Summit Street Survey #6 | Why do you abandon your online shopping basket?

Mike Jeffreys — Fri, 24 May 2013 11:13:21 +0000

Three quarters of online shopping carts are abandoned before a purchase is made, according to Listrak’s Shopping Cart Abandonment index. This is ripe territory for marketers to find new ways of retaining shoppers. So, in this week’s Summit Street Survey, we ask shoppers: Why do you abandon your online shopping basket?

Google Penguin 2.0 is live. Keep calm and create good content

Renee.Joyce — Thu, 23 May 2013 14:51:48 +0000

Quality and relevant content will be key to avoiding any negative impacts from Penguin 2.0

The 2013 day of reckoning for SEO has arrived! Overnight Matt Cutts, Google’s head of webspam, announced the release of Google Penguin 2.0. It is the latest and biggest update to Google’s spam-fighting algorithm since its initial roll out in April 2012, and from Google’s own estimates it is expected to affect 2.3% of English Language search queries.

The message is clear from Google, and in their words great content…”makes sites faster, which is good for both users and search engines” and “greater awareness of that site on the web, which can translate into more people linking to or visiting a site.”

The first iteration of Penguin was 2012’s most prominent change to their natural search algorithm, impacting 3.1% of search queries. Amongst other changes to tackle webspam, Penguin 1.0 impacted blackhat SEO tactics such as keyword stuffing both on site & within backlinks, low quality article marketing, and aggressive usage of exact match anchor texts.

Google’s motivation for Penguin 2.0 is no different from previous updates. The ultimate goal is to ensure that Google users find the best and most relevant sites quickly and easily. We’re currently analysing the of the impact of the update for our clients and will share these findings and our recommendations via our blog and Retail insights channel on YouTube within the next week.

Gavin Smith
Head of SEO
Gavin.Smith@summitmedia.com

Summit Street Survey #5 | How do you feel when you’re shopping online?

Mike Jeffreys — Fri, 17 May 2013 16:02:15 +0000

A survey of online shoppers suggests 77% of us feel pressure to keep shopping and find the best deal. And just 37% of those questioned said they enjoy it. So Sam Thom is once again back on the streets getting the opinions of shoppers on the street. This week he’s asking people how they feel when they’re shopping online?

eCommerce Project Manager

kirsty.newton — Wed, 15 May 2013 13:08:15 +0000

We are looking for an eCommerce Project Manager to lead the project teams in delivering Summit’s technology solutions to internal and external clients according to their expectations and business needs.

You will be a team leader and team player with a strong focus on achieving team goals and delivering quality projects. Demonstrating a strong commercial awareness, you will have the equivalent of 3+ years’ experience in IT project management, preferably in managing ecommerce projects.

The Role	The Person	Qualifications/Knowledge/Experience
Planning projects, involving multiple groups and schedules	Team player	Degree level
Managing scope, time frames, quality, costs, risks and results	Responsible	PM methodology – Waterfall (PM1 or PRINCE2) and Agile
Facilitating all communications/collaborations with teams and clients	Analytical	Project planning
Distributing tasks and responsibilities and coordinating performance assessment processes	Reliable	Resource planning and management
Managing change to priorities, constraints and requirements	Consistent	Scope and change management
Tracking and managing sequences of work and internal/external interdependencies	Great people skills	Project reporting and metrics
Participating in process improvement program	Really driven	Manage multiple projects
	Self-motivated	Manage an ecommerce team
		Manage an ecommerce project
		Work with geographically distributed resources and outsourcing partners

Salary up to £60k

Drapers Etail Report 2013

Mike Jeffreys — Wed, 15 May 2013 09:08:27 +0000

Packed full of insights for retailers, sponsor Summit believes it is essential that retailers stay constantly informed and engaged with their customers as they embrace digital shopping.

To download the report please click here

Fashion industry experts discuss the Drapers Etail Report 2013

To discuss the report eCommerce fashion experts from the likes of Topshop, Joules, Wallis, Shop Direct and House of Fraser, gathered at a roundtable breakfast, held at The Groucho Club in Soho. Topics ranged from how customers browse and shop online to the uptake and development of mobile and tablet devices.

