Ecomm Excellence Study USA 2016

INSIGHT
Unique visual
reporting and analysis
INTEGRATED
Unsurpassed
retailer coverage
INSTANT
Automated price
and promotion alerts
Ecommerce Excellence Study
USA: CE & GM 2016
INSIGHT
Unique visual
reporting and analysis
INTEGRATED
Unsurpassed
retailer coverage
INSTANT
Automated price
and promotion alerts
A Brand View Study

Contents
3
Ecommerce Excellence Study USA: CE & GM 2016
Foreword....................................................................................................... 4
Section 1: The shopper experience.......................................................... 5
Are shoppers’ content requirements channel agnostic?............................................6
Purchase and payment.......................................................................................................7
Content is king.......................................................................................................................8
Section 2: Ways of Working – Supplier/Retailer relationships...........11
Resourcing ecommerce................................................................................................... 12
Collaborative ways of working........................................................................................ 13
Major nationals versus independent retailers – the “significant tail”?.................. 14
Managing relationships.................................................................................................... 16
Price management............................................................................................................ 17
Profitability of omnichannel............................................................................................ 18
Section 3: Content – Requirements, Challenges & Opportunities....20
Independents “behind the times”.................................................................................. 21
Content management systems...................................................................................... 22
Getting the basics right.................................................................................................... 24
Rich content........................................................................................................................ 25
Optimum content by category....................................................................................... 26
Optimizing content for mobile....................................................................................... 27
Summary.....................................................................................................28
Study Participants......................................................................................29
2

54
Ecommerce is recognized for its ability to
allow businesses to communicate and to
form transactions anytime and any place.
Whether an individual is in the US or
overseas, business can be conducted through
the Internet. The power of ecommerce allows
geophysical barriers to disappear, making all
consumers and businesses, globally, potential
customers and suppliers.
To be successful today, a retailer must
embrace ecommerce not as a stand-alone
part of its business, but it must be woven
into the very being of that retailer’s existence.
Ecommerce needs to be part of the total
selling experience, which means to seamlessly
integrate it with the in-store experience for
the customer.
In many ways, ecommerce offers a more
informative shopping experience than bricks
and mortar. There is no limit to the amount
of product information the Internet can offer
and retailers need to realize that there is no
such thing as information overload when it
comes to big-ticket purchases. Vendors who
produce the products are happy to share
product-related content with retailers, but it
is essential that information is presented in a
simple, easy-to-read informative format.
The new reality is: there is very little difference
between ecommerce and commerce.
The walls between bricks and mortar and
online shopping have crumbled and if
you consider your business a bricks and
mortar store or an online-only store, you
are eliminating a significant portion of your
potential customers.
Look at Best Buy for example. When
addressing the issues surrounding
“Showrooming” (looking in-store and
purchasing elsewhere online) it’s CEO, Hubert
Joly, told the press, “the strategy is very simple
. . . we believe that price-competitiveness
is table stakes. The way we want to win is
around the advice, convenience and service.”
In retail speak, Joly was essentially saying that
to survive, Best Buy had to beat Amazon
and Walmart in customer engagement.
He realized the importance of information
and part of his initiative was a total rehaul
of Bestbuy.com. More product specs were
included with listings, as were more photos.
Links to vendor-produced videos began being
included. Consumer product reviews were
moved to a more prominent position.
Just as it took two decades to change the
habits of shoppers and how they shop, we
are now faced with the same paradigm
in how we pay. The importance of the
smartphone in people’s lives is obvious. We
have become adept at communicating online,
searching for things online, researching
reviews online, almost entirely with a click or
two. But spending money online has been
clunky at best.
Despite the rapid growth of ecommerce,
there is still a significant percentage of the
population, estimated to be between one-
third to one-half of all shoppers, according
to various research groups, who are
uncomfortable entering payment information
on the Internet, or, just don’t want to bother
with the hassle of entering their information.
That shouldn’t come as a surprise as
the news is dominated by data breaches,
hackers stealing personal info and fraud.
Identity protection has become a
multi-billion dollar business. If there
is one obstacle to the rest of the population
accepting ecommerce as its primary shopping
method, it’s the payment dilemma.
And now along comes mcommerce.
Mobile payment technology is the next step
in the growth of ecommerce. While Apple Pay
and Android Pay have been slow to catch on
at bricks and mortar stores, primarily because
smaller retailers have been reluctant to
upgrade their payment capturing equipment,
etailers are primed to benefit.
Mcommerce offers a higher degree of
security than using a physical credit/debit
card, and the time is right for retailers to
embrace the technology. Online use of
payment systems adds a layer of encryption
that can foil all but the most advanced
hackers. And the convenience of tapping a
screen to send a payment rather than typing
out credit/debit card numbers and expiration
dates is an obvious benefit to the consumer.
Ecommerce IS commerce.
Happy shopping!
Foreword
Ecommerce IS commerce
ED HECHT
VP/Publisher, TWICE
“The power of ecommerce allows geophysical barriers
to disappear, making all consumers and businesses,
globally, potential customers and suppliers.
Section 1: The shopper experience
The shopper journey starts online for
well over 80 percent of purchases of
General Merchandise and Electrical
products. Online product research used
to be confined to a desktop computer
or laptop. Shoppers now enjoy the
freedom of using multiple devices,
whenever and wherever they like. The
bias is now heavily weighted towards cell
phones and tablets, which provide the
shopper with multiple touch points and
multiple paths to purchase, all of which
must be quick and easy to use. One
retailer interviewed as part of this Study
remarked that “the retailer is literally in
the hands of the shopper”.
For companies that own or supply
bricks and mortar stores, adopting an
omnichannel business approach is
widely recognized as the key strategy
to meet the demands of today’s
shopper and maintain a profit. The
challenge is the speed required to
organize the resources to provide an
informative, seamless and frictionless
shopper journey.
Retailer
“Around a third of humanity is now officially online and more mobile than ever before
– when organizations start announcing that more of us now own a cell phone than a
toothbrush, you know something is going on.
Webs of Influence: The Psychology of Online Persuasion

