlight lately and it seems to have had an impact also. A net -23.5% of consumers say they will buy fewer fast fashion items in 2023.

As we enter the new year, Attest’s research finds the British consumer in an important and high-value state of flux. 61% of Britons are pulling back on their overall spending, affecting everything from where and how they shop to what they eat.

Changes to fundamental behaviours are afoot also. Frugality is on the spectrum between necessary and contemporary. This research paints a picture of consumers trying to react to worsening economic conditions – with tectonic shifts in expectations, perceptions, channels and value – meaning brands now more than ever need to be on top of the changing needs and wants of consumers to succeed.

– Jeremy King, CEO and Founder, Attest

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How to offer a seamless shopping experience this holiday season

Traditionally, holiday shopping has centred around the Black Friday with merchants building their discount strategy based on a frenzied weekend of spending. Inflation and rising energy costs in 2022, however, have altered the retail landscape with over 58% of consumers having begun their holiday shopping before November to spread the financial strain over a longer period.

Financial uncertainty means that while shopping earlier, consumers are exercising more consideration before making their holiday purchases. In order to win a greater share of consumers wallets this year, merchants need to offer a personalised and flexible online shopping experience. With less money to spend, customers are shopping smarter, prioritising value and convenience when choosing where to shop online. Delivering a frictionless experience at every touchpoint will help merchants to cultivate brand loyalty, drive revenue and influence repeat purchases.

Meghan Stabler, senior vice president at leading global Open SaaS ecommerce platform, BigCommerce, shares her thoughts on how merchants can ensure their ecommerce store not only survives, but thrives, this holiday season.

Marketplace integration is essential

An omnichannel strategy is the cornerstone of any successful ecommerce business, especially when it comes to the holiday shopping season. Social media channels have become social commerce channels where merchants sell, market and serve customers. via marketplaces, at pop-up events, on mobile devices and sometimes even through smart speakers or game systems.

This year in particular, as consumers are taking a more considered and bargain-minded approach to gift-buying, third-party marketplaces are growing in popularity. Already this year, Amazon Prime members have bought more than 100 million items during Amazon’s Prime Early Access Sale.

To benefit from online marketplaces, merchants must have a strong omnichannel presence which enables them to meet customers where they are and ensure a frictionless path to purchase journey. By syncing inventories and merging sales data, brands can present honest, real-time stock availability information to the consumer. With ongoing supply-chain uncertainty, this can help build customer loyalty that will future-proof sales as we move into 2023.

Offer multiple payment options

A poor checkout experience can make or break a sale. Offering a simple and quick checkout process, including a variety of payment options will help merchants to minimise cart abandonment.

The rise of alternative payment methods such contactless, digital wallets and cryptocurrency payments are diversifying customer preferences when it comes to checkout, especially amongst younger demographics. With digital payment trends showing no sign of slowing down, merchants must offer diverse payment options if they are to secure sales. Adding a digital wallet is an easy first step.

A standout among the alternative payment methods this holiday season is Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL), which allows consumers to pay later for their purchases in instalments with no interest or fees, as long as they make their payments on time. With recession and inflation a mounting concern in the UK, consumers are welcoming solutions which fit purchases into their budgets, particularly when they are buying big ticket items. A National Retail Federation (NRF) survey conducted in late September revealed that 25% of consumers plan to use services like BNPL to help cover the cost of gifts and other holiday items this year. To maximise on holiday gifting, brands should look to implement BNPL options within their storefront.

Optimise for mobile

Mobile sales are expected to reach a value of $710 billion by 2025, making up over 10% of all retail sales, owing to growing trends towards social commerce and shopping on the move. To deliver a truly omnichannel experience, merchants must ensure that their store is optimised for both desktop and mobile viewing.

Merchants can enhance the mobile shopping experience through:

●  Location-based shipping estimates/product availability

●  Using the above-the-fold area to highlight the latest discounts

●  Removing pop-ups and sidebars as they add friction

●  Pre-filled customer details during check-out to avoid mistakes

●  Offering guest users the option to email their shopping list to finish shopping on the desktop

●  Added support for digital wallets to speed up the checkout process

Create the best possible ecommerce experience

The aim of any ecommerce merchant should be to create a positive shopping experience at every touchpoint. As pressures on consumer wallets increase, easing the stress of online shopping should be a top priority for merchants.