Find out what the lead retailers are doing to address the needs of the online customer and watch Summit’s exclusive interviews with James Davey, Director of Direct, Joules, Julie Walker, Head of Online Trading, Phase Eight, Martin Francis, Head of Online Trading, House of Fraser and Aalish Yorke-Long, Head of eCommerce, Sweaty Betty.

James Davey, Joules Martin Francis, House of Fraser

Rob Feldman, BrandAlley Kelly Murphy, Wallis

Julie Walker, Phase Eight Aalish Yorke-Long, Sweaty Betty

David Brooks, Drapers and Retail Week

Junior Website UX Executive

kirsty.newton — Tue, 14 May 2013 13:53:01 +0000

We are looking for a Junior Website UX (User Experience) Executive. You will be responsible for ensuring that outputs from the e-commerce and creative teams are aligned with: conversion best-practice, encompassing site analytics, web usability and website optimisation. Main duties involve analysis of website analytics resulting in giving actionable recommendations to clients to improve performance.

The Role	The Person	Qualifications/Knowledge/Experience
Analysis of web analytics data	Excellent communication skills	Degree level
Interpretation of analytics data into client-focused recommendations	Strong time management skills	Knowledge or experience of consumer behaviour
Ownership of the process for setting up relevant tools on client websites	Analytical	MS Excel knowledge
Ensuring conversion strategies stay current in context of marketplace	Highly motivated	eCommerce knowledge desirable
Training client / marketing team on relevant tools	Proactive approach	Agency experience desirable
Carrying out usability studies and analysis	Tenacious problem solver
Managing MVT projects	Hardworking
Presenting results of projects to clients with recommendations	Relationship builder
Writing reports with project results and recommendations	Happy to work on own initiative
Keeping up to date with developments in appropriate tools
Managing relationships with tool providers
Advising clients on relevant tool functionality and selection
Obtaining relevant accreditations to support business development activity
Ad-hoc client projects

Salary £16k

Lead Digital Designer

kirsty.newton — Mon, 13 May 2013 15:48:57 +0000

In order to be recognised as the ‘first choice’ agency for international retail brands, we are building a world class digital creative team to work across multiple devices and platforms. Designers who will be inspirational in revolutionising the way we shop.

We’re looking for a talented Lead Digital Designer who will help us achieve our plans. A creative lead with a hands-on approach to delivering exciting creative solutions for household names in retail.

The Role	The Person	Qualifications/Knowledge/Experience
Designing performance based ecommerce websites	A resourceful self-starter	Degree level
Designing the most effective landing pages	Passionate, talented and motivated with a can do attitude	Have full working knowledge for the Adobe suite – especially Photoshop and Illustrator
Developing the client strategy	Have good communication skills, both written and verbal	Knowledge of website design best practices
Assisting in the development of design best practice for Summit	Happy running own projects	Understanding of MVT, the IA process and a thorough appreciation of website accessibility standards
Working in tandem with the UX team to create successful websites	Relationship builder	Designing ecommerce websites and performance-based web pages
Designing pages to be used for Split, A / B and Multivariate Testing	Show potential for great things	Juggling projects and demonstrating exceptional attention to detail
	Friendly and display well founded confidence	Balancing creative and functional design tasks
		Ideally retail experience

Salary up to £45k

Data Analyst

kirsty.newton — Mon, 13 May 2013 11:18:42 +0000

This is an exciting opportunity in an area which is dynamic and with high value and considerable potential. It will suit someone wishing to pursue a career in statistics, analytics and market research in a vibrant company with UK-leading prospects in statistical management of digital commerce.

You will join a current Insight team comprising three statisticians, (at PhD level) and other staff with more client-facing roles. There is an existing strong link with Durham University providing advice and advanced technical input from a senior statistician.