76
SECTION 1: THE SHOPPER EXPERIENCE
Are shoppers’ content requirements channel agnostic?
Many retailers are looking to replicate the
rich content and experience of shopping in-
store, online. The majority of manufacturers
are taking an agnostic channel view.
More and more, the buying process
starts online – often with Google or
Amazon. Dependent on the product and
the category, the shopper can then visit
the manufacturer’s own site and then,
somewhere in the middle, in parallel, there
could be any number of offline, physical
and in-store touch points. Price comparison
then typically follows. Increasingly common
is browsing online prices while in-store with
a mobile device – showrooming. However,
webrooming or reverse showrooming is
also on the rise – looking up products
online, but then choosing to buy them in
a physical store.
The tipping point from browsing to buying
often happens wherever the price-value
equation is the most attractive. Whether
shoppers do it offline or online is less
relevant and therefore further highlights the
importance of an effective cross-channel,
omnichannel strategy and execution.
“Showrooming: the consumer’s ability to use your store
to confirm their purchase before they buy it somewhere
else. And the opposite – reverse showrooming –
educating themselves on the web before purchasing the
item in a bricks and mortar store
RE:THiNK: 11 surprising things you should do now to win retail
customers in the digital age
“We know that when somebody touches our product
and holds it in their hand and uses it (the experience
that they have in-store) that the conversion goes
through the roof. The challenge from a digital
perspective, and from a content and commerce
perspective, is how we translate that online.
Manufacturer
Purchase and payment
In-store technology will continue to shape the future shopper
experience with increasing experimentation with in-store beacons
– utilizing GPS to determine promotions that are relevant to the
shopper dependent on the aisle they are in and duration at any
one fixture.
Increasingly, retailers are looking to beacons to enhance the in-store
shopping experience while simultaneously bridging their physical
and online experiences. These Bluetooth-enabled devices are being
installed in stores across the country, but despite the deluge of
media and retailer interest, beacons are still in their infancy – and
there’s no data yet showing they make a substantive difference on
in-store sales.
That said, the ability to upsell relevant accessories and additional,
related items to the shopper is proven online and it is easy to
understand why some retailers are looking to replicate the same
strategy in-store. Making the path to purchase as easy as possible
is obviously advantageous to all involved and suppliers are looking
to partner with retailers that, for example, have made it simple for
shoppers to purchase products on cell phones with ‘the one-click
purchase’ – via an App where registered shoppers’ credit card
information is already stored and the whole transaction takes a
matter of seconds.
One manufacturer said “Target is really pushing this and is possibly
doing the best job of making the user experience seamless. Target
also has a market audience that is more comfortable with an
ecommerce experience than others.” Target’s App is activated as
the shopper enters the store, highlighting promotions and products
that may have gone unnoticed. As a result the retailer has found
that it can gain huge benefits by displaying physically large items, like
outdoor furniture, in-store. This encourages shoppers to purchase
them there and then with the items then shipped to their house
directly, instead of hauling them home.
Target’s App is activated as the shopper enters the store, highlighting
promotions and products that may have gone unnoticed.

8 9
Content is king
A common aim for retailers and suppliers is
to create a shopper experience that is not
entirely focused on price. One online retailer
stated that “we are inspired to build our
shopping experience to be comparable with
a consultative retail floor. We are focusing
on the shopper experience above price as a
driver of sales.”
As part of the path to purchase and decision
to buy, the following analysis is, consciously
or unconsciously, undertaken in the mind
of the shopper: value = benefits - cost.
Shoppers consider more than just the
price of a product – complete, accurate and
compelling content is crucial. They are
willing to pay more for goods if there
are additional benefits clearly explained
and promoted.
In order to convert browsing to buying,
online retailers and suppliers are acutely
aware that online content needs to be rich
and accurate.
Shoppers faced with inconsistent, misleading
or out-of-date content quickly become
confused and frustrated. If they compare
the same brand and product in different
retailers and the content is contradictory,
they can switch to another brand or
abandon the purchase altogether – an
outcome that neither manufacturer nor
retailer wants.
Comprehensive, accurate, A+ product
content can help shape the shopper
decision making process through education,
research, comparison, imagery, videos and
training. This helps move the primary focus
away from price as the main deciding factor
and instead provides a richer experience
for the shopper, enabling them to make
educated purchase decisions that meet
their needs.
Shoppers respond well to full and
comprehensive content. Considering who
your shoppers are should help you define
their needs and inform the decisions as to
what content is required.
Using 360 degree product images and
videos are therefore increasingly important
“80 percent of
respondents in any size,
town, city or metropolis
say that they care about
more than just price
when making
an appliance or
furniture purchase.
RE:THiNK: 11 surprising things
you should do now to win retail
“Product information is a key example where people
tie what they find and experience on the company’s
website to the service and quality they expect to find in
the physical location.
RE:THiNK: 11 surprising things you should do now to
win retail customers in the digital age
Hello
One retailer stated that “we are inspired to build our shopping experience to be comparable
with a consultative shop floor.”
A.RETAILER
When consumers are looking at a site, they’re likely to be
comparing to an average of four to 17 other competitor sites
Complete content and accurate search is required in the
competitive online market
84%
of shoppers care
about more than just
the lowest price
73%
of shoppers expect a site
to support accurate
full-text search
$
B.RETAILER
98%
of shoppers expect retailers
to show comprehensive,
quality product data
Source: RE:THiNK: 11 surprising things you should do now to win retail customers in the digital age

