After the hit, Marks & Spencer said that it will not add any more retail space, but will concentrate on expanding its business digitally. Marks & Spencer has 766 stores in the UK, and according to report quoting Mr Marc Bolland, CEO, Marks & Spencer, the retailer will open more Simply Food stores from 2016.

Marks & Spencer is thus amping up its digital business to level up with competitors and online retailer. The company saw a 4.1% fall in like-for-like sales of general merchandise. M&S has seen seven consecutive quarters a decline in sales, and despite Mr Bolland’s efforts, clothing sales have not been revived.

Under tremendous pressure, Mr Bolland has opted for some big changes. The company forecasted that it will reduce expenditure from £850 million £775 million; and expects capex to fall to about £550m versus previous guidance of £600m in 2014-15.

Marks & Spencer said that it expects profits and sales to go up next year when new fashion ranges hit the stores, but speculation is already rife whether Mr Bolland will be retained in that position. He refused to comment on the matter, but the market is abuzz that the retailer’s lackluster performance under his leadership will lead to a reduction in his annual compensation levels.

That’s according to an independent global research study undertaken by Vanson Bourne and commissioned by Borland, a Micro Focus company (LSE: MCRO.L). Twenty six per cent of CIOs from 590 organizations across the globe admitted they are not or don’t know if they are monitoring response times for mission-critical transactions.  These include transactions such as shopping cart and database record retrieval on their websites.  Financial services, retail and media, leisure and entertainment companies all confess to poor figures given they would typically have large scale e-commerce transactions, with 23%, 24% and 25% respectively. 

When it comes to trouble-shooting, 72% of respondents confirmed they are not always alerted at the first sign of a problem on their web services and 80% are not always able to resolve a problem on their web services before a customer becomes aware of it.  The UK scores particularly poorly with a huge 86%.  From a sector perspective, media, leisure and entertainment companies and financial services organizations are the worst culprits, with 90% and 87% respectively

The situation is even worse for web apps on mobile. Thirty four per cent of CIOs are not tracking how quickly their own website loads on mobile devices and 36% are not tracking how quickly their web application loads on mobile devices

Although 79% of CIOs are conscious of the events that drive peak traffic volumes, such as seasonal events or holiday periods, 44% do not simulate website performance with heavy load testing to see if they can handle the increased pressure on their websites. 

Archie Roboostoff, Borland Solutions Portfolio Director, at Micro Focus, said: “Users have very little truck with poor performing websites today so these insights are pretty astonishing.  88% of online visitors are less likely to return to a site after a bad experience so taking a passive approach to website performance is a massive risk to reputation, and for e-commerce sites, revenue too.  It just goes to show that a solid performing website is still a competitive advantage, and that any company delivering an equally good web experience on mobile is likely to win the customer.”

The Index also indicates that companies in some predominantly retail sectors like clothing and home furnishings/DIY brands need to do a much better job of creating personalised, well-timed and relevant communications, particularly for older consumers.

The 2013 GI Insight Customer Intimacy Index, compiled from a survey of over 1,000 UK consumers, scores a range of sectors according to the level of knowledge of the individual that companies in those industries demonstrate in their customer communications. The overall average was set at 100.

Supermarkets came out far ahead of any other sector with a score of 132 –The Index indicates that industries with frequent transactions andstrong loyalty programmes are most successful at relating to their customers in a relevant way. Clothing brands come across as distinctly average with a score of 100, firms in the home furnishings/DIY sector scored 21% below the average and holiday, travel companies were only just above average, with a score of 105.

Banks showed a marked improvement since the previous Index, moving past Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to second place in the table with a score nine points higher than in 2010.

Andy Wood, GI Insight’s Managing Director, commented: “Overall, most companies are falling especially short of the mark when it comes to older consumers. The result is that companies – particularly those operating in sectors that tend to be very youth-oriented such as fashion – risk alienating customers who have greater disposable income.”

Eighteen per cent of the surveyed customers feel that there is a wider variety of unique products available, and 15% like shopping in boutiques to avoid buying the same items as everyone else. But despite this, almost 60% think that they are too expensive, 15% are not shopping in independent stores because they simply don’t know where to find them, and over 10% say that a lack of mobile/online presence is putting them off as they can’t research key store and product information on-the-go.

