The online arena, unlike many other selling channels, gives retailers the opportunity to increase sales significantly. It can be from £100K to £1 million, or even from £1 million to £10 million — providing the formula for success is in place.
One product that is making this possible is the IRP ecommerce platform. This bespoke product, built with a suite of sales, marketing, security and international capabilities in mind, has transacted more than £1 billion in online sales for leading UK and Irish retailers, distributors and manufacturers and has helped facilitate online transactions in 180 countries and in eight languages.
Many companies choose the IRP if they have outgrown their current platform provider or if they want international growth or a more integrated approach to their ecommerce solution. Migrating to the IRP platform gives companies the chance to share the full benefits of working with a Platform As A Service (PAAS) company, including high-level PCI Level 1-compliant hosting. It also offers them the potential to further elevate their revenues, outperform their competition and maximise their opportunities for success — in some instances from day one.
Argento
A current success story using the IRP platform is jewellery retailer, Argento. Northern Irish entrepreneur, Pete Boyle began selling from a stall in Belfast city centre and it was when Argento went online in 2009 and started selling internationally on the IRP platform that sales started to increase significantly. Argento now has 50+ stores across the UK and Ireland, employs around 500 people and exports to 92 countries.
Focusing on non-traditional markets in Asia such as China and Hong Kong, Argento has seen monthly sales increase in some instances by 1,900 per cent — based on the same period the previous year. The Far East is a key market for Argento and sales this year in Hong Kong, Japan and Macau are set to soar.
Where previously word of mouth and recommendation informed purchasing decisions for Argento, the data analytics on the IRP platform are used to accurately predict trends, inform purchasing decisions and to identify marketing opportunities. These analytics allow Argento to stay ahead of trends, be proactive not reactive and to maximise revenue through different marketing channels.
Christies Direct
Another retail client that has been able to compete globally thanks to the IRP platform, is pet grooming business, Christies Direct based in Ballymoney, County Antrim. Before moving to the IRP, the ChristiesDirect.com site was performing below average for its industry. Now ChristiesDirect.com is the leading website in the industry and the third-largest pet grooming site in the world.
This stellar sales growth has been helped by the potential created on the IRP platform.
Company owner, Colin Christie said “We noticed a big difference in traffic figures almost from day one — it was like a light switch on effect. Business has continually grown in the five years. Christies Direct now exports to more than 30 countries worldwide and the IRP has been a major factor in this achievement.”
Christies Direct online sales have increased overall by 30% in the last 12 months, mainly because of the company being very targeted at marketing directly to European countries before the Brexit result was announced.
The company uses the international features within the IRP platform to create bespoke ‘country-specific’ campaigns, translate them into specific languages and promote them to shoppers in their own language. With the continuing uncertainty around Brexit, ChristiesDirect.com, has been able to shift focus onto other international markets including the US and Australia and target these countries with localised messaging through the IRP ecommerce platform.
The formula for online success
Argento and Christies Direct and Revolution Beauty are good examples of companies that have an unrelenting drive to achieve a top level of growth. Although not all companies will have this, the formula for online success will always hold true — when the right company combines with the right technology in the right market, the results are still all but guaranteed.
