Welcome to the Touchretail Press Room & Blog
Use our Press Room area to obtain information on our latest products and developments. Datasheets, manuals, user guides and software release notes can all be found in this section under the Press Room sub-menu on the right.
Our blog, shown below, is a place for articles that don’t belong in our main ‘News’ section but are things we still want you to know about. A variety of topics will be covered in our Blog from developments to recommendations so check back regularly to read our latest posts from the team at Touchretail.
An interview with DesignerClothing.com
As DesignerClothing.com goes live this week, Touchretail talks with Director Richard Bendelow to find out more about the site that’s set to revolutionise the online fashion market for both merchants and consumers.
Tell us a little about DesignerClothing.com - what is it and how does it work?
DesignerClothing.com is a consumer-driven site that brings together the latest menswear, womenswear and childrenswear collections from hundreds of leading online designer boutiques, all onto one site. We work directly with designer clothing retailers that have online stores and feature their ranges on our site to help them increase their sales and customers. Although DesignerClothing.com has just launched as a Beta version, we’ve already got over 1,500 brands featured and tens of thousands of products from lots of great stores including Triads, The Menswear Site, and Jules B.
What makes DesignerClothing.com different from fashion portals?
DesignerClothing.com is truly consumer focused – a lot of portals merely offer a fairly static medium through which merchants can advertise their wares, with no thought given to creating real customer appeal and functionality. Our site has been created with the shopper in mind from the very outset, which is why we have unique features such as the option for visitors to profile themselves – this enables them to tailor the clothing, shoes and accessories they see on DesignerClothing.com based on their personal sizes and brand preferences. Ultimately, this results in a much better, streamlined service for the customer, which in turn means greater conversions.
How can merchants get involved?
We’re working with around 100 merchants at the moment as we chose to limit the numbers for the pre-launch period, however now we’re live we’d encourage anyone who fits the bill to get in touch and find out more about our merchant programme.
We’ve had an incredibly positive reception from the fashion industry, as a lot of online retailers recognise the value of DesignerClothing.com as a risk-free route to market, which is especially relevant in the current economic climate. The success of DesignerClothing.com is parallel to that of the retailers it features, and so we’re committed to offering an even and fair service to all those we’re working with, large or small.
The online fashion industry is one of few enjoying continued growth, and so being on board DesignerClothing.com can help retailers make the most of the positive trend by being part of something bigger – it also helps that the site itself is very strong in terms of both design and function, which instils confidence in both merchants and shoppers alike.
What do you think will prove to be crucial to DesignerClothing.com’s success?
The functionality of the site is incredibly important, as above all, it needs to work in a way that meets consumer needs. The site has been designed and developed by Visualsoft – the award-winning e-commerce company that I founded in 1998 with Dean Benson – and is the culmination of a lot of hard work, but we’ll be continuously improving and adapting it to ensure that we keep on top of what both merchants and shoppers want from DesignerClothing.com. Our integrity is also hugely important – DesignerClothing.com is committed to offering the best products from the best merchants and the best brands, and this has to be reflected in all that we do. This doesn’t mean that the site is elitist (far from it, we’re aiming to cater for varied markets and budgets), but it does mean that we won’t compromise our own brand or that of the merchants that are on board with us.
What level of growth are you anticipating?
Within the next six weeks alone, we’re on target to feature over 100,000 products on DesignerClothing.com across menswear, womenswear and childrenswear, and the site has been developed to accommodate even more, so the sky’s the limit - watch this space!
We wish Rich and Dean the greatest success in their new venture. For more information visit DesignerClothing.com
:: by Stu
:: Posted 16/09/2009
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Keeping up with the Jones'
After a good quality but not expensive makeover of the store interior and exterior, and a shake-up of suppliers, Jones & Robinson (owners of Robinsons of Bawtry) have been quick to enhance their instore IT and are now looking at other marketing strategies such as Facebook and texting.
Having opened the re-fitted store in April 2009 with Touchretail’s Rapidstock and EPOS terminals, Robinsons have been quick to enhance their system to maximise both supplier information and customer knowledge. Within the space of three months, Jones & Robinson have undertaken these system enhancements:
- Hosted service
- Thermal ticket printer
- Touch screen wireless stocktake terminal
- Online Postcode software module
It is no coincidence that Jones & Robinson are showing double digit growth in year-on-year sales over the business they acquired. But the journey is far from complete – Jones & Robinson already have plans for a transactional website, Gift Cards and a Loyalty Card system, and are looking to Touchretail for implementation services on all of these.
It’s fantastic to be involved with retailers who buck the trend in these difficult times, and prove that it is possible to increase revenues, profit and customer uptake through targeted investment, dedication to customer service and a real drive to enhance their business profile.
