Retail West 2013: Recap of the Show

As the 2013 Retail West conference came to a close, it was apparent how true a quote from that morning’s opening Keynote was. The quote came courtesy of Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC) CEO, David Labistour, as he depicted the new retail reality of 2013. “This is the end of retail as we know it,” he said, referencing the way retailers are rapidly redefining their shopping experiences to serve evolving consumer expectations.

The OrderDynamics Team at Retail West 2013

The second annual Retail West conference in Vancouver last week supplied no shortage of ecommerce discussions. In fact nearly all of the conference's content was centered on ecommerce – a stark difference between it and the 2012 version of the conference, which encompassed a more general overview of Canadian retail operations as a whole.

Ecommerce is a Top Priority for Canadian Retailers
It was refreshing to hear many of Canada's top retailers focusing operations on their customers, using ecommerce as the lynchpin of the strategy – a concept that a 2013 Forrester Research report, 'The State of Online Retailing In Canada' reinforced earlier this year. Labistour touched on a number of customer-first efforts MEC have put in place over the last 18 months. His thoughts and experience with in-store technologies - such as iPads for customer services reps to engage and better serve shoppers - were fascinating. His views were that the iPads were cumbersome and didn't add enough value to the overall shopping experience. But the iPad test helped MEC identify areas for improvement in its mobile sites and apps to support in-store shopping experiences. Using mobile sites and apps as customer shopping tools is consistent with the approach Lowes Canada have begun to take with mobile commerce as well.

Retail West 2013 Exhibition Room

Labistour also spoke at length about new distribution models for faster, more efficient fulfillment. He stressed the idea that “ship products from anywhere” is a new reality consumers expect, and that Omni-Channel retailing is here to stay. His Keynote presentation made for a seamless transition into the Omni-Channel panel that was hosted and moderated by OrderDynamics CEO Michael Benadiba.

OrderDynamics Omni-Channel Presentation
Michael Benadiba, alongside Josh Johnston (Ecommerce Manager, London Drugs) and Tony Holbrook (Ecommerce Operations Manager, MEC) dug into the Omni-Channel shopping expectations of Canadian consumers and how brick and mortar retailers are leveraging store fulfillment and cross-channel shopping experiences as differentiators over dominant web-only retailers. In the case of London Drugs, Josh Johnston revealed that the prominent Western Canadian retailer actively uses ecommerce tools, promotions and tactics to drive localized store traffic. Much of the discussion was about Ship-From-Store capabilities and the operational efficiencies gained from this strategic fulfillment initiative. Tony Holbrook's view of in-store fulfillment summed up where many feel Omni-Channel commerce is heading when he said, "I see convenient fulfillment methods as one of the most strategic investments Canadian retailers can make in the next few years." As ecommerce continues to grow in Canada and abroad, it’s clear that fulfillment is the next “battleground” for retailers to optimize and take advantage of.

OrderDynamics CEO Michael Benadiba with Josh Johnston of London Drugs and Tony Holbrook of MEC

OrderDynamics would like to thank everyone who came and participated in our Omni-Channel presentation and panel. We would also like to thank Josh and Tony for contributing to one of the day's best presentations.

Certainly the 2013 Retail West conference will be remembered for its digital-heavy content and that's very appropriate given the state of the Canadian retail industry today. While Canadian retailers continue to play catch-up to US retailers who, in some cases, have been operating best of breed Omni-Channel shopping experiences for years, it's clear the gap is closing. Omni-Channel is continuing to capture greater acceptance within the Canadian retail community, although questions of “how” continue to linger. We are already looking forward to the 2014 Retail West conference to see the evolutions between this year and next.
OrderDynamics would also like to thank everyone we had the pleasure of speaking with during the conference and the Retail Council of Canada for hosting the event.

In the meantime, we invite you to visit our website at www.orderdynamics.com to learn more about our ecommerce platform and retail order management system.

OrderDynamics CEO, Michael Benadiba, and President, Michael Turcsanyi

Sincerely,
The OrderDynamics Team
1 (866) 559-8123

OrderDynamics is Getting Ready for Retail West 2013

The Second Annual Retail West Conference is set to take place on October 22, 2013 in Vancouver, Canada, and the OrderDynamics Team is thrilled to be exhibiting once again. For the second year in a row, the Retail Council of Canada will be at the Pan Pacific Hotel in Vancouver to share insights on retail and omni-channel trends, best practices for retailers looking to build their customer base while also growing their business, and real-life case studies on winning strategies leading Canadian retailers are leveraging today.

