Oasis Improving Online and Physical Shopping Channels

Oasis, which is owned by Aurora fashions along with brands Warehouse and Karen Millen, is investing heavily in linking their shopping channels and improving the shopping experience for their customers.

The high street brand will open a new store on London's Tottenham Court Road next month, before revamping the website and launching 'Click and Collect' at the beginning of next year. The fashion brand will open the 3,200 sq ft flaship store just in time for the key Christmas trading period. The new concept store will be home to a cafe and bar, as well as a hair and nail bar; Oasis are keen to give their shoppers a full customer experience.

Oasis CEO Liz Evans said the 24 year-old business is heavily investing in improving in-store environments, investing £1.3m on overhauling five stores this year: Argyll Street in London, Cardiff, Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool. "All refitted shops have experienced double digit like-for-like sales increases," said Evans.

“We are able to tailor each store to the market it is in to add a personal touch. On the high street there are only a few brands investing in their store portfolio. We are doing that and have completed 18 refits of stores over the last two years that have a blend of digital technology and more traditional in-store theatre.”

The Dublin store is to be refurbed in the first quarter of 2016 and it is currently being decided which stores will be refitted over the next three years.Oasis has also recognised a distribution channel through travel hubs. This season, the brand will launch its first airport shop at London's Stansted airport. The compnay are taking a "test and learn" strategy and even considering opening stores in train stations.

As mentioned, the plan is for the fashion brand to update their online presence. “Replatforming the website will give us a boost both online and in store as it provides a better experience for our shoppers,” Evans added. “We’re investing in both channels and not focusing on one or the other, as we can’t leave one behind. Continuously improving and updating online presence should be vital in any retailer's strategy. As technology is forever advancing so are customers; brands need to keep up!

Have you thought about the weather?

Are retailers considering weather conditions? As customers become increasingly clever with their disposable income, retailers are faced with the most challenging conditions in 30 years.

Over recent years, financial trading data highlights weather as a variable that affects revenue. However research undertaken by the Met Office reveals a third of retailers still do not use any weather data in their supply chains and less than a quarter rely purely on free weather services.

Almost half of retailers and suppliers do however acknowledge weather as one of the main three external factors which drives consumer demand. The Met Office looked at those who are currently using paid-for commercial weather services, and found that 62% reported they are able to offer better customer service, 57% highlighted better sales forecast accuracy, 51% offered better on-shelf availability and 43% had reduced waste. These are all key priorities for supply chains.

More and more retailers are finding that forecasting shopping behaviour has become harder, although there is a clear desire from supply chains to use weather forecasts more broadly within their businesses, particularly to drive commercial benefits – for example through forecasting footfall and online traffic, and planning marketing campaigns.

 “What stood out for us was how few organisations currently use weather data in their planning,” said Barbara Napiorkowska-Dickson, Met Office Retail Business Manager. “Incorporating weather forecasts in their operations is a significant opportunity for them to improve demand planning across the whole supply chain and better understand customer purchasing behaviour. While many may believe that their product portfolio is not weather sensitive, operationally the weather will always have an impact on their logistics and commercial activities.”

The influence of weather events on shopper behaviour should not be underestimated. Here are real opportunities for retailers and suppliers to help predict product demand accurately, which is the most important function to get right in the supply chain in order to deliver the primary goals of product availability, low inventory and low costs.

Honey, I'm home...

Welcome back!

After not blogging for well over a year, I've decided its time to let the internet once again hear everything I have to say. Since my last post I have graduated from university with a 2:1 in Fashion Buying with Marketing and now on the hunt for a job!

I am looking for a role in the fashion/retail industry within marketing, PR or visual merchandising. It is proving rather difficult to find something in the Leicestershire area however I am not giving up; sending CV after CV, attending interview after interview.

Since my degree and last year thesis research into the future of fashion visual merchandsing, I'm now changing the direction of my blog to focus more on the business news of retail and fashion, as well as future trends for in-store environments and online technology for retailers.

In this day and age it is important to be up to date with what is happening in the industry you work in. Employers are keen to hear you have interest in staying in the know. If, like me, you're a graduate or young proffessional looking to do just that, feel free to subscribe to my blog as a way to keep up to date with news from the retail industry. You can also follow me on Twitter @elly_lou for updates!