The Udozi research reveals that national retailers are still the number one shopping location for over 30% of consumers, and John Lewis (29%), Debenhams (28%) and Primark (22%) ranked top of the ‘most desirable places to shop’ list. But national retailers need to adapt if they are to survive the current economic climate as consumer frustrations associated with shopping in high-street chains include over-crowding in-store (37%), items not being in stock (24%), long queues for the changing rooms (22%) and not being able to find the right products (19%). According to the research, food and drink stores provide the most ‘likeable’ high-street shopping experience for British consumers, whilst over half (58%) of Brits dislike their local high-street shopping experience when looking for fashion items.

Alan Gabbay, Founder, Udozi stated, “Despite the demand for more independent retailers on Britain’s high-streets, failure to keep up with the latest technological innovations such as mobile means that many potential customers are unable discover London’s hidden boutiques. Independent stores need to evolve and learn to embrace all channels for customer engagement if they want to survive – especially in times of austerity.”

Meanwhile, a recent survey by Ovum revealed over 80% of global businesses are implementing some form of unified communications over the next two years. This is in contrast to the poll of retail businesses, ranging from 1 to over 1,000 employees that showed that only 34.9% would be willing to invest in UC features over the next two to three years.  When asked what the biggest obstacle was to invest, 43.7% of retailers answered that understanding and knowledge of the technology was a key issue.

Elite Telecom CEO, Matt Newing, said,“As an industry that is facing enormous pressure to adapt to increased competition, especially from digital and online channels, unified communications is an investment that many retailers cannot afford to miss out on.

“Unified communications is all about the end user experience and helping to deliver smoother, streamlined services to customers both in store and online. Customers are more likely to return to businesses that have exceeded their expectations and offered them something different.”

The research also revealed that 39.3% of those that would consider deploying unified communications would be driven by the need to improve customer service. Other influencers included the need to reduce overheads (19.6%) and increase staff productivity (17.9%).

Matt continues “Unified communications enhances the communication at every stage of the purchase cycle: Investing in UC allows retailers to optimise processes whilst improving quality in their user journey, offering loyalty to the customer to increase sales and profits.

“Those businesses that are too slow to adapt to technology advances or to internet-led services will simply not be here in two to three years’ time.”

Ralf Ebbinghaus, CEO at unified communications vendor Swyx, who co-sponsored the research with Elite says, “Our technology is already helping some of the UK’s largest retailers to enhance their customer communications across multiple locations and channels.  As the customer becomes more discerning, and more likely to shop around, retailers need to recognise that to maintain customer loyalty, they need to offer a more unified interaction that takes into account all the possible information available, wherever this is stored . 

Roger Rawlinson, Managing Director ­Assurance Division at NCC Group, said: “Our clients are having to manage an ever increasing number of IT compliance requirements, from ISO 27001/2 through to PCI DSS and SOX.

“Typically, organisations have had to rely on either labour-intensive and predominantly manual spreadsheet based systems or expensive IT GRC solutions that involve complex, lengthy implementations. Compliance Manager offers a practical and proven alternative.”

The service is designed to help organisations efficiently operate GRC processes and information security technology. It allows them to automate processes in a swift, agile way.

Shop Direct Group has been confirmed as the first client for the new service. Mike Marshall, Group Security Director at Shop Direct Group, who has successfully trialed the product, comments:

“Shop Direct conducts an extensive third party compliance programme to ensure its customer data is secure wherever it is held. The need for a robust compliance tool to support this activity has been key.

“We have decided to use NCC Group¹s Compliance Manager as it delivers exactly what we need in the compliance space and is very adaptive to our future needs. Compliance Manager makes the whole due diligence process much easier for our third parties and removes the need for e-mailing numerous spread sheets backwards and forwards as we did in the past.”

Compliance Manager can track compliance across industry and user-defined standards, providing an evidence repository and linking in real-time control information.

Rawlinson concludes: “Efficiencies and cost savings can be achieved rapidly through process automation and by reducing spreadsheet proliferation. Additionally, our Software-as-a-Service model is ideal for organisations that need to automate processes across departments, geographies, and partner organisations. All of this allows compliance teams to operate more effectively and puts them in a strong position to meet their growing workloads.”

Compliance Manager is powered by SureCloud for GRC, a cost effective technology that helps to reduce total cost of ownership.

The study was conducted over two years, and saw the vacancy rate jump from 10.9% in January to 11.9% in April. Wales performed the worst, with footfall being down by 2.1% and the vacancy rate reaching 17.9%. In South West and Yorkshire, the vacancy rate was 14%.