10 11
as retailers and suppliers enhance websites
to promote and highlight all product
features and functionality, i.e. attempting to
better replicate the tangibility of the in-store
shopping experience.
Despite the appetite for and availability
of rich, A+ product content, the shopper
experience is often dictated by the
capabilities of the retailer’s website platform.
Many retailers are now concentrating
efforts on the elements and information
that a shopper needs to make a qualified,
educated purchase. These can range from
delivery options, shipping costs, warranty
agreements, before focusing on the content
enhancements around those products
or categories.
As recently as 18 months ago, some retailers
were operating web platforms that only
allowed for a single image and no video,
as well as a host of other constraints.
New capabilities via SAP Hybris and other
platforms have transformed many retailers’
capabilities, enriched shoppers’ experiences
and in turn increased sales.
Shoppers’ expectations typically drive the
need for technological advancements in
ecommerce and retailers who do not keep
pace with the wants and needs of their
shoppers do so at their peril. Being aware
of the shopper touch points during the
purchase process is essential to influencing
sales: “10 years ago people would ask
their family and friends for a product
recommendation”, said one manufacturer.
“These days, shoppers are far more likely to
trust reviews of unknown customers. User
generated content such as reviews, YouTube
videos and blogging are as important as the
corporate content we produce.”
“I don’t think your average shopper really cares what
the back of their dishwasher looksl ike. It’s going to
be installed underneath the counter and they’re never
going to see the back of it. How important is an image
showing the back on a product detail page? Having
said that, if you’re an installer for an appliance retailer,
it matters because your employees are working to
install the product and they want to see the back of it
for reference. Which side is the water drain hose on?
Which side is the electrical plug on? Those nuances are
very important to the retailer.
Manufacturer
Lowe’s website product listings are enhanced by 360 degree product images and videos.
Section 2: Ways of Working – Supplier/Retailer relationships
““If someone says that was three years ago - that’s like three decades ago
in the ecommerce space.
Identifying best practice in ecommerce collaboration between manufacturers and retailers all depends on the specific companies
in question. The differences in approach, resource, systems and active partnerships between manufacturers and retailers are too
disparate to establish a ‘single truth’. However, despite the lack of a standardized, one size fits all, ‘best practice’ approach, there
are many, quite different, strategies and ways of collaborative working being employed.
Internal ecommerce resourcing and team structures vary considerably from manufacturer to manufacturer. Some manage and
control ecommerce as a separate entity; a bespoke sales channel with its own unique requirements. Others spread ecommerce
responsibilities throughout existing teams, with Account Managers taking a holistic approach and responsible for all retailer
engagement and negotiation, both for bricks and mortar and online.
Some suppliers recognize significant potential by working with independent retailers, while others focus resource and investment
solely on the big, national retailers. Some work collaboratively and proactively with Amazon, whereas others see Amazon as
difficult to work with, “putting their shoppers and themselves ahead of suppliers by a massive margin”.
Manufacturer

1312
Proactive, positive and mutually reciprocal
relationships between Account Managers
at suppliers and Buyers at retailers, can be
extremely advantageous for both parties in
terms of gaining direct access to a retailer’s
Digital Team and its associated time and
resource. Building and developing strong
relationships between manufacturers
and retailers ultimately creates a robust
ecommerce offering and a fast, efficient
and enjoyable experience for the shopper.
That shopper will then become a repeat
customer, a loyal customer and an
advocate of both product and store. A
win-win for both supplier and retailer alike.
According to the conversations Brand
View has had as part of this Study,
the national retailers are slightly more
reluctant in adopting suggestions from
their manufacturer partners in terms of
new and innovative merchandising ideas
on their sites – however, there are some
exceptions. The national retailers are
unlikely to openly invite contribution on
overall strategy from suppliers, however
the mid to small-size retailers are
reportedly more open to collaboration
invariably because they are looking for
ways in which to challenge the big players
and disrupt the market.
However, some suppliers reported
enjoying working with the larger retailers
as “they tend to have top-down strategies
for the way that their pages are going to be
setup”, despite the fact that often “the look
and feel is dictated at a high level, outside
of the suppliers sphere of influence”.
Interestingly, other suppliers explained
that, once a trust-based relationship had
been established, they have successfully
challenged the larger retailers on their
ways of working.
Manufacturers generally welcome any
platform or tool that can help them
standardize their content management
with retailers, some having interesting
examples on the complexities of individual
requests they are asked
to accommodate.
Bespoke requests can often be resource
intensive – one retailer demanded
samples of all products for it to shoot
in a proprietary way. Another retailer
demanded CAD drawings so that they
could create the supplier’s products
digitally and create a rotating 360 degree
digital representation. The repercussions
can be serious, as well as demanding.
These types of request potentially
undermine the standards that a brand
management team wants to uphold –
there were numerous reports of “plenty of
gnashing of teeth!”
Obtaining information from retailers about
optimizing search placement for products
on their sites can also be an arduous task
for suppliers.
One manufacturer suggested that rather
than ask their retail partner outright,
“Hey, I want to know what your search
algorithm is . . ?”, instead they enquired,
“based on these products that you’re
bringing in, what is going to get them the
best visibility?”
Ecommerce demands an integrated
approach and structure, and a strength
of knowledge across several key areas
from product marketing, trade marketing,
brand management, merchandising
through to sales. As a result, many job
roles in ecommerce include a broad
spectrum of duties. Responsibilities can
include product content management,
automation and systems, ecommerce
strategy, marketing and promotions, and
managing retailer relationships, sometimes
encompassing sales responsibility, global
best practice and global accounts. Similar
titles across organizations can have
quite disparate responsibilities.
Larger retailers have their own teams of
people employed specifically to amend
and optimize manufacturer content to
fit with their own style guidelines. Some
manufacturers have design teams that
develop special content above and beyond
the standard – custom assets deployed for
products, events, or promotional banners
to raise awareness or drive particular
promotions or deliver a value message
to shoppers.
A single retailer often has a varied amount
of content from its numerous suppliers –
from a single low-resolution image, all the
way to gold standard content, with multiple
product demonstration videos and a full
image gallery. The quality and quantity
of product content can also dramatically
vary by category. For example, discussions
between a retailer and a TV supplier,
will be very different to the conversation
between the same retailer and a furniture
or lawnmower, manufacturer.
Some suppliers are more focused on the
shopper experience and have small teams
to manage ‘enhanced digital assets’, from
images, to video, to copy, or 360 degree
animations – whatever it might be to help
retail partners more effectively sell their
products. These suppliers also need to
review and analyze how many people are
watching videos to identify what they
need to repeat, refine and optimize in
future campaigns.
SECTION 2: WAYS OF WORKING – SUPPLIER/RETAILER RELATIONSHIPS
Collaborative ways of working
Resourcing ecommerce
Manufacturers generally
welcome any platform
or tool that can help
them standardize their
content management
with retailers.

