Brussels asked us for advice: this was our answer. Thanks to our innovation funding partner: FFIT. “…Like all Internet related developments, online sales are increasing its importance rapidly with double-digit growth figures. Within Europe Germany and the UK are at the top of the list regarding online retail sales followed by the Netherlands and Italy.
Keytoe recognises that other EU member states need to overcome the gap in online retail presence in comparison with before mentioned countries. A wide EU program, which would support retailers to become more active on the World Wide Web, would most certainly lead to the growth of local GDP and jobs. Being involved in many successful ecommerce projects Keytoe would advise the EC to support online retailers by the analogy of the online sales strategy: Attract, Convert and Retain.
1. ATTRACT (how do we persuade retailers to become more active online)
Retailers need to understand the importance of an active online presence for their business. In this there is no difference if you are a shoe shop, a barber or a restaurant. Every business needs an online sales strategy. Education is a crucial key for entrepreneurs. Many of them lack the basic knowledge on online strategy, web development, online/off line logistics, secure payment systems, branding, customer care, etc.
The EC should stimulate the development of (online) courses / training for entrepreneurs whom want to start or further develop their online presence. Such a multilingual online course does not have to be an over expensive project. We think this could be realised under 2 million euro’s. Retailers for that matter should be encouraged to follow such courses, the way this can be done will be elaborated under the next item.
2. CONVERT (how do we get retailers to actually execute their online strategy)
Though retailers do not have to have deep pockets to start their online presence campaign, an effective webshop can be development just under € 10.000. Having a webshop is not a guarantee for reaching higher turnovers automatically. A real marketing strategy, online as well as off line (also known as ”from clicks to brick and vice versa”), has to be developed in order to be successful as a retailer. Besides training, which we mentioned at point 1, we would encourage retailers to contract a team of professionals in the field of offline/online marketing. As an example of the importance of such a strategy we would like to point out the fact that shopping journeys are becoming more complex to understand, and this complexity will only increase as shoppers begin to use their smartphones to access the web while they are shopping offline, extending the immediate reach of online-only retailers onto the high street (source Forrester Research inc). This requires a creative response by retailers where they could combine an offline/online experience. A wrong investment could lead to dramatic results, particularly for SME’s.
Because such an extensive approach requires a higher investment for the retailer they need to be able to have access to finance. Under the current circumstances access to financial instruments such as loans is hard to obtain.
The EC should facilitate the access to finance with either loans or guarantees. We would strongly suggest combining education with such an instrument. More specific; obtaining for a loan which has been supported by the EU, requires participating in the before mentioned online course. As for the size of such a program financial experts would need to be consulted, but looking at the potential size of ecommerce in the EU and the importance for retailers this program should be a reflection of just that.
3. RETAIN (how do we make sure retailers stay online and on the edge of the business)
After establishing the right marketing strategy, online and offline and having a great looking website/webshop comes the greatest challenge: how do I as a retailer stay online successfully whilst competition is growing rapidly, new business models are introduced daily and online innovations are created with the speed of light. Besides all the other important elements an entrepreneur needs to manage in his daily business, the online business will continuously consume more and more of this time. Access to coaching, tutoring, best practices, research and innovation on a central and multilingual EU platform would give the retailers the necessary access to information. Local branch organisations and chambers of commerce should be stimulated to keep such a platform alive and kicking.
Also retailers whom offline are situated in shopping malls or streets need to be encouraged to jointly create their local presence online. Such initiatives are sparsely being created for example the Dutch shopping area “Negen Straatjes” in Amsterdam (9straatjes). Not only does such a strategy result in lower cost per retailer it also leads to solidarity among local retailers. Furthermore Keytoe believes this joint local presence would have a positive effect on the value per m2 of the shopping area as a whole in comparison with shopping area’s, which do not have such an online representation.
Again such initiatives should be supported with either a loan of a guarantee because in the end these investments have a positive ROI. Furthermore we would like to stipulate the importance of investing in more technical education specifically the IT related because if the growth becomes reality, which it will, we will face an enormous shortage in developers, designers and programmers. This should start at primary school…
So far. Special thanks and honours to Jasper Munier – FFIT.