BRC director general Helen Dickinson said: “It’s a major concern that the vacancy rate has reached a record high, driven by increases in almost every part of the UK, with some regions like the South West seeing a significant leap in empty shop numbers.”

Greater London performed better than other regions, with footfalls going up by 4.2% and only 7.4% shops vacant. The study notes that footfall has gone up overall, and has been 1% more than the 5.2% recorded in April last year. High streets also saw footfalls increase by 3.4%, but shopping centres saw 3% less visitors. High street, the report said, "vastly outperforming" malls and retail parks, as it saw a 5% increase in evening drinkers, diners and clubbers.

Diane Wehrle, retail insights director at Springboard, said: “This disparity is partly due to the fact that many of the high-profile retail failures – reflected in the increased vacancy rate – have been located in malls, creating holes in their retail frontages which have adversely affected their attractiveness to shoppers. The resilience of high streets is also likely to be a function of their diversity, as they have an offer that spans more than just retail.”

Ms Dickinson said, “The unsettled weather at the start of the month seems to have created pent-up demand, which brought many of us out to shop when more spring-like weather finally made an appearance.”

BRC’s recent data about retail sales also showed that customers are yet to get back on their feet. 2012 has been a troublesome year for the retail sector. Many famous brands and retailers like Comet, Jessops and HMV have either failed or gone under administration, and hence, a large number of shops have closed and many jobs have been cut.

The deal values the retailer at $200 million, and this is the first time that the media giant has invested in a retailer. According to research firm eMarketer, ecommerce sales exceeded $1 trillion for the first time last year. With Reebonz, Mediacorp has a good chance to tap the booming etail sales in Asia.

What makes the deal more interesting is that Mediacorp’s arch rival Singapore Press Holding recently invested $1.4 million in restaurant booking side Chope. Singapore Press Holding now owns a 27.8% stake in Chope. It is an unusual move for both the companies, which have established newspapers, magazines and websites under their umbrella and are not known for backing newer ventures.

In a statement, Media Corp said: "The round raised S$50 million and values Reebonz at over S$250 million. Post completion, Reebonz's total invested capital base stands at S$100 million." Other investors include Vertex Asia Investments, Granite Global Ventures and Intel Capital.

Reebonz currently has two million members, and promises to deliver ‘high end luxury’ to its customers. Reebonz is also known for offering flash sales, and has started to offer pre-owned luxury goods as well. Reebonz also operates its exclusive lounge SPACE, which is available to flagship members only.

MediaCorp chief executive officer Shaun Seow said in a statement, “We see great alignment between what Reebonz does and what MediaCorp has -- audiences, content targeted at the luxury market, and our star power. We are confident that by collaborating closely with Reebonz, we'll see even more breakthroughs from the retailer.”

Sirportly investigated the websites of B&Q, Homebase and Wickes to see what they are doing to help online customers, before inspecting online comments about each retailer made on Google, Facebook and Twitter to determine their Net Promoter Scores (NPS) – a measure of their consumer advocacy online (rated between -100 to 100).

B&Q’s NPS score was an alarmingly low -70. Customers had little positive to say about the retailer and were particularly vitriolic about the online buying experience. Homebase’s NPS score was -20. Some customers said the in-store experience was good but the majority of comments suggest the quality of customer service leaves a lot to be desired. Wickes achieved an NPS score of +20. Although there were some positive comments about shopping in-store, customers complained about the online service.

All the retailers offer store locators, online services, offer customer support and maintain good social media presence on various online platforms.

Adam Cooke, founder of Sirportly, said: “DIY retailers have a great opportunity to improve the customer experience both online and in-store using the internet. Instead it seems they’re making things worse by trading online in many cases. Much of the bad feeling from customers could be avoided if the retailers just got their customer service teams organised and ready to use a little bit of common sense. Also, there is so much customer feedback available on the internet that retailers should be able to use this to put things right. Ten years ago these businesses would have had to pay thousands of pounds to get anywhere near the level of customer insight now available at the click of a mouse.”

From Apple iPads selling for $75 to shoppers paying 70% less for their groceries, software errors are causing damage to retailers’ reputations as well as significant financial losses.

Today the rapid deployment of new business models, from e-commerce and online marketplaces to m-commerce, is introducing integration, customisation and supply chain challenges on an unprecedented scale. As the complexity of retail systems architecture  increases, the risk that a one-off error or software bug will have widespread knock-on effects rises dramatically.

New retail trends – new quality challenges

Unfortunately, software glitches and bugs represent the downside of innovation. The ability to develop, integrate and launch new channels is a key differentiator in a time when price sensitivity is high and customer loyalty is under threat.