Russell Jones, joint owner of Robinsons of Bawtry, told me: ‘It’s not just about Robinsons, it’s about publicising Bawtry as a destination venue – we’ve got a fantastic selection of things to do and it’s a great place to visit.’
One of Robinson’s most effective marketing methods has been the use of texting. They recently sent out 250 texts promoting special offers and had 13 responses, all of whom spent money at the store. At 4p a text the maths is easy – a return in four figures for an investment of £10.
I’ll be keeping an interest in Robinsons’ activity, as they are a great example of really making the most of resources, ideas and technology to promote their business. Watch this space…
:: by David
:: Posted 19/07/2009
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Department store sites get Spring sales traffic boost
Having just returned from the AIS (Associated Independent Stores) annual conference yesterday, it was interesting to talk to several stores that were contemplating the possibility of investing in their online presence, and all that goes with maintaining that presence.
It was therefore timely to read today the following article in the online version of Internet Retailing magazine.
‘Internet Retailing’ magazine April 28 2009
(article by Sarah Clark, web editor)
Department store sites get Spring sales traffic boost
A custom category made up of traditional high street department store websites saw a traffic gain of 21% in the week ending 28th March, although overall Shopping and Classifieds sites saw a rise of only 0.9%, says Hitwise.
Department stores were the main beneficiaries online of the Spring sales, according to Hitwise. While UK internet visits to the Hitwise Shopping and Classifieds parent category increased by just 0.9% for the week ending March 28, a custom category of 'traditional' high street department store websites (including websites such as John Lewis, Debenhams and Littlewoods) experienced a 21% increase.
Argos remains the most popular high street retailer online, and Debenhams saw the largest increase in visits (45.3%). Other notable gainers included Next (40.2%), Marks & Spencer (30.7%), and Littlewoods (18.7%).
'Next sale' was the most popular of all the 96,000 terms containing the word 'sale' that were searched for in the UK. Over the two weeks up to March 28, UK internet searches for 'next sale' increased 12-fold, while the terms 'marks and spencer sale' and 'debenhams sale' also experienced significant increases. Searches for the basic term 'sales' also doubled, with Littlewoods and Debenhams picking up the most traffic. But whilst Littlewoods paid for most of its traffic from the term, Debenhams relied exclusively on organic traffic.
Although the Department Stores quoted are all nationally recognised ‘high street’ names, the data does demonstrate that online purchasing from Department Store format websites is on the increase – even if for Sale Goods. It also demonstrates the importance of using the right key words and search terms at the right time.
Critics may point out that firstly it is not clear from the article against what basis the gain is measured (previous week or previous year), and secondly that the 21% increase refers to website visits, not sales. It is however the function of a good transactional website to convert the highest possible number of visits to sales (this can be monitored as Conversion Ratio under Google Analytics Goals).
It is no co-incidence that those retailers with established websites are taking the lion’s share of internet sales, but this is not a reason to delay your own decision further. Many of our independent fashion retail customers are already showing healthy year on year internet sales growth – even in the current general downturn. And the fastest growth area of our own business is the implementation of integrated e-commerce, back office and EPOS systems – Stu or I will be happy to talk to you about our experience with other retailers and what we’ve found works best.
:: by David
:: Posted 28/04/2009
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Stock Control using your Apple Mac?
Current Mac systems are mainly targeted at the home, education, and creative professional markets. Mac’s are the system of choice for many web developers and graphic artists, and certainly have a ‘cooler’ edge to them than PC’s. With more companies taking their businesses online through transactional websites with image editing in-house, it’s becoming more common to see Mac’s appearing in the retail work place. With the infamous iPod and more recently the iPhone, the style conscious Apple generation is more likely to buy a Mac for personal use than a PC.
Apple’s share of the market place in the retail sector is not large enough for Touchretail to warrant writing software specifically for the platform itself. However, using the latest technologies we at Touchretail have developed a solution enabling you to use an Apple Mac to run our products.
Apple Mac stock control is possible when using our Hosted system model. Using your Mac and an internet connect you can run Rapidstock and other Touchretail products simply by installing Microsoft’s Remote Desktop Connection Client for Mac.
Before you all run out and buy an Apple Mac, a few things to keep in mind: To use a Mac for stock control you must use the Touchretail Hosted system. Using a Mac may limit your label printing options, you really also need access to a PC for the best possible results. We don’t use Mac’s ourselves so we can’t support the Mac operating system or hardware. Any questions you have regarding your Mac, we most probably won’t be able to answer. But, if you simply must have a Mac, or you already have a Mac in the work place then Touchretail can offer a solution to meet your Mac stock control requirements.
Find out more about:
- Hosted system required for Mac use
- Microsoft Remote Desktop Client for Mac
:: by Stu
:: Posted 27/04/2009
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An interview with TheMenswearSite.com
Established in 1987, ‘South Central Clothing Ltd’ are one of the South of England’s leading independent designer menswear retailers. Three distinctly individual stores and a transactional website offer a wide selection of brands encompassing a range of today's popular fashion genres.