The role offers an exciting opportunity to analyse and interrogate client data to understand customer behaviour and impact on strategic decisions for Summit Media’s clients. This will include the following:

The Role	The Person	Qualifications/Knowledge/Experience
To interrogate data by helping with analytical projects that involve large and complex data sets	Excellent communication and interpersonal skills (actively listens and adapts communication style to the audience)	Degree in Statistics or Maths with a high proportion of statistics modules
Helping to identify commercial opportunities through analysis and exploitation of data	Proactive approach to work and learning	Microsoft Office/Excel and developing and querying databases
To assist in the delivery of projects within Summit Media’s Insight team	Numerate, with very strong analytical and IT skills	Project management skills
To work with appropriate teams to develop actionable insights, ensure smooth communication and effective outputs from projects	Analytical mind	Equivalent to one year’s experience in a data analysis role
Gathering and formatting data for projects	Process orientated	Retail/online experience (theoretical/practical) is desirable
Ensure insight from projects is proactively shared with others internally	Attention to detail	Experience of statistical modelling and programming using a package such as R desirable
Train internal staff and clients to use reporting systems/templates	Creative problem-solver
To build effective relationships with other members of the Insights and Client Management team	Strong written, verbal and presentation skills
	Supportive and approachable, responding flexibly to new challenges

Salary £18 – £25k

Retail Insight

Mike Jeffreys — Mon, 13 May 2013 11:05:49 +0000

Drapers Etail Report 2013 – Sponsored by Summit

Being at the forefront of retail insight is critical at Summit and therefore it was a natural step for us to collaborate with the leading fashion publication Drapers to deliver their annual shopper behaviour report.

The report, based on a survey of fashion shoppers across the UK, provides a variety of insights that demonstrate how much shopping behaviour has and hasn’t changed.

For example it clearly demonstrates the swift uptake of browsing and researching via mobile devices and provides a snap shot of a market place that sees consumers integrating shopping into their lifestyle. Be it lengthy browsing sessions from a desktop, to quick product searches from their mobiles; customers are finding it increasingly easier to browse and shop online than in store.

If you’re a fashion retailer this is a must read to help guide and support your strategy for 2013 and into 2014.

If you’d like to know more about Summit’s retail consultancy or any of our services we’d love to hear from you. Contact Renee Joyce on or renee.joyce@summitmedia.com.

Download the report here

Drapers Etail Report 2013 Roundtable

Together with Drapers we gathered eCommerce fashion directors from the likes of Topshop, French Connection, Wallis, Shop Direct, and House of Fraser, to delve deeper into the findings of the report. Held at The Groucho Club in Soho, the experts discussed how customers browse and shop online, the uptake and development of mobile and tablet devices, and the importance of a sound supply chain to offer a strong, competitive and consistent fulfilment service. Find out what was discussed and how the leading retailers are tackling the key multichannel issues with our exclusive interviews with James Davey, Director of Direct, Joules, Julie Walker, Head of Online Trading, Phase Eight, Martin Francis, Head of Online Trading, House of Fraser and Aalish Yorke-Long, Head of eCommerce, Sweaty Betty.

James Davey, Joules Martin Francis, House of Fraser

Rob Feldman, BrandAlley Kelly Murphy, Wallis

Julie Walker, Phase Eight Aalish Yorke-Long, Sweaty Betty

David Brooks, Drapers and Retail Week

2013 Etail Report – Insights into shopping behaviour

Mike Jeffreys — Mon, 13 May 2013 10:28:00 +0000

Published today and sponsored by Summit, the 2013 Drapers Etail Report takes a snap shot of customers who are in perpetual motion as they adapt to the multichannel shopping environment.

Drapers Etail Report 2013

Packed full of insights for retailers, sponsor Summit believes it is essential that retailers stay constantly informed and engaged with their customers as they embrace digital shopping.

To download the report please click here

Fashion industry experts discuss the Drapers Etail Report 2013

James Davey, Joules Martin Francis, House of Fraser

Rob Feldman, BrandAlley Kelly Murphy, Wallis

Julie Walker, Phase Eight Aalish Yorke-Long, Sweatty Betty

David Brooks, Drapers and Retail Week