1514
in smaller retailers provides “less than
tangible material payback, it’s about getting
the basics right.
When discussing collaboration with
suppliers, Amazon was seldom mentioned
unless prompted. Adding Amazon into
the discussion and the compass often
respun pointing firmly towards price. While
there was much admiration for the scale
of business Amazon had achieved, the
etailer was often criticized for putting the
supplier third, by a considerable margin,
after the shopper and Amazon themselves.
However, there were some exceptions to
this and there are manufacturers who are
working very closely and effectively with
Amazon, and creating some impressive
custom sales programs.
Amazon has reportedly moved from
a “we’ll take everything” approach to
adopting more profit-based plans. This
is particularly noted for certain products
that just don’t make sense to be shipped
online. Relatively low-value, heavyweight
liquids are an example of “what doesn’t
work”; leakage in transit and an unsuitable
supply chain for dot-com was blamed.
Range rationalization and providing the
right products to sell online is critical to
profitability and, despite its ability to create
and curate endless aisles, Amazon is not
immune to this rationale.
Retailers work with suppliers to
understand and deliver the very best
assortment to shoppers. A unique and
differentiated product offering can
certainly separate one retailer from
another and common goals between
retailers and vendor partners are
important. Unit movement and margin
will be different product to product. Only
through open partnership can good
decisions be made.
Even if you remove the large regional
operators such as HH Gregg – recognized
as one of Internet Retailer’s Top 500
fastest growing retail ecommerce sites
– with stores in 20 states, there are
thousands of independent retailers
with strong, collaborative relationships
with suppliers that have spanned
decades. From an online perspective,
some suppliers see this as a market
waiting to be tapped, the small to mid-size
retailers being open-minded in terms of
flexible, innovative ways of working and
actively welcoming help to increase their
online offering.
Many of these relationships are
between the Merchant and the Sales
Account Managers. However, the Study
has revealed significant differences
in approaches in working with
independent retailers.
While some suppliers place a considerable
emphasis on working with independent
retailer partners, others focus exclusively
on the national operators – e.g. Walmart,
Target, Best Buy, Amazon – responsible,
in a number of cases, for 80+ percent of
their sales.
There are stark, opposing views as to
how suppliers approach working with the
independents: “the tail is not nearly as
difficult to manage because we usually
work with the tail in the same way that we
work with marketplace sellers. It tends to
be more spreadsheet-based, database-
based and it’s not nearly as detailed as
with the national retailers”.
Suppliers’ approach to distribution and
logistics typically supports the independent
retailer ecommerce operations model
and does not put them at a substantial
disadvantage to their larger, multi-state
rivals. It’s likely that the work to be done
to deliver the same turnaround time to an
independent, is no more or less than that
to a national retailer.
Other benefits include giving members a
significant competitive edge:
• Better terms – through group buying
power and streamlined central
payments process buying groups are
able to negotiate better trading and
settlement terms to benefit members.
• Major brands – buying groups are
able to attract major suppliers to deal
with them because of the scale of the
membership and the payments solidity
that is provided.
• Multi-million dollar buying power
– through collective buying power,
buying groups are able to negotiate
retrospective rebate deals with major
suppliers and exclusive products and
offers throughout the year across all
associated trading areas.
The majority of Study participants insisted
that independent retailers who have
not taken advantage of being part of
a buying group put themselves at a
significant disadvantage.
Other manufacturers, who having chased
numerous opportunities, are now focused
solely on the big wins taking a “Fewer,
Focus, Flawless” approach. This is a
conscious move away from trying to work
with absolutely every single online retailer.
According to one supplier, investment
Major nationals versus independent retailers – the “significant tail”?
“Over 30 percent of our online sales are outside of the national retailers like Lowe’s,
Home Depot, Best Buy, Sears. The “tail” is a misnomer for such a significant percentage
of online sales.
Manufacturer
There are numerous
advantages for
independent retailers
being part of a buying
group, including a broad
logistic network that can
deliver items promptly
and negate lost sales due
to a lack of stock.
There are an array of channels in
which potential customers seek to
find product information online,
shifting a once linear path to
purcahse into a fragmented journey.