To deliver a seamless and stress-free shopping experience, investment in composable commerce is essential. With this approach, merchants can tailor their tech stacks with interchangeable and best-in-breed solutions that best fit their needs and that can evolve over time. 

With enquiries likely to be high during the holiday season, investing in strong customer service features will help to proactively and efficiently solve customers issues to avoid frustration. Self-help pages can quickly resolve the most common customer questions, whilst chat-bot features relieve the pressure off staff members to answer basic queries.

Whether it be checkout customisation, marketplace integration or mobile optimisation, having the technological tools to support your ecommerce storefront will be essential for building brand loyalty and driving revenue that will future-proof your business throughout the holiday season and into 2023.

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2023 predictions from Huboo

Huboo have complied their 2023 predictions around the top ecommerce trends for the year ahead as a helpful guide for retailers. The data was compiled based on information from Huboo’s extensive customer base, which comprises more than 1,000 businesses, and a selection of expert insights by the company’s experienced C-Suite team to offer a best in show forecast.

By shining a light on the UK market, with a focus for both domestic eCommerce providers as well as pan-European providers looking to export to the UK, it utilises Huboo’s category leadership credentials to support aspirational entrepreneurs and the future stars of eCommerce. 

The research by Huboo reveals how a huge 95% of UK retail and ecommerce businesses see expanding into new territories as an important factor towards diversifying their brand, with many viewing European countries as lucrative marketplaces they would like to explore, with the right support.

2023 predictions

• Online retailers will have no choice but to meet the cost demands of the consumer by offering multibuy discounts and loyalty programmes that serve the customer and increase basket spend.
• It will be impossible to ignore several new sector trends, including the growth of the hybrid retail model and how difficult and uncertain times continue to have the power to create vital market opportunities for bold brands.
• Now is the time for fast-growth brands to grasp tech and innovation opportunities – including more streamlined personalisation, better payment models, as well as taking advantage of digital shelf space and tapping into driving consumer demand via the metaverse.
• Smarter warehousing and logistics can support eCommerce brands in lean times by improving efficiency and cutting costs, while maintaining the quality of service provided to their customers. It is therefore vital to prioritise a human touch, be led by data innovation and adopt a sustainability-first mindset.
• Partnerships and integrations have never been more critical to eCommerce success – which includes the rise of the single ecosystem strategy and the importance of a centralised data pool. Social commerce will also go from strength to strength.
• The possibilities are endless when it comes to maximising sales channels and marketplaces through integrated data to gain a competitive edge. 

We’re delighted we can channel the considerably detailed and complex insights that we have at our disposal through our people, customers and partners to create a valuable resource that’s helpful to the wider industry. The simple fact of the matter is that ecommerce businesses face difficult decisions in the months ahead and, in our report, we aim to highlight the key lessons to be taken from a challenging year in retail, and shine a light on promising trends that signpost viable, sustainable pathways to future prosperity.

It won’t be easy, but if online retailers take learnings from the last 12 months, they will put their businesses on a positive trajectory and emerge from the economic downturn stronger, leaner and more attuned to their customers’ needs.

– Martin Bysh, CEO and co-founder, Huboo

You can read the full 2023 predictions along with insights from retailers and Huboo execs in their The State of eCommerce in 2023 report.

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BigCommerce new Sage partnership

BigCommerce have a new partnership with Sage to provide merchants with an end-to-end commerce solution, integrating their online storefronts to their back-office.

The integration of BigCommerce with Sage 100 ERP software empowers businesses to modernize their ecommerce presence and launch fully integrated B2C and B2B storefronts to reach new customers, increase operational efficiency and provide real-time updates and visibility for orders, customer information, invoices and more. BigCommerce is now one of the first enterprise ecommerce platforms to launch in the Sage Business Cloud Marketplace for Sage 100 customers looking to sell online.

BigCommerce is already a popular choice for our Sage 100 customers, and this integration delivers even more benefits for our joint customers. Now businesses have the convenience of a modern open SaaS ecommerce platform connected with significant Sage 100 accounting capabilities empowering them to scale their businesses, increase efficiencies with real-time updates at a lower total cost of ownership and ultimately provide a better shopping experience for their customers.