Customers want the same ease, responsiveness and appealing product range presentation whatever platform they choose; they want a seamless transition from an online to an in-store experience and vice versa.

However, the sheer variety of consumer platforms and array of possible user journeys can make retail systems development a complex and challenging undertaking.

Cost pressures are also driving many retailers to evolve their supply chain processes and systems. While these change programmes are often large and costly, they are expected to deliver business benefits quickly.

Testing and software quality assurance can help mitigate risks associated with innovation and increase confidence in delivering technology solutions that are both right first time and ready on time.

 Embrace early, implement and test

Retail innovation success stories are supported by the right testing lifecycle models, tools, test environments, performance, functional and automated testing.

 However, all too often, software quality and testing are an add-on that rise in prominence when problems are found in the later stages of a project.

These problems can lead to cost overruns and hit launch dates. Where pressure is brought to bear by senior stakeholders to meet delivery commitments, well-intentioned but hasty corrective action may result may worsen the situation.  A mature quality framework ensures that, even in the event of late-breaking issues, change decisions are supported by good quality data. Stakeholder confidence can be re-built with predictable and verifiable improvement outcomes.

 With basic software quality practices in place, knee-jerk reactions resulting from a late-breaking critical software defect can be avoided:

 1.       Build quality in from day one

 Approximately 70% of errors in software projects arise during the early analysis and design stages. Incomplete or inaccurate requirements and inadequate testing can lead to costly re-work, while Early Error Detection and correction can cut the resulting costs by up to 90%.

When software errors and system failures cause consumers to perceive a retail brand negatively, improving quality becomes a priority. However, hastily implemented quality programmes are not the answer. Quality-driven retailers have clear objectives and robust processes for gathering, analysing and taking action on information and feedback on a rolling basis.

 2.       Conduct a testing health check

Up to 60% of IT projects fail to reach their targets and half overrun their budgets, while as many as 90% do not meet their schedules at all. A Health Check is an independent review of testing processes and procedures that can help reduce project risks and improve the quality of delivered applications.  

3.       Evaluate third party delivery

 Software quality is often outsourced and unfortunately retailers are not always well equipped to evaluate the services they receive. An independent software quality expert can remove the danger of developers and Systems Integrators “marking their own homework”.

 Also, retailers should not rely too heavily on vendor testing – for instance, multiple retailers may deploy Oracle Retail applications, but their individual objectives, USPs and purchasing journeys will be different. Vendors, such as Oracle can only test against ‘vanilla’ retailers, whereas each retailer has different needs.

 The right test management and delivery framework is key to confidence in project outcomes. These should incorporate KPIs and metrics that provide evidence of delivery progress and quality; this is particularly important in domains with multiple third party suppliers.

4.       Invest in automation

Automation streamlines quality and increases efficiency. However, it also requires a certain level of investment, so retailers often opt instead to test manually. A well architected automated testing framework reduces the cost and speeds up testing while ensuring that any new applications or technology will not have a detrimental effect on existing IT infrastructure or systems.

 A significant trend in automated testing is the use of manufacturing processes to run large volumes of tests on a regular basis. This is especially useful when a retailer issues regular software updates.

 5.       Consider a Testing Centre of Excellence

A Test Centre of Excellence (TCoE) avoids the problems of a few dedicated testers operating in silos in different parts of the organisation, each in danger of large scale duplication of testing activity. Bringing quality into a TCoE means that wider integration issues and associated risks are more readily identified, as the team involved in performing functional, regression, automated or performance testing holds a good understanding of the environment that all products and software operate in.

 Ultimately, the ability to deliver high quality and innovative products and services quickly and economically is key to grabbing market share. The consequences of failure due to quality issues can include financial losses, an opportunity for competitors to steal market share and significant reputational damage. This is where a strong focus on quality will help to avoid failure.

 When quality is built into organisational culture and subject to rigorous processes, retailers can reap the full rewards of their investment in innovation, without the worry that public failures and glitches will tarnish their image.

 Mobile Opportunity

Mobile commerce has exploded over the past 12 months. Researchconducted by IBM Online Retail Index research data has demonstrated that m-commerce has experienced growth by nearly a third in the first quarter of 2013, when compared to the first quarter of 2012.  The research states that m-commerce is making up 17.4% of all online retail sales, whereby in comparison in 2012 m-commerce made up 13.3%. Visits to retail sites through mobile devices also experienced impressive growth, with overall m-commerce traffic from all devices rising by 40% in the first quarter of 2013. The explosion in mobile activity is prompting huge interest from marketers keen to exploit new technologies and creative innovation to reach customers, from mobile coupon offers to consumer apps. That interest is further peaked with the increase in phenomena such as show-rooming and location-based marketing.

