Marks and Spencer 2012 Annual Report Download - page 28

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Marks and Spencer Group plc Annual report and financial statements 2012 26Strategic review
Multi-channel
Revenue
£559m
18%
Site traffic
3.4m per week
11%
“ Being truly
multi-channel
means making
it possible for
customers to
shop ‘Your M&S’
in their way.”
Laura Wade-Gery
Executive Director,
Multi-channel E-commerce
MULTI-CHANNEL HIGHLIGHTS
This year we grew ahead of the market, with sales increasing 18%, as
customers found it easier to shop with us in the way that suits them best.
New innovations helped us better integrate our different shopping channels,
allowing customers to shop online, via mobile or through in-store ordering
and receive their goods directly or collect in store. We laid the foundations
for future multi-channel growth, with a skilled team in place and our new
platform build underway.
Developing a leading multi-channel
shopping experience
With a flexible range of order and
delivery options, Shop your Way
continued to grow in popularity. The
service encourages customers to shop
across different channels, providing
choices that fit with their busy lifestyles.
For the first time, we made sale
products available for in-store collection
and 40% of Clothing and Home orders
are now collected in store.
As our customers’ shopping habits
change it’s essential that we change
with them. As part of this, we delivered
more choice and inspiration into our
stores, with Style Online (opposite).
New browse and order points were
also added to enable customers to
shop more of our product catalogue.
We equipped advisors with iPads to
offer more personal assistance to
customers and add value to their
in-store experience.
Over the year we launched a series
of initiatives and trials to help us better
understand how our customers interact
with the latest technologies across
both our retail and marketing channels
(see opposite).
This year we made progress against
our plans to become an international,
multi-channel retailer, with the launch
of our first international websites for the
French (opposite) and Irish markets.
We also appointed developers for our
new site build, which will provide us
with a robust platform to grow our
multi-channel ambitions.
Actions against our plan
Increased multi-channel sales
Developing a leading multi-channel
shopping experience
Building a platform for future
international, multi-channel growth
More customers are now shopping
with M&S online; we’ve grown our share
of online traffic and have over 3.4m
weekly visits, up 11%. This growth was
supported by the increased use of
smartphones and tablets, with sales from
our mobile-enabled site up over 200%.
Customers increasingly rely on the
convenience of online, with 26% of
schoolwear and over a third of dresses
bought this way. We made it even
more convenient this year, extending
next day delivery options and adding
improved search functions. We also
gave customers more choice, adding
more online-exclusive products,
boosting sales by 80%. We introduced
product personalisation on essentials
such as chinos and black dresses and
gave customers a new opportunity to
shop with us, launching M&S Outlet
online (opposite).
Online is not only a place for customers to
buy, it’s where many come to browse and
research too. M&S TV showcases our
latest trends and innovations. This year it
was viewed over 1.7 million times and
encouraged customers to spend longer
online. Product reviews were up 500%
and are an increasingly popular way for
customers to interact with M&S. Objective
feedback makes other shoppers more
likely to buy and provides invaluable
insights that help us to improve products.
Plan A: Closed loop
cashmere
We created an online
infographic to tell the story
behind our innovative
recycled cashmere coat.
The graphic explained how
returned garments are
collected, broken down
and transformed into
stylish Autograph coats. The
infographic format made it
easy to share across social
networks and was one of the
most read features on our
M&S Stories site.
Looking ahead
Put simply, we want more
of our customers to shop
with us across more of
our channels. To achieve
this we will create new,
inspirational opportunities
to engage with M&S and
deliver an even better
customer experience. We
will continue to provide
more customers around
the world with access to
M&S products, as we
grow our international
e-commerce offer.