1716
The influence Amazon has in triggering
continually lower prices is a major
challenge for many retailers and
manufacturers. In fact, it was difficult to
talk about price without Amazon being
mentioned as an immediate response.
Amazon has also prompted interesting
counter-strategies for maintaining price,
preserving a unique value offer and
providing the shopper a satisfying
online experience.
For smaller retailers there was even a
debate as to whether price should be
shown at all on their sites, for fear of
being beaten by a larger retailer and
being immediately dropped from shopper
consideration. However, the removal of
a shown price is proven to discourage
shoppers and could potentially only do
more harm than good.
Interestingly, the research undertaken by
Retailer Web Services concluded that this
was the case across different ages, the
most intolerant group in relation to pricing
not being clearly displayed online being
those aged 55 and above.
If retailers and manufacturers want the
shopper to focus on more than product
pricing they should “aspire to deliver an
experience that achieves what a highly
trained and commissioned salesman could
provide face-to-face with the shopper.”
More retailers should be putting their
efforts into delivering that experience –
content is king, not pricing.
Amazon was continually cited as the
catalyst for movements in pricing and
the benchmark to be used for retailers
in managing their key high sales volume
items. Amazon also reacts at lightning
pace. If a retailer promotes an item, even
for a single a day, this will be picked up
by Amazon, matched and then that price
invariably becomes the new standard,
even if the promotion in the original
retailer finishes. In turn, this triggers
further retailer responses and counter-
promotions, only to be matched again by
Amazon, and so begins a vicious circle of
diminishing value.
Both large and small retailers will look
to manage items which have a fairly
significant gap with Amazon. Some
retailers, while determined to be
competitive, stressed that that did not
mean diligently price matching every single
item at every point in time. Others were
keen to not just arbitrarily follow Amazon
and maintained that retailers can and
should still implement their own price
leadership strategies and let Amazon
follow if it so chose to.
“Retailer merchants are constantly tracking
prices, MAP prices and talking with
vendors when Amazon and like players
initiate price degradation.”
Some retailers have very specific content
demands and formats that they will accept
from suppliers, others merely request to
be sent what is readily available.
We heard numerous examples of retailers
making requests for exclusive content.
The challenge for the manufacturer is to
understand the thinking and motivation
behind these requests. In some instances,
exclusive material is provided for an
agreed upon, potentially limited, amount
of time.
“Thankfully, certainly in the appliance
industry, many of the independent retail
websites are hosted by a small group of
approved website providers – that has
made the job a lot easier”.
High levels of engagement and
collaboration are prevalent when Sales
Account Managers have very good
relationships with their Buyers. As a
result, Buyers and the Account Managers
have welcomed interaction with the
Digital Teams.
Target was continually cited as one of
the best in making the online shopper
experience as seamless and frictionless
as possible. Conversely, Walmart.com was
typically described as “not there yet”. This
could be because it reportedly doesn’t
have the technological infrastructure and
necessary internal resource that Target
has; others thought another factor could
be that the majority of Walmart’s online
shoppers are “not yet entirely comfortable
with an ecommerce experience”.
Again, there were polarized opinions
when it came to Amazon – some suppliers
described its Digital Content Teams as
“less hungry” for supplier advice and
support, while others were happy with the
relationship that had been established.
Managing relationships
“Most do not appreciate
that the Buyers, Sales
Account Managers and
Digital Teams don’t
communicate very well.
Manufacturer
Price management
“85% of respondents
reported that pricing
information is a
necessity to keep them
on a website, and even
the 15% that might stay
without it suggest they
have lost comfort or
trust in the retailer.
RE:THiNK: 11 surprising things
you should do now to win retail
“50 percent of
independent retailers
have at least some
product prices listed
online on their site. The
percentage of retailers
that allow the shopper
to click to add to basket
and make a purchase
drops considerably to
probably less than 20%.
Those that do, and
actually list a price on
their site, whether they
like it or not,
are competing with
the big guys.
Manufacturer
Buyers
Sale
s Account Mana
gers
Digital Team

1918
When ecommerce was in its infancy, many
brands took the approach of trying to
list all their products everywhere online.
The reasoning being that the more online
retailers you worked with, the more visible
you would be, and the more sales you
would make. Sounds logical, however
this simplistic approach is not necessarily
the most effective as it is been proved
logistically impossible to be listed, and
by default stocked, everywhere. Equally
important, aspirations to be omnipresent
make it nearly impossible to develop
strong, profitable retailer relationships
– no-one is best friends with everyone!
Meaningful relationships can more easily
be built, developed and nurtured with
fewer retailers. Some suppliers citing the
examples of providing “exclusive products,
content or micro-sites as the building
blocks of developing strong relationships.”
Successful onmichannel execution is
about maintaining a consistent, unbroken
connection with shoppers as they move
between digital and physical touchpoints.
For pure play etailers, where there are
no physical stores, the collaboration with
suppliers is very different, particularly with
Amazon. One manufacturer admitted:
“You’ve got to be willing to place some big
bets for events such as Prime Day and
Black Friday. You can win as easily as you
can lose”.
Profitability of omnichannel
BLACK
FRIDAY
“You’ve got to be willing to place some big bets for
events such as Prime Day and Black Friday. You can
win as easily as you can lose.
Manufacturer
Top 5 Promoted Categories
Clothing, shoes and jewelry
Technology
Home, oﬃce and garden
Toys and games
Baby
25%
18%
12%
9%
7%
47,000
TVs sold
56,000
Lord of the
Rings Trilogy
sold
41,000
Bose
Headphones
sold
primeday
4,000 iRobot Roomba
Vacuum Robots sold,
compared to 1 the
previous Wednesday
United States
Lord of the Rings Trilogy
United Kingdom
Lenovo FLEX 10.5 Inch
Japan
Green Smoothie Mix
Italy
Logitech Keyboard
Germany
Croc Sandals
France
Monopoly
Canada
Huggies
Spain
SSD Drive
Austria
Croc Sandals
Best selling products by country
34.4 million items ordered
across Prime-eligible
countries
42% of #PrimeDay mentions
were positive
*model595
*
2015
Technology
Toys and games
Baby
25%
18%
12%
9%
7%
47,000
TVs sold
56,000
Lord of the
Rings Trilogy
sold
41,000
Bose
Headphones
sold
4,000 iRobot Roomba
Vacuum Robots sold,
compared to 1 the
previous Wednesday
United States
United Kingdom
Japan
Green Smoothie Mix
Italy
Logitech Keyboard
Germany
Croc Sandals
France
Monopoly
Canada
Huggies
Spain
SSD Drive
Austria
Croc Sandals
countries
were positive
*model595
*
2015
Technology
Toys and games
Baby
25%
18%
12%
9%
7%
47,000
TVs sold
56,000
Lord of the
Rings Trilogy
sold
41,000
Bose
Headphones
sold
primeday
4,000 iRobot Roomba
Vacuum Robots sold,
compared to 1 the
previous Wednesday
United States
United Kingdom
Japan
Green Smoothie Mix
Italy
Logitech Keyboard
Germany
Croc Sandals
France
Monopoly
Canada
Huggies
Spain
SSD Drive
Austria
Croc Sandals
countries
US prime members spend on
average $1200 a year compared
to non-members $700
were positive
*model595
*
2015
47,000
TVs sold
56,000
Lord of the
Rings Trilogy
sold
41,000
Bose
Headphones
sold
4,000 iRobot Roomba
Vacuum Robots sold,
compared to 1 the
previous Wednesday
United States
United Kingdom
Japan
Green Smoothie Mix
Italy
Logitech Keyboard
Germany
Croc Sandals
France
Monopoly
Canada
Huggies
Spain
SSD Drive
Austria
Croc Sandals
countries
US prime members spend on
average $1200 a year compared
to non-members $700
were positive
*model595
*
Source: Brand View and Amazon