– Regina Crowshaw, director of ISV strategy, sales and programs, Sage

BigCommerce worked closely with Sage technology partner ROI, Inc. and Sage to launch in Sage’s Marketplace. Utilizing ROI’s IN-SYNCH® solution to connect with BigCommerce, Sage customers looking to sell online for B2C and B2B can: 

• Easily define custom account hierarchies and price lists to show each customer exactly what they need to see; 
• Segment customers for pricing, product access and promotions without having to maintain a second site; 
• Leverage advanced payment options and capabilities; 
• View, track, and pay invoices online with the flexibility to split or consolidate invoices easily; 
• Use drag-and-drop functionality, custom product recommendations and headless commerce APIs to customize merchandising; 
• Sell where their customers are shopping by integrating with top marketplaces such as eBay, Amazon and Google Shopping. 

BigCommerce is proud to be one of the first enterprise-focused ecommerce platforms featured in the Sage 100 marketplace. This partnership will deliver huge value for Sage 100 customers looking to streamline their ecommerce operations and improve the buyer experience through a modern commerce platform.

– Sachin Wadhawan, vice president of tech partnerships, BigCommerce

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123Reg to end direct debit payments

123Reg are one of the most popular domain registrars in the UK and there’s important news for any ecommerce business that uses them to manage their URL. 123Reg will end direct debit as a form of payment as of the 15^th January 2023. You will are already no longer able to add or change Direct Debit details.

If you currently use Direct Debit for your product renewals, you will be unable to pay using Direct Debit from the 15^th January 2023. However, as payments are attempted in advance of renewal dates, direct debit payments that were requested before this date and that are currently pending, may still be taken after this date as per your direct debit instruction.

We understand this may be disappointing news and apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

– 123Reg

How to set up alternative payment methods

To ensure your ongoing renewals continue to process after 15^th January 2023, you will need to set up an alternative payment method on your account before 15^th January, such as a credit/debit card or PayPal.

For details on how to change your payment details and default renewal method, the following Support articles may be of use:

• What payment methods can I use?
• How do I add payment details to my 123 Reg account?
• How do I change the default renewal method within my 123 Reg account?

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How did ecommerce fare this Black Friday?

Gavin Murphy, Scurri CMO takes a look back at Black Friday and a look forward to the year ahead as he asks: “How did ecommerce fare this Black Friday and what does 2023 have in store?”

A tough year, resulting in a tough Black Friday

While Black Friday has historically been one of the busiest periods of the year for merchants thanks to a spike in internet traffic and sales, this year has shown them that this is not always the case. Unfortunately, the UK’s tumultuous fiscal year is reflected in the slightly underwhelming income intake this year. Nevertheless, IMRG figures show that the overall market increase for this Black Friday was 0.3%.

For many countries, Russia’s war on Ukraine which led to supply chain issues has given way to an economic economic crisis, and the UK is no exception. The cost of living problem is influencing tactics and dialogues for both consumers and merchants. It has a big impact on how people purchase and how businesses make decisions on a wide range of issues. If merchants wish to be proactive and weather the impending storm, which is only going to get worse, they must have a thorough understanding of the problem. This Black Friday was no exception.

What has been trending?

Scurri identified many significant trends this year, including the fact that many businesses started their Christmas sales early in the autumn rather than on Black Friday with doorbuster bargains. This year more Black Friday advertisements ran on Monday November 21st than there were on Black Friday itself according to IMRG, reflecting an increasingly popular practice. Smaller companies and larger multinationals are copying this strategy. Amazon, for example, staged a second Prime Day celebration in October of this year. It’s possible that businesses are presenting strategies that are more customer-focused, recognising that this year’s budgets will be the tightest ever due to rising living expenses, and responding by letting their customers purchase more for less, for longer.

While the inflationary environment, the impact of rising interest rates, and a weakening labour market are placing a squeeze on discretionary spending for many households, there was also concern surrounding the impact of the World Cup as well as strikes. Sales were slightly impacted by the World Cup, but not wholly negatively. In the weeks leading up to the World Cup, the category of beers, wines, and spirits had extraordinary gains of +59.3% in the week commencing November 6 and +48.4% in the following week. Black Friday also marked the biggest day ever for social media platforms, as TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook all saw spikes in purchases during commercial breaks.