The single-day conference offers a full schedule of 6 concurrent sessions along with 3 super sessions featuring panel discussions with Canadian retail experts examining mobile trends, driving traffic to online and brick stores, retail marketing and more. OrderDynamics CEO, Michael Benadiba, will be moderating a panel on How to Exceed Canadian Omni-Channel Shopping Expectations While Accelerating Growth and Profitability, wherein Josh Johnson of London Drugs and Tony Holbrook of Mountain Equipment Co-op will discuss the current state of omni-channel retail adoption in Canada, what Canadians expect from their omni-channel shopping experiences, and the strategies London Drugs and Mountain Equipment Co-op are employing to accommodate and surpass customer expectations. 

In addition, OrderDynamics will share insights from their global research project conducted in conjunction with Forrester Research regarding retail Order Management Solutions and their impact on facilitating omni-channel shopping experiences. As part of the upcoming global report, OrderDynamics will unveil some of their findings on how well-known Canadian retailers have or plan to strategically invest in implementing retail Order Management Systems to better cater to customer expectations of convenience and flexibility while also accelerating cross-channel growth.

OrderDynamics will also be hosting the Official Retail West Cocktail Party on the eve of the conference, October 21 at 6pm in the Cascades Lounge at the Pan Pacific Hotel in Vancouver. The OrderDynamics Team invites all Retail West attendees and exhibitors to stop by for drinks, h’ors d’oeuvres and a great networking opportunity to get acquainted with the various retailers and consultants that will make up what is sure to be a great show.

For more information on Retail West 2013, and the Official Retail West Cocktail Party, visit OrderDynamics.com/RetailWest2013.

OrderDynamics Monthly Google Updates Report - September 2013

Google created a stir with its first algorithm rewrite in 12 years, while Analytics and Adwords were relatively quiet compared to numerous updates and feature additions in August.

Google Search

On September 26, Google announced that they had rewritten the Google Search algorithm for the first time in 12 years, naming the new algorithm Hummingbird. The announcement came after weeks of SEO specialists speculating Panda updates after seeing major fluctuation in search results, especially around September 17-20. Google stated that the rollout of Hummingbird started in late August continuing throughout September, and affected roughly 90% of global Google searches., though it aims to improve speed and precision of search once the rollout is completed.

A big question as a result of Hummingbird is how it is different from Panda and Penguin. Danny Sullivan of Google described Hummingbird as an overall cleanup of the Google Search algorithm as a whole, while Panda and Penguin are simply individual parts of the algorithm. Panda and Penguin are still components of Hummingbird, and as such, best practices in accommodating them to support SEO are still valid.

Google Analytics

Google Analytics announced on the Analytics blog on September 18 that by the end of 2013, Google Analytics will no longer be officially compatible with Internet Explorer 8. The Platform will still be accessible on IE8, however functionality will not be optimal. Google asserted that the deprecation of compatibility “supports a modern browsing experience”, as it will allow them to streamline compatibility with newer browser technologies that will enable them to add new features faster.

On September 30, Google launched a new Google Analytics mobile app for Android devices. The refreshed app offers a new look and responsive design so it renders well on all Android devices, no matter the device’s orientation, better real-time reporting, and advanced segment dimensions that allow for deeper analysis.

Google Adwords

Adwords introduced new Conversion Reports for Offline Campaigns, which enables Adwords advertisers to import and compile offline conversion data with that of online campaigns. The feature became necessary after Adwords created Offline Campaigns, wherein Adwords generates a unique “Google” phone number to be used in ads in place of a business’ actual phone number which tracks user engagement, but not conversions. However, Adwords now allows this data to be imported, and can be integrated with Marketo, Mongoose Metrics, SugarCRM, Salesforce and more.

On September 25, Adwords introduced the Ready Creatives feature to facilitate easy creation of high quality ads. Ready Creatives offers two components: Ready Image Ads and Ready Ad Gallery. Ready Image Ads draw from images on a website by simply inputting its URL. Advertisers can then select the image to use for their ad, and edit the creative with specific messaging in a variety of styles. Ready Image Ads provide advertisers with a repertoire of prebuilt templates for static, dynamic and video ads, which they can customize according to their needs and desired messaging. Ads made in Ready Creatives are in HTML5 format, ensuring the ads render well across all browsing devices.