20
88% of
furniture &
electronics shoppers
Internet search is the ﬁrst step
on the path to purchase for
The burden for supplying content to this
fragmented, but important channel, is on the
manufacturers who spend a “hefty amount of
time trying to support the independent guys”.
Some are also advising independents on
anything from search engine optimization, to
display advertising and even on how to design
a landing page.
Independent retailers are losing sales
because they have not adapted to the
shopper journey predominantly beginning
online. Independents offer a local,
personalized and trusted service, however
many suppliers are concerned that they are
not recognizing the lack of awareness of
these services among shoppers that now
typically begin their searches online.
“I’ll bet three out of four shoppers can’t name
their local independent appliance store. They
certainly aren’t finding them online.”
Putting systems in place that enable
suppliers to effectively provide online
product content, direct to retailers, is
one of the main challenges faced
by teams including Digital Brand
Marketers, Trade Team members
and the Digital Team. A lack of
standardization presents a significant
challenge to many manufacturers,
although the pace of change over the
last three years in technology services
and platforms has transformed
the way a number of retailers and
suppliers are operating.
“That’s been my struggle in my role
– I’ve often had to refer people to AJ
Madison’s website to get content that
we don’t have. That’s very frustrating,”
a Supplier noted.
This anecdote is at odds with other
suppliers that we spoke to who
utilize the advantages, flexibility and
agile ways of working that content
management systems provide
to retailers with access to, for
example, manufacturer-endorsed
A+ syndicated content.
The supplier-retailer relationship
is not usurped by systems. One
manufacturer described how a
retailer invested in a new product
content information system and then
“bonused merchandisers” on content
population by year end. “Chaos at
the supplier in meeting this deadline
could only be averted through
additional employees working the
holiday period!”
One retailer explained how just 18
months ago, its web platform only
allowed for the upload of a single
image and no video content.
A supplier described that on one
occasion a team member had
to manually resize thousands of
images on their current system, for
a single retailer, in just a week and
a half. Again, outdated processes
and systems were to blame. The
last 18 months have seen a “seismic
transformation in capability”.
Section 3: Content – Requirements, Challenges & Opportunities
“That’s been my struggle
in my role – I’ve often
had to refer people
to AJ Madison’s website
to get content that we
don’t have. That’s
very frustrating.
Supplier
80% cannot name
a local, independent
appliance store
? ? ?
91% of
appliance shoppers
88% of
furniture &
electronics shoppers
Source: RE:THiNK: 11 surprising things you should do
now to win retail customers in the digital age
Internet search is the ﬁrst step
on the path to purchase for
“Some independent
retailers are too far
behind the times and
many don’t know where
to begin.
Manufacturer
SECTION 3: CONTENT – REQUIREMENTS, CHALLENGES & OPPORTUNITIES
Independents “behind the times”
Brand
Team
Marketing
Team
Digital
Team
Trade
Team