The results are in

Black Friday’s overall growth in 2022 was unchanged; however, the 8-day week from November 21–28 witnessed a little increase. While online sales were up 7.4% year over year in the US, shoppers in the UK were predictably more cautious given the macroeconomic environment, according to Criteo’s data from 5,400 merchants. When they went shopping, they concentrated on a few distinct product categories: home and garden, for instance, had a Friday increase of 156% over the norm of 6%. Consumer technology increased by 119%, while fashion increased by 387%, although neither category saw the gains of the previous year. Retailers would have preferred greater growth rates at this stage in the year, but given how difficult the year has been, perhaps flat is not as awful as they thought.

Moving forward – what have we learnt and where do we go?

As the holiday season approaches, the current market does not appear to be especially kind. Over the coming year, the economic prognosis for most of the world appears to be bumpy, and historically, the retail sector has been among the first to experience these difficulties. Even though it saw growth on Black Friday, this is expected to generate more problems for brick-and-mortar stores that are still working to recover from the disruption brought on by the COVID-19 outbreak. To guarantee that clients’ increasingly constrained disposable income continues to flow in their direction, online retailers must innovate constantly.

Much more may be learned from this Black Friday, and businesses may start planning as early as January 2023. Merchants may use this knowledge to find answers to these challenges by keeping track of all the problems they ran into during the peak. Although there was a noticeable slowdown in sales as a result of the cost of living problem, many UK merchants have noticed an increase in their foreign sales; perhaps selling internationally is a fantastic approach to future-proofing your firm.

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StagingPro BigCommerce staging and deployment

BigCommerce have a new tech partner integration of StagingPro, offering a comprehensive staging and deployment suite that gives enterprise merchants and agency developers a collaborative, near-production level environment to easily test and deploy code to a BigCommerce store.

Enterprise merchants with complex implementations have a greater need for a true staging environment that is fast, collaborative and secure to meet the needs of developer teams to drive faster development-to-market cycles without risking the live production site. StagingPro is an enterprise-built solution that delivers the flexibility and scalability that is dedicated to empowering teams with the freedom to innovate and removes the ceiling from what’s possible.

– Russell Klein, chief commercial officer, BigCommerce

Purpose built for BigCommerce, StagingPro provides an easy-to-use staging environment for merchants, agencies and third-party developers to create one or more replica sandbox stores without the need to reproduce and duplicate work onto a production store. Teams can now efficiently manage every aspect of the build and then test with confidence. With StagingPro, teams will experience:

• Accelerated Production-to-Market Cycles. Run multiple projects at once and save time with faster development and deployment cycles with enforced best practices to ensure projects are delivered on time. Real time automated push, pull, change and error notifications help improve collaboration, transparency and teamwork.
• Secure and Risk-Free Environment Replicas. Create replica staging websites with the same data as a production environment to securely test designs and catalogs, ensuring risk-free live deployments.
• Seamless Integration with Existing Teams, Tools and Workflows. The StagingPro platform can scale up to meet growing teams such as design, development and marketing, and integrates seamlessly with Github, Atlassian Jira and Microsoft that’s fully auditable with rollback capabilities.

As an early beta user, digital experience agency Inviqa was able to access StagingPro for testing and feedback prior to general availability. With StagingPro, Inviqa provided clients with their own dedicated playground to push changes and test directly within their pre-production store environment with the click of a button and no technical knowledge needed. Clients can always revert any and all changes to bring back previous versions of their store without the worry or risk of losing data or affecting their live production site.

StagingPro is a game changer for how we collaborate with our clients. It’s incredibly feature rich and can handle all content types such as promotions, products, categories and themes, synced in any direction. They’ve built out a developer focused workflow where my team can really hone in on highly-skilled software engineering or deploy to quality assurance or promote to production with the confidence the changes will be the same each time. Being able to deploy to multiple environments without having to go through the hassle of booting up your command line, doing the stencil push, having it all in one place and linking it to different GitHub actions and notifications, makes this the best staging solution I’ve ever used.

– James Cowie, ecommerce solutions architect, Inviqa

StagingPro is Multi-Storefront compatible, allowing merchants to confidently migrate between storefronts for swift deployment design changes and data migration between trusted environments.

StagingPro is currently available in the US, UK and ANZ.

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US shopping app Temu boasts great value for consumers

An online marketplace app called Temu are boasting a wide range of home improvement products and deals for consumers who are both professionals and do-it-yourself buyers.