But mobile is just one channel. According to the Pew Research Center, while 45% of adults in the US now have a smart phone, more than 75% have a laptop or desktop computerand 31% a tablet computer, showing brands the importance of understanding customer interactions across multiple devices. In addition, approximately 25% of the TV sets shipped globally in 2011 were internet-connected, a figure forecasted to approach 50% of total TV shipments during 2015, according to data from the screen digest arm of IHSResearch.  

Omnichannel Challenge

As the ways in which an individual can interact with a brand inexorably continues to increase, the concerns of consolidating online behaviour with bricks and mortar activity become even more critical and difficult.  Individuals not only use multiple devices to access the internet – with undoubtedly a growing emphasis on mobile devices such as smart phones and tablets – but they also use these devices differently, according to time of day, location, and wireless availability. Each of these interactions needs to be both optimised individually and as a coherent whole in order to maximise the positive effect on the customer experience.

A single individual may read emails on a smart phone on the way to work; check out the brand’s Facebook page during their lunch break on a work laptop; use the brand’s mobile app on an iPad in front of the TV and make a purchase on the home PC before going to bed. Or they may simply visit the brand’s website on all those devices during one day.  

Despite this extraordinary change in activity, each customer still expects brands to connect the pieces of the puzzle. There is little tolerance for brands that treat customers as a series of disconnected personas to whom they send differing messages, offers and experiences across all channels.

Brands know that they must put in place the building blocks to ensure they understand the way their customers are interacting with them across all of these touchpoints. To do this they are developing customer analytics in areas such as understanding if smart phone users have a higher average value and whether customer conversions are higher on tablets than on smart phones.

For example, global heat styling brand, ghd, identified that a high percentage of their customers used mobile iDevices to interact with their website. However, through analysing their customer analytics, digital marketers at ghd saw that the website had a high bounce rate with customers using iDevices. This led to a rethink of the iDevice mobile experience, making it slicker and more user friendly, which has consequently resulted in a 40% increase in conversation ratefor customers using iDevices as well as an enhanced customer experience.  

Individual View

Whilst having this overall insight into the effectiveness and purpose of different channels is valuable, the real value comes from being able to piece together the puzzle for individual customers in order to more effectively engage them at each point in the purchasing lifecycle. Digital marketing has evolved considerably over recent years and organisations are now looking for individual-level data from across multiple digital channels in order to enhance the customer experience and drive personalisation for improved customer engagement.

That improved engagement may take the form of improved communications via real-time website personalisation, behaviour-based offer management or personalised triggered emails. For example, a customer experience enhancement could include a pop up “request a call” button in front of someone having difficultly tracking an order on a website.  Whatever form the activity takes, it must be able to understand the individual as one whole person across all customer touchpoints to avoid faux pas such as offering different prices for the same individual on different devices because they are recognised as an existing customer on one device and not on another.  

It is therefore essential for brands to not only have access to highly granular individual-level data from across multiple digital channels and devices, it is also crucial that they have the analytic capability which enables them to link all the devices and histories of interaction together into a single customer view. For example, if a customer typically reads emails from a designated brand on an iPhone in the morning, then the brand should optimise emails to render correctly in that format. If the customer browses using the brand’s app but doesn’t buy, the brand should look at delivering messages to explain the security and privacy policies around mobile purchasing. If the customer browses the website on an iPad but never puts items in their basket and only purchases on a laptop the brand should as a first step review how iPad friendly their website is.

Conclusion

Whilst the term “omnichannel” is relatively new, analysts have been preaching the concept of a single customer view for years; and there is no doubt that the explosion in Internet-connected devices and diverse channels is creating a huge challenge for organisations to achieve that vision. But with customers expecting to be treated as one coherent individual across all channels used to interact with a brand; demanding a good experience across each channel as part of the overall experience – organisations must meet the challenge laid down before them.

Understanding individual customers’ interactions with an organisation across all devices and channels, and putting the pieces of the puzzle together to create one real person, is the first step on the omnichannel journey towards improving the customer experience, optimising marketing effectiveness and ultimately driving business and customer value.