2322
The huge variation in styles of retailer
websites means that manufacturers often
have to tailor their preferred content to meet
the specifications of retailer sites.
A VP of Digital Marketing and Ecommerce
at a large manufacturer detailed how they
manage internal content developers who
are responsible for constantly updating and
creating content for all of their products (over
4000 active SKUs). This content is managed
and housed on an internal master system
that everyone has access to so that they are
“all on the same page in terms of content.”
Despite adequate resourcing and internal
systems, there isn’t a clear way for many
manufacturers to currently manage
in-house content databases in-line with
retailer content demands. This is primarily
because content has to be adjusted for each
individual retailer’s system requirements – an
often cumbersome, resource-heavy task.
Changing product names and descriptions
for specific, predetermined character limits
is one of the main tasks, as well as optimizing
content for sites depending on the search
algorithms being utilized.
The shopper has become increasingly
impatient and fickle. If product information is
confusing, conflicts with other retailers’ sites
or is just plain wrong then the purchase is,
at best, postponed or, at worst, completely
abandoned. For manufacturers this can cause
a shopper to switch brands. For retailers the
shopper can switch stores by scrolling down
to the next listing in their browser. “This is
when the argument for content syndication
wins. Syndicated content really presents a
level playing field. It’s payday for the millions
spent on product design and branding.”
Retailers have mastered managing thousands
of products across multiple categories
in-store, but online presents a new set of
unique challenges.
Retailers are currently using various systems
to manage ecommerce content. From a
brand perspective managing hundreds of
SKUs is a challenge; multiply this by hundreds
of brands and the scale of data retailers
must manage is huge. Some suppliers have
created new teams in order to meet the
ever-increasing demand and opportunity
that ecommerce presents their businesses.
Content syndication is one of the main areas
of investment.
The advancements in systems in recent
years and the growing number of suppliers
using content management technology has
enabled accuracy of detailed content at scale.
Webcollage is one company that works with
a number of retailers to support content
syndication. Webcollage can scrape brand
sites directly to retrieve product content;
if the manufacturers site is managed
effectively, and all content is ‘gold standard’,
then theoretically all syndicated content
across retailer sites using the service should
be perfect.
Systems like SAP Hybris and Webcollage
make the processes of content syndication
scalable and achievable.
There are numerous strengths and
weaknesses of product content syndication
and distribution. For example, one of the
biggest bricks and clicks retailers in the US
utilizes Webcollage as a content management
tool, however other retailers do not. This
means that a supplier working with this
retailer has to pay for the Webcollage service,
which may be utilized by only a few of its
other retail partners.
The common consensus of those that we
interviewed seems to be that the use of third
party services to distribute and implement
rich product content from retailer to
manufacturer and vice versa can be really
successful. It is the lack of consistency in the
adoption and use of the systems, and the
fact that there is a multitude of systems
to manage across multiple retailers which
presents the issue. This can be compounded
where content requirements vary from
retailer to retailer. For example, where one
prefers one primary product image and
another insists on a different image.
One supplier stated they work on syncing
content with individual retailer systems in-line
with their own master database every single
day. If sharing content was always as simple
as the process of sharing via Webcollage the
gains in efficiency would be significant. One
supplier noted that using Webcollage allows
them to ensure about 70 percent of their
retailer partners’ product content is accurate.
Although many retailers are supportive
of content syndication, for some GM
categories and retailers, specialized and
exclusive product content is demanded.
According to one major consumer electronics
manufacturer, Crutchfields is known for
expecting and requesting bespoke online
product content. Rather than taking a “cookie
cutter” approach and using purely syndicated
stock content it requires suppliers to produce
specialized content.
Content management systems
“Platforms, like SAP Hybris, have provided the flexibility
for retailers to design and enhance how they present
products in a optimized way for their shoppers.
Systems like this provide a blank canvas for retailers
to build a structure and system which suits
their requirements.
Retailer
“Webcollage comes to mind as one organization
that has done a fantastic job of facilitating
and providing best in class content to deliver
that excellent experience.
Retailer
A.RETAILER
B.Retailer
“A common issue across
a lot of ‘third party
services’ – they work well
for a couple of retailers,
but not all of them.
Manufacturer
“There isn’t a clean way
to do it currently for
us [sharing preferred
content]. We’re doing
that literally every day.
Manufacturer

2524
Suppliers in certain General Merchandise
categories are investing more in embedding
the product experience within retailer sites.
This involves taking digital assets and creating
or building experiences that live within the
retailer’s site; allowing shoppers to better see
what the products do, how they work and
how they can be fitted and/or stored. It also
allows the supplier to deliver a stronger brand
message, ultimately through the use of high
quality product content.
One particular Consumer Electronics brand
recognizes, that while brand integrity is of the
utmost importance, working with the larger
retailers to ensure that their tone and ‘look’ is
aligned to the retailer helps to establish truly
collaborative retailer partnerships. In these
instances, the manufacturer’s graphics
teams will design assets and copy for
promotions specifically on these partner
retailer sites, such as Crutchfield, Newegg
and Sonic. Working with retailers in this
way enables manufacturers to better
understand their customer sentiments
and what works for them.
Amazon clearly provides a defined
amount of space for suppliers premium
assets, including the features, advantages
and benefits that comprise the unique selling
propositions. However, regardless of the
content supplied, the format of the product
page will always be controlled by Amazon.
There can be a potential misalignment
between suppliers and retailers. Suppliers can
argue that video-rich brand pages convert
traffic to purchase, add-to-basket rates rising
significantly. However, to drive more traffic
to brand pages can attract a cost despite the
increase in sales. Brand pages can live on
their own as an island, within retailers’ sites,
and outside of the main purchase path.
One solution is to incorporate rich content
into product pages to align with most retailers
approach. However, the shopper at the
product page will miss out on the bigger
brand story, which can be so important in
landing products in baskets.
There are pros and cons for both approaches
to content delivery on retailers sites – whether
brand pages, microsites or rich content within
product pages is most profitable for suppliers,
a common approach is a long way off.
Many suppliers are focused on getting the
basics right and there are significant gains
to be made from establishing best practice
principles in terms of fundamental product
content must-haves:
• “Have we got the correct content?”
• “How do we come out in terms of
search results?”
• “Are our product descriptions right?”
• “Is our product messaging relevant
to the online shopper in that
particular store?”
Getting the fundamentals right is the most
significant challenge for manufacturers.
Getting the basics right
Discoverability
How shoppers find your product
Representation
How your products are described
e.g names/images
Engagement
How your products are being
received e.g reviews
Special Offers
Special Offers > All Offers
Banners
Fantastic deals on a wide range
of Small Appliances
Rich content
“Amazon Marketing and Merchandising teams have
been instrumental in developing the concept of A+
content. Working collaboratively with these teams
to create custom content and promotions for the
Amazon shopper has enabled us to not only guide
shoppers to an initial purchase, but to generate brand
integrity, value and awareness.
Manufacturer
“We realize that although the brand is most important
to us, it is truly a collaboration and specific retailer
customers expect a particular look and feel, so we help
them to customize it.
Manufacturer
Accurate
product content
increases sales
by 30%
Econsultancy

