In the last 12 months, the distance selling business shifted into a new dimension. There is hardly a dealer or brand manufacturer that does not directly do business with customers via the Internet. The largest proportion of customers prepares their shopping online and concludes this pre-emptive phase more and more with an online order.

Ecommerce continues to boom - but also mobile commerce, TV shopping and temporary shops have evolved, to adapt to the multi-channel approach of selling goods. The time for change was yesterday!

This was the message I got from several big retailers at the Deutsche Versandhandelskongress 2011 in the Rhein-Main-Hallen in Wiesbaden, Germany. Ecommerce is doing great in Europe, and a prosperous future lies ahead. Check out this great Keynote by James Roper, Chief Executive, IMRG: the e-retail industry association in the UK.

Overview and Outlook for Digital Retailing Worldwide – What’s next? Social Media, Mobile, TV, Cross-border – What’s the Motor of Growth for German Distance-Retailer?

Forecast growth of 40%
The sector is very positive: 70% of respondents expect in 2011 a growth of 40% in their online sales compared to 2010. The Belgian e-commerce market is far from saturated. The market share of the multi-channel players drops to 46% compared to 65.9% in 2009. The pure-players, companies that sell exclusively over the Internet,dominate the market with 54% market share, compared with 34.1% in 2009.

E-commerce is hiring!
In order to accommodate this growth, the right job profiles are needed. Over 75% of the surveyed e-commerce companies is planning to hire 10 new employees on average in 2011 to boost their activities. Belgian e-commerce businesses are looking for online marketers (49%), IT specialists (32%) and logistical operators (19%).

Mapping e-commerce in Belgium
In the top 3 of the best-selling products over the Internet we find decoration products, like last year, at No. 1 (35.1% in 2009 and 46% in 2010). The top 3 is further complemented by fashion accessories (43%)and clothing (43%).

The belgian Post is still the most popular package vendor. 65% of companies surveyed indicate to deliver parcels through the post to their customers. Couriers (38%) and pickup points (for example, Kiala) are also offered to deliver online orders. More and more e-commerce companies offer the ability to pick up packages at a collection point (from 29.5% in 2009 to 38% in 2010).

Online stores who offer credit card payment are still very popular. 95% of the Belgian e-shops offer payment by Visa and MasterCard, 38% offers payment via American Express. Paying with ordinary bank card - Bancontact/ Mister Cash – is possible with 60% of the Belgian internet shops, Maestro is offered at 49% of the shops. Besides the online payment systems like PayPal (54%) and Ideal (46%), online banking is well established as a payment method.

The luxury market and the fashion houses are struggling to keep up with mass demand; now a shift in paradigm seems to be happening, aided by recent economic times to get back to its artisanal grass roots. When the luxury market first came about, luxury goods makers delivered personalised products to customers based on an in depth consultation of the individual’s personal tastes, styles and budget.

Then luxury boomed; no longer could the service afford its personal touch but was based upon a mass production of its goods due largely in part to an active economy. Luxury became such a mainstream part of fashion houses output that craftsmanship and artisan lost out to logo’s,‘it’ bags and a constant turnover. But the market almost outgrew its own reach and now a back-to-old roots is happening, whereby mass customisation promises to return individuality to the luxury market.
In a recent report entitled “Mass Customisation is (Finally) the Future of Products,” Forrester Research describes the process like this: “Mass customisation bifurcates the product experience of customers into two stages. First, the customer participates in design by making choices around particular features. Second, the manufacturer produces a unique built-to-order product for delivery to the customer.”

It’s not necessarily a new idea, Nike, launched Nike ID – its platform which allowed customers to add a personalised look – in 1999, Louis Vuitton launched the Mon Monogram customization service for the brand’s bags and lettering could be added to sunglasses with Prada Customize. However since then any attempts by other houses to make customising available on signature pieces have failed due to poor implementation and inability to maintain cost levels.

But now, largely due to our new digital means of shopping, such as Facebook and multiple online outlets, the luxury market has new opportunity in a customer expecting more from their shopping experience and cheaper tools to create visuals, to open back up forms of customization.

It looks set to have a prosperous future as these customisation platforms can anticipate, and not just cater to, personal tastes so can simultaneously surprise consumers and provide them at will – surely a huge potential for the luxury.