Conference Future Lab #2

PR - ASOS Marketplace. The future of Online retailing.

Everything changes fast.

Next 5 years will bring more change to retail than the last 100 years
Shops will always be around, but tills might be gone but want to have the touch and feel experience. Shops will be about experiencing the clothes instead of buying. Digital fitting rooms will come into play, you can upload a picture of yourself and put a dress on. People still want offline security. Free returns, delivery make it easier to shop online. Take delivery out of the equation by using 3D printers, this change will happen but not anytime soon.

Where are we at now?
In-store pick up/ pick up depots/ broad delivery options/  free returns.
Apps. (interesting because it's about funcitonal apps, less flashy now more useful. need to make it easier to shop)
Video (sites that use video i.e. catwalk, more sense of the object)
Social networking.. at every stage of our shop, whole social networks devoted to retail.
Daily deals and flash sales. (exploded. fab.com)
Think global.
....More things to buy. more choices to be made.

- e-commerce is one of the fastest growing markets in Europe. 2011 online sales in the uk were £50.3billion or 12.0% of UK retail trade.
- in 2012 an expected 14.0% increase in UK online sales to reach 57.4bn
Europe is to grow by 16.1% to a tota of £197.19 billion. Online retail growth of 16.1%

if all online retailers are offering great visuals, service, product and price, who cuts throught the noise?
a site that knows you
social curation
integrated/ universal checkout.

pinterest is interesting because it has just taken off, but is making more money because people are there to buy and look at stuff. Whoever can do all of this perfectly and can monetise this then they will shape where the industry goes. Need to make the 2 worlds meet without losing creativity.

what might shopping be like this time next year?or in 2 years?
tap to buy it. faster delivery. all technology being linked by preference. if you don't like them what happens ( in china someone brings 3 sizes and waits while you try them on).

Marketplace:
running for 2 years. anyone can sell.Rule is natural daylight.
over 560 boutiques. over 2000 of which are international. 150 cities across 31 counties.
35k sellers on the site
over 1.7 million unique visits per month.
50% of the site traffic is international
over 100k listings live on the site.
in 1 year our top seller has made over £120k

Summary:
the internet is your playground
we're all learning at the same pace
be a jack of all trades
the cream always rises
rep yourself well online. do yourself justice.
google yourself - how easy are you to "find"?
Keep your eye on what's happening. don't put your head in the sand.
it's all very,very,very, exciting. Be Excited!