2726
$
9/10consumers plan to check
prices first online before
making their purchase,
either now or in the future
8/10
Around a third of humanity
is now officially online and
more mobile than ever before
Webs of Influence: The
Psychology of Online Persuasion
Webs of Influence: The
Psychology of Online Persuasion
Nielsen “Mobile Path to Purchase: Five Key Findings”
mobile consumers were ready to make a purchase
that day and more than half (55%) within the hour.
Shoppers turn online
“
“
Optimizing for
mobile is a key
consideration that
is more and more
at the forefront of
suppliers’ thinking
and plans.
Many Digital and Ecommerce Heads at General Merchandise
manufacturers purely work in advisory roles. They know the product
features and benefits and importantly the best way to present these
to shoppers. Retailers do and should rely on this when building
relationships with their suppliers.
Manufacturers provide the category
expertise and retailers provide the shopping
experience. However, because retailers
operate on a single online platform, suppliers
have to compromise on content so it fits in
the retailer’s site.
For large domestic appliances, such as
refrigerators, which may only be bought every
8 to 10 years, the combination of in-store
access to the product and online content is
vital. The two experiences need to support
each other, so that the 80 percent of shopper
journeys that begin online for appliances, are
eventually converted to purchases in-store. This is equally applicable
to large chains and independent retailers which are expected to have
in-store information such as a live stock status on each product page.
Digital is now the shop window and retailers need to think of how they
are going to entice shoppers in.
Optimum content by category
Top-freezer refrigerator
Refrigerator capacity:
18.0 cubic feet
Freezer capacity:
3.5 cubic feet
Gallon-size door bin
Reversable hinges
LED lighting
Buy Now
efreezerland.com
Welcome
Product features
5 available in stock
“One of the challenges is helping a consumer overcome
that fear, uncertainty and doubt with buying a $2,000
washing machine online without really experiencing it.
Providing the stock status in our stores means they can
come in-store to see the appliance knowing it will not be
a wasted journey.
Retailer
Optimizing content for mobile

28
The common theme identified
throughout the study is the inconsistency
and lack of standardization in the
ecommerce space in 2016.
Summary
29
TM
Inconsistencies were highlighted in all areas covered. The lack of standardization and
disparities span:
• The shopper experience - from independents to multinationals, or pure play versus
bricks and clicks - there is no single, best practice shopper experience, or one single
common goal. Each company has its set of unique challenges and opportunities.
• Supplier-retailer relationships – these vary massively on a case-by-case basis, but in
all instances there is scope to develop the relationship, improve communication and
facilitate more agile ways of working.
• Online product content management processes – the systems used, resourcing of
teams and the management of processes with retailers and service providers differs
between categories, businesses and the scale of the operations involved.
All of the study participants either alluded to or explicitly cited that it is the lack of
standardization, or clear common ‘best practices’, in place which proves the biggest
obstacle in achieving ecommerce excellence.
What is ecommerce excellence?
A rhetorical question, perhaps? However, an excellent online shopper experience – which
is undoubtedly the greatest shared aspiration – is achievable. If retailers and suppliers
align common goals and best practices, begin to standardize these areas and ways of
working collaboratively and effectively utilize the comprehensive content management
systems at their disposable.
Study Participants

Analyze how your products
are represented online
Monitor products by name, description and image integrity,
identify missing content, dimensions and features, and
ensure accuracy and completeness
Compare your online product visibility against competitors,
view product ranking by keyword across multiple retailers
and track search results
Category: Batteries
Highest ranking: 1st
1st on page 1 19th on page 4
Lowest ranking: 71st
Rank your products against competitors based on a retailer’s
site structure, determine any issues, and improve category
performance, product visibility and sales
316 reviews
4
3
2
1
5
Cordless Power Drill
Average
86% (43)
74% (23) 100% (2) 84% (18)Track your shoppers’ reviews and ratings, evaluate
reviews against competitor lines, and identify
inconsistencies across retailers
Track online promotion locations across retailers’ websites,
monitor compliance to agreed campaign duration, messaging
and content, as well as competitors’ promotions
Special Offers
Special Offers > All Offers
Banners
Fantastic deals on a wide range
of Small Appliances
is a registered trademarkBrand View®
0844 357 99701-800-968-1876
INSTANT | INTEGRATED | INSIGHT
hey@brandview.com www.brandview.com08 05 11 95 23 2 6022 0573 10 5904 4827
Kitchen Mixer
Product image
Product title
Safety information
12%
57%
89%
71%
Search Term: Garden Sprinkler
91
Page: 5 | Pos: 1
3
Page: 1 | Pos: 3

About Brand View
Contact the Brand View
Team for your free 14-day
evaluation
Telephone: 1-800-968-1875
Email: hey@brandview.com
Web: www.brandview.com
Socialize
with us:
Brand View is the leading global provider of price, promotion, product composition
and online product positioning analytics.
We enable our clients, retailers and suppliers, to measure and manage their price
position and nutritional proposition, communicate this to shoppers, and increase
their digital presence.
Trusted by the biggest names in the industry, Brand View’s easy to use, powerful
analytics give clients an unparalleled insight into the competitor landscape.
Seamless coverage of online and bricks and mortar stores – including North
American, South American, European, Chinese and Australian markets.
Easy integration of proprietary data facilitates the immediate benchmarking of
value propositions, promotional strategies and online activity against competitors.
Through instant, integrated insights, monitor price movements, promotions,
product content changes, new product listings and ecommerce performance.
is a registered trademarkBrand View®
0844 357 99701-800-968-1876
INSTANT | INTEGRATED | INSIGHT
hey@brandview.com www.brandview.com08 05 11 95 23 2 6022 0573 10 5904 4827

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