Some of the top-selling products in the category include a cordless electric ratchet tool wrench set for $4.48, and 25-in-1 screwdriver set for $1.98, with free standard shipping.

At Temu, we aim to be the one-stop-shop for consumers and meet all of their needs with the best quality and value products Temu offers wholesale prices anytime, anywhere, and in any quantity across our more than 250 product categories.

– Temu spokesman

Temu is China’s Pinduoduo in the USA, the marketplace launched this year as the company looked at expanding it’s platform into other markets.

This marketplace is a multinational commerce group with a network of more than 11 million global suppliers. It taps on this roster of top-notch suppliers and manufacturers to curate top-quality merchandise at wholesale prices for its customers.

Temu also works with manufacturers to create in-trend products under the “Next-Gen Manufacturing” program pioneered by PDD Holdings. By sharing real-time insights into consumer preferences with manufacturers, Temu helps suppliers to shorten their product development cycle and the time it takes to get their products to market. The result is more responsive manufacturing and products that closely match what consumers want, when they want them.

Using this approach, PDD Holdings has helped to incubate nearly 1,000 manufacturer brands since 2015, empowering them to respond quickly to market shifts and tailor their products to consumer tastes.

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BigCommerce merchants hit record sales during Cyber Week

BigCommerce have reported that its merchants experienced another year of record sales during Cyber Week.

2022 Cyber Week record sales highlights:

• Black Friday and Cyber Monday saw the biggest sales volumes for BigCommerce merchants during the five-day period with Cyber Monday GMV growing just over 32% compared to the same day last year. Black Friday GMV was up 31% over 2021.
• The most active part of the day for BigCommerce merchants on Black Friday was 10 a.m. CT. On Cyber Monday, it was 12 p.m. CT.
• Saturday, Nov. 26, and Sunday, Nov. 27, led with the biggest year-over-year increases with a 36% increase on Saturday and nearly a 35% increase on Sunday. Thanksgiving Day sales were up 23% over 2021.
• For BigCommerce merchants, the percentage of sales on mobile devices shifted down about 3.5% in 2022 and accounted for 38% of total orders during Cyber Week. Sales on tablets were just 1% of total sales. Last year, mobile orders accounted for 42% of all Cyber Week orders for BigCommerce merchants. Out of that, only 1.3% of Cyber Week 2021 orders were placed using a tablet.
• Across the board, social platforms had their biggest day on Black Friday, with TikTok, Instagram and Facebook all recording the most sales on the day. Surprisingly, the next biggest day for TikTok and Instagram wasn’t Cyber Monday, but instead Saturday.
• The category with the largest year-over-year growth in GMV during Cyber Week 2022 was luggage with a 74% increase. Next, was fashion and apparel with a 66% increase. Rounding out the top three with a 64% increase in GMV year-over-year was travel.
• Flexible payment options also proved important this year. Buy now, pay later (BNPL) usage increased 8% over last year among BigCommerce users in October. When it came to Cyber Week, that trend exploded. BNPL usage was up 25% for the week, suggesting that the consumers have grown more comfortable with deferring payments on gift purchases.

Because the days from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday are so crucial to retailers’ success for the year, it’s exciting to see BigCommerce merchants hit new highs with a 32% annual GMV increase, while also benefiting from our platform achieving 100% uptime for the ninth year in a row, Our platform’s openness and enterprise capabilities provide the competitive advantage merchants need to succeed around the world and across multiple sales channels.

– Brent Bellm, chief executive officer, BigCommerce

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Etsy tells sellers to check shipping profiles to avoid disappointment

Christmas is edging ever closer and with it, comes shipping delays. It’s even more important that Etsy sellers check and update their shipping profiles this year, to make sure upcoming postal strikes and service delays don’t leave customers unhappy and your business suffering.

Etsy say that they will adjust estimated delivery dates for sellers. Below is the full announcement.

Happy holidays, Etsy sellers!

Estimated delivery dates are important to shoppers year-round, but especially during the holidays when they’re buying gifts or items for their festive celebrations. That’s why we’ve been working behind the scenes to make sure that Etsy shoppers have an estimate of when their orders will arrive.

We use info from your shipping profiles, including processing times, shipping carrier, and shipping service, to calculate the estimated delivery date we show shoppers. We also track millions of Etsy orders so we can identify when major carriers are experiencing delays. Using this data, we can adjust estimated delivery dates to account for major delays—giving shoppers a more accurate estimate of when their order will arrive.