To think how shopping has changed over the decades can be mind blowing.

From the Sears & Roebuck catalog of the 1940’s to malls in the ‘80’s to the prevalence of current online shopping, stores have to change with the times.

An overwhelming 78 percent of consumers, as reported by a Cisco study, shop online to purchase items as well as research them. Retailers, in turn, need to keep up with this to maintain their customer base.

As long as you have an online presence, which you should, you can do something about your online sales.

Here’s a checklist for you to go through and make sure you’re doing what you should.

1. Use useful marketing tools, like pop-ups and hover ads - If you’re not sure what a pop-up is, it’s those little windows full of special offers you see on websites. Annoying or not, they work. Hover ads are replacing pop-ups because they can be targeted more to specific consumers. Give these a try; you might possibly see a big increase in sales.

2. Hook your readers -  Wait – that’s a line for journalists, right? Well, it works for commercial websites, too. Let your customer not only see what the product does, but what it does for them. Whether it’s how to beautify your foyer with new paint ideas or how new custom mats will benefit you while doing dishes, people what to know how it will help. And while explaining this succinctly, make it impactful.

3. Incorporate testimonials - Testimonials, whether through text or video, are becoming great assets in marketing. Many sites, both service oriented and product oriented, include testimonials from happy customers on their sites. People are using websites more than ever to decide where to go and what to buy, so by including honest testimonials, you can have those good references at the ready.

4. Make it easy -  The easier your site is to navigate and purchase items on, the better you’ll do. The one click button is a great feature because it provides immediate purchase. The less time your customer has to “think about” the purchase, the more likely they are to go ahead and do it. Things like discounts and promotions are great incentives, too, even free shipping will get some people to buy who otherwise may not. The easier it is to do – the better for you. That’s why people like to shop online, anyway – it’s just easier than running from store to store.

5. Include contact information - If customers can see a real address and phone number, they’ll feel better about purchasing from you. It gives a sense of trust that if something goes wrong with the order, they can contact you easily. Everyone’s heard stories of online shopping gone wrong only to find no-one to turn to. Give your customers that trust.

It’s important to provide a good website to your customers.

Even if you have local customers and a brick and mortar store, sometimes they may want to browse online or make a quick purchase. If it’s between you and someone else with a great website, they may go elsewhere.

So clean up that site, add a few important features and watch your sales grow.

About the Author: Heather Legg covers many topics, including home decorating, custom mats, and small businesses.

This comes shortly after Asos launched a Russian website on 1st May. The company declared  that its international retail sales rose to £214.7 million for the first half of the year. Asos is also in talks with commerce platform provider hybris for launching its Chinese website.

Like Russia and its other international ecommerce operations, Asos is expected to have a local website to support the regional demand, focused marketing, and all matters being managed in its UK base. The company estimates that there are roughly 420 million Chinese customers who can be tapped with its new venture.

The company will also rope in local distribution and delivery agencies, local payment system and a big regional team to manage the operation.

However, China has proved to be a peculiar market for most foreign retailers. Chinese customers are known for driving hard bargains, and there are numerous local websites which are extremely popular. Moreover, many Chinese customers also bargain online and in malls, which is unthinkable in Western markets.

But China has proved to be a comparatively resilient market, and despite the recent slowdown, Chinese customers have helped boost the sales of European and American retailers who are facing trouble at home and in the Western markets.

The initial Asos China website will contain roughly 10 percent of the full product range, according to reports; and a different operating model is expected to be adopted after its launch later in the year.

The company earlier announced a weak profit guidance, at $1.11 to $1.16 a share. After the results were announced, Wal Mart gave $1.14 a share, which was slightly below analysts’ predictions. Wal Mart expects to earn $1.22 to $1.27 a share in the second quarter, while the analysts pegged the figure at $1.29 a share.

Sales rose 1% to $113.45 billion, while it was expected that they would be worth more than $116 billion. Same store sales declined by 1.4%, and the shares slumped slightly following the announcement.

Wal Mart however, is not the only retailer to be facing the brunt of the weak economy. Macy’s and McDonalds have also posted disappointing results. The slump at these popular retailers show that the low-income segment of USA’s population has been hit hard; and unemployment and increased taxes are forcing customers to be more discretionary.

Wal Mart said its shops experienced fewer footfalls, and also said that delayed tax returns added to the weak market sentiment.