Oli Willis, Director of e-Commerce, took a few minutes out of his hectic schedule to talk shop with Touchretail.
How are you coping in the current retail climate?
We've seen steady growth thanks to prudent investment in both our front end and back end applications. This has lead to increased efficiency in our operations, and in turn further improved our service to our customers.
Are you optimistic about the future?
Our approach to customer service, product offering and continued development has yielded consistently strong results. I'm sure this will continue to be the case.
How long have you been trading online?
Since mid 2005, so approaching 4 years.
What noticeable differences do you find between online shoppers and store shoppers?
Online shoppers don't want to hunt for something to spend their hard earned money on. If you aren't presenting them with the right product, or at least access to the right product they won't find it. Store shoppers love to browse, maybe don't know specifically what they want and are more influenced by in store advertising, layout and brands.
Describe your average customer?
Aged 18-35 and fashion conscious. It may be surprising that around 50% of our customers are female, often buying a gift for their partners.
Best online seller?
Diesel and Lacoste are the top brands for units and revenue respectively.
Best Seller this month is a black Gio Goi Bond Wallet
Best seller in store?
Lacoste trainers, Diesel Jeans, Lacoste polo shirts. Overall top sellers are Salt and Pepper
Plimsoles, black and white ones.
What percentage of your current trade is online?
30%
This time last year?
15%
What do you put this growth down to?
Primarily our redesigned website, but also a lot of hard work!
Has the growth of your website forced any changes to the way in which you run your business?
We've had a dedicated dispatch area built, have vastly improved our stock control with daily stock checks which our EPOS system has contributed greatly to. We have taken on additional staff to maintain an efficient operating environment. Also the buying is progressing, buying more 'experimental' brands primarily for online sale that don't necessarily fit our store's typical customer.
Not ones to stand still, what projects do you have on at the moment?
We are currently implementing new accessibility and incentive features on the site. We have a new voucher system and regular competitions section. Other new features include a new image zoom, quick buy feature, recently viewed products, back in stock email notifications, named day delivery, postcode lookup and an introduce a friend scheme.
And in the pipeline?
We'll be continuing how we started - focusing on customer service, improving product offering, increasing customer engagement and continuing development. There may also be an entirely independent product offering in the near future....
You can see more of South Central Clothing at TheMenswearSite
:: by Stu
:: Posted 23/04/2009
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Thermal printing, it's worth considering.
Over the last few months a large number of Thermal printers have passed through our offices with many of our customers choosing dedicated printing solutions for garment labels and tags. I highly recommend thermal printing over standard A4 printing. Here are my main reasons why...
Thermal printers have one purpose in life and that is to continuously print reams of labels perfectly aligned and of the highest quality. A Thermal printer does not try to be a Fax, Scanner or photocopier, therefore does not contain the complicated mechanisms found in A4 printers used to achieve this. A thermal printer is built to do one thing and it does it well.
The internals of the Thermal Printer are sparse, there isn’t much to them which means there isn’t much to go wrong with them. Loading labels is a simple task even if using a variety of label sizes. Wastage is low and the print mechanism is accurate thus removing a far too common printing issue with A4 printers where tickets print unaligned and therefore fail to scan.
To add to that, thermal transfer printers print high density bar codes which consist of carbon pigment inks that facilitate infrared scanning and do not lose colour. Another bonus is that Thermal consumables are often much cheaper than A4 consumables. We provide a custom label design service at Touchretail where we can design your ticket to your specification.
From years of experience with printers, I’m very pro-thermal!
:: by Stu
:: Posted 22/04/2009
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What's all this twittering?
You may already be using Twitter, if not you’ve most probably heard about it in the media. It’s the latest trend (or fad) in the Social Networking scene, known as ‘micro blogging’ and it’s causing quite a stir. So what is Twitter?
Twitter is a platform to publish short messages, each less than 140 characters long. People who have chosen to follow your twitter will receive the message through the web or by twitter applications for mobile phones and PDA’s. For businesses, Twitter is another channel which connects current and potential customers with your product or brand. Twitter can be used for Marketing, Brand Building and Self Promotion. It’s a way of informing the general public of new stock you have just received, events and promotions you are running, or simply expressing yourself. Twitter can be a way of keeping in tune with your audience and the topics they are currently discussing.
So is Twitter worth me investigating? I have tried it, and it doesn’t work for me. It doesn’t suit our product set. But that’s not to say it won’t work for you. For many of our customers, Fashion stores in particular, I feel it could be used as a successful marketing tool. Twitter is a free service and you can find out more at www.twitter.com. If you are using Twitter, let me know how effective it is for you.
:: by Stu
:: Posted 21/04/2009
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