The info in your shipping profiles tells us where you ship from and how you ship. This lets us get more precise in how we adjust the estimated delivery dates shown for the listings that use your shipping profiles.

When you add your shipping carrier and service to your shipping profile, we can use that info and the buyer’s location to show them a personalized estimated delivery date.This gives us more opportunities to set expectations with shoppers who are seeing delays in their region without discouraging shoppers who aren’t experiencing delays.

What this means for you

The best way you can help is to ensure your shipping profiles and processing times are complete and up to date. We recommend you choose a specific shipping service (rather than the “Other” option) so we can help give shoppers the best estimate of when their order will arrive.

Learn more about setting up your shipping profiles in Etsy’s Help Center.

Thanks and best wishes this holiday season!

– FidosFlowers, Community Manager, Etsy

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Mirakl-powered marketplace sales grew by 53% YOY during Cyber Week 2022

It has been announced that Mirakl-powered Marketplace sales grew by 53% year-over-year globally during Cyber Week 2022. This dramatic growth proves that platforms are the model of the future and traditional retail rules no longer apply in today’s economy.

An analysis of hundreds of Mirakl-powered Marketplaces across the globe during Cyber Week (the 7-day period ending Monday, November 28) found that growth was seen consistently across markets, with sales in local currency increasing by 67% in North America and 44% in Europe.

Twin forces powered online marketplace growth during Cyber Week. First, there was a surge in the total number of marketplace and drop ship orders placed on Mirakl-powered Marketplaces, growing by 30% and reaching 2.3 million. At the same time, average order value on marketplaces increased significantly, jumping by close to 20% year-over-year. Personalization technologies further strengthened sales by making curated recommendations to help marketplace shoppers discover more of what they were looking for. 10% of orders placed with retailers using Mirakl Target2Sell’s recommendation engine contained recommended products.

The hundreds of retailers operating online marketplaces across the globe have recognized what the rest of the industry has been slower to acknowledge: marketplaces are the only way to meet customers’ need for selection, price and high quality of service, achieve consistent profitable growth, and not only survive but thrive in today’s economy, They have dramatically outperformed the market because of their willingness to transform and implement a more innovative and agile model. This year’s Cyber Week performance is a wake-up call to any business still debating when and how to implement their own marketplace strategy.

– Adrien Nussenbaum, co-founder and co-CEO, Mirakl

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Child Accident Prevention Trust issues warning in time for Christmas

The Child Accident Prevention Trust have launched a new campaign, warning parents about the rising number of dangerous toys sold online in time for Christmas.

With consumers feeling the pressure on their finances, The CAPT want to keep parents away from the lure of cheap toys. TV medic Dr Punam Krishan, a GP in Glasgow with two of her own children is supporting the campaign.

As a parent I know how much we want to see those happy faces when the kids find the toys they really wanted under the tree at Christmas.

It’s so easy to buy presents online without checking who the seller is or where they’re based.

Doctors deal with the aftermath of accidents to children and anything we can do to safeguard our children’s lives is worth supporting.

– Dr Punam Krishan

Child Accident Prevention Trust’s TOP TIPS

• Take care when buying from online marketplaces. They don’t have to check if the toys they sell are safe.
• If you can, opt for well-known brand names and retailers.
• Check who is selling the toy. If it’s a company you’ve never heard of, with no UK or EU address and the price is temptingly low, the toy may be illegal and unsafe.
• High-risk toys best avoided from unknown brands and sellers include those with:

– Super-strong magnets that can rip through your child’s belly
– Easy-access button batteries that can kill your child if swallowed
– Long cords that can strangle your child or small parts that can choke them
– Chargers that can catch fire or wires that can cause electric shocks.

• If you buy a toy that looks unsafe, trust your instincts and send it back.

With cost-of-living pressures, we’re all looking for cheaper alternatives, but these could come at a very high cost.

To put it simply, some of these toys can kill. That’s why we’re launching this campaign to raise awareness of the dangers of buying cheap toys on online marketplaces.

Figures show that up to 85% of accidents to under fives happen in our homes.

We’re urging families to follow our toy-buying tips this Christmas.

Katrina Phillips, Chief Executive, CAPT

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