However, the retailer also saw online sales surge by 30%. Wal Mart’s Chief financial officer Charles Holley told analysts,“During the quarter, e-commerce sales increased by over 30%, and we continue to make strategic investments in the markets that offer us the greatest growth opportunity. We’re focusing this investment in key areas, including our global technology platform and next-generation fulfillment networks, as well as scaling additional markets around the world.” Wal Mart’s online operations are more focused on US, United Kingdom, Brazil and China.

Wal Mart is yet to settle the bribery scandal that rocked it, and insider leaks say that the company found the present conditions more trying than it expected.

Despite generating £4 billion in sales in the UK, Amazon paid only £3.2 million in total. The fact was revealed in a filing with Companies House, and British lawmakers and unions are outraged that the company is not paying ‘a fair amount of taxes.’

This is not the time Amazon’s tax matters have become the centre of controversy, but amidst the weak economy, there is a fair chance that the legislators may crackdown on the company and seek an explanation about the tax avoidance. UK has said that it will take strict action against companies and individuals who avoid taxes and has also urged other EU member states to share financial information to corner the troublemakers.

Amazon however, reported that the company’s turnover stood at £320 million in 2012, where as its filings in USA has revealed that sales have been worth more than £4 billion last year. Amazon operates from Luxembourg in Europe, and hence, avoids paying taxes for its UK sales. The BBC reported that while the UK arm lists itself as merely a ‘service provider’ for the Luxembourg business, the former employed 4200 people at the end of 2012, while the latter employed only 380 people. Amazon has set up a new distribution centre in Hemel Hempstead and a "digital media development" headquarters in London last year, according to the Daily Telegraph.

Amazon is not the only company to come under fire for tax avoidance. Google and Starbucks have all been criticized for their tax management principles in Europe. Google executives are to appear before the British MPs to discuss their UK finances, according to reports.

Journalists and critics have also pointed out that the authorities can take strict action on the defaulters, but are unwilling to do so.

"We have worked very carefully to develop a strategy for Hong Kong, keeping in mind that it's a major center for business, travel, and finance both in Asia and worldwide. That's why we're so excited to be working with LAB CONCEPT in Admiralty on this special project; this partnership allows us to offer high quality American-made product to the Hong Kong consumer," said Katherine Johnson , American Apparel Regional Manager for Asia.

The 1500 square foot space in LAB CONCEPT will feature the company's signature basics, dresses, shoes, swimwear, and its California select vintage products, as well as exclusive items for the Asian market. "We are excited to be partnering with American Apparel to bring this new and unique brand to LAB CONCEPT. With a deep understanding of our customers' needs, we are able to position and offer new exclusive brands every season to tailor to their evolving taste," said Morgan Tan , Vice President of LAB CONCEPT.

The LAB CONCEPT partnership is part of a continuing trend with American Apparel's expansion, particularly in China and Hong Kong. The company previously operated a pop-up space in LAB CONCEPT last year. In 2012, American Apparel opened stores in Shanghai's Joy City Mall and Beijing's Parkview Green Mall, the latter of which is owned and operated by the Parkview Group headquartered in Hong Kong.

"We're a brand that both locals and expatriates will recognize and relate to, which is rare for a fashion brand. As a city known for its free market capitalism, Hong Kong is a place we've been looking forward to operating in; in addition to this we're constructing a branding and expansion strategy for Southeast Asia, which is both thrilling and humbling considering that many retailers manufacture their garments in this area of the world," Johnson said.

"2013 will be an incredibly exciting year for LAB CONCEPT. With the revamp of the fashion space in spring, quickly followed by our second anniversary in September, we are aiming to bring in more unique offerings for fashion as well as cosmetics to our 64,000 square foot space, providing the contemporary lifestyle experiences to our growing customer base," Tan said.

The Netherlands is a highly attractive market for the delivery of internet services in Europe due to the success of the AMS-IX exchange, one of the largest data transport hubs in the world, with over 70 connected carriers and the fastest broadband speeds in Europe. Additionally, the regulatory environment is highly favourable with regards data storage and the energy network is one of the most reliable in Europe. As a result of the logistical infrastructure and the country’s central location, it is  estimated that a third of the data centres in Europe are located within the Netherlands.

IT-Eternity deploys its services through a sophisticated flexible cloud server infrastructure and dedicated high-end servers, which are housed in state-of-the-art data centre facilities. The company serves a diverse and growing customer base of over 40,000 customers, including a significant amount of cloud and managed services customers, primarily in the SME market. Expansion capital will be provided through a combination of equity, from GMT, VSS and management, who have acquired the majority shareholding from Nedvest Capital, in addition to debt financing from ING and ABN-AMRO.

Stefan Franssen, Partner at GMT, who will join the Board of the Company following the transaction, said: “This is a fantastic opportunity to acquire a fast-growing business in an attractive niche of the IT industry. The management team at IT-Ernity has done a superb job in recent years, building the company through a string of acquisitions, and we look forward to helping them deliver on their ambitious expansion plans in the coming years.”

Morgan Callagy, Managing Director at VSS, who will join the Board of the Company following the transaction, said: “The success of Sebastiaan de Koning and his team at IT-Ernity speaks for itself, and it is a privilege to be joining forces with them. Since its foundation in 2002, IT-Ernity has delivered excellent growth, driven by strong market fundamentals and an attractive regulatory landscape, and we expect this new partnership tocontinue to take advantage of these market conditions in the coming years.”

Sebastiaan De Koning, Managing Director of IT-Eternity commented: “This investment will give us the financial and strategic resources we require to take IT-Ernity to the next stage of its development. We have been fortunate over the past 11 years to have established a team of committed and highly skilled individuals, and I look forward to building on our successes to date alongside GMT and VSS.” 

Rakuten Play.com’s busy marketplace, which has categories including music, DVDs, clothing, sports and outdoor, electronics and toys, has more than 15 million users. The integration will enable retailers to take advantage of this channel and maximise the sales opportunities by using ChannelAdvisor’s solutions. 

 Link Walls, vice president of product management at ChannelAdvisor, commented: “Marketplaces provide retailers with the opportunity to promote and sell their products to a wider audience than they could reach directly. Our marketplace solutionprovides the flexibility to automate, optimise and expand merchandise sales, allowing retailers to maximise revenue opportunities and streamline inventory management. The partnership with Rakuten Play.com strengthens our already comprehensive marketplace portfolio and provides retailers with an even greater breadth of channels through which to sell their goods.”

 By setting up a single inventory data feed, ChannelAdvisor customers can list and advertise products more efficiently across multiple online channels. This will save time and hassle. As well as providing better management of multiple e-commerce channels, Rakuten Play.com sellers will also be able to maintain real-time visibility into their stock levels, pricing and sales.

 “We are excited to announce Rakuten Play.com as a partner and are really looking forward to working together,” continued Walls. “By offering this new marketplace we are continuing to help businesses connect to new customers and new sources of demand – which is essential for growth.”

This partnership is the latest move by ChannelAdvisor to help retailers worldwide sell more successfully across hundreds of online channels including Amazon, eBay and Google.

The WeSC apps are designed to help the global brand stay close to customers even as it expands the business from its Swedish roots, further into Europe, the US, South America and beyond, said the company is a press statement. The apps are packed with high quality visuals, including videos and still photography and are fully interactive. They also offer powerful, easy to use e-commerce functionality - readers simply tap the images of featured WeSC clothing and accessories to purchase items direct from WeSC.com – as well as other features such as City Guides, videos, music, articles and more. Social-ready, WeSC editions for iPad and iPhone include built in sharing via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other popular networks built in.

The apps and the issues in it were created at Mag+ Studios, a service to help clients create mobile applications. They reflect a growing trend for brands – not just traditional publishers – to engage far more fully with customers, via the medium of the app.
  
Both apps were made at Mag+ Studios, using the Mag+ digital publishing platform. The iPad version also uses the platform’s Overlay Layer feature (available soon in Mag+’s coming 4.2 release). This provides a layer of content that sits above the other pages as they swipe beneath it. Here, it acts as a navigation layer, providing a permanent menu for jumping around the issue.
 
“Our brand is created by, with and for people who make music, art, skateboard, create things, and we like to share their stories as well as our own. This is what makes a brand – it’s what makes WeSC what it is today. The Superlative Conspiracy Magazine is our way of gathering all the creativity and people who inspire us all in one place - and telling their stories. This is what the app is all about: sharing the stories further on a new digital platform, something we are very excited about,” says Greger Hagelin – CEO and Co-Founder of WeSC.

“This app is an exciting example of what’s happening as the custom content sector takes off,” says Gregg Hano, Mag+ CEO. “Apps are coming from previously unexpected places – arts venues, museums, conferences, film and music – anywhere that quality creative content, easily delivered, can help existing and new audiences engage with the brands they love. When brands that keep well ahead of the status quo like WeSC take up Mag+, digital publishing’s future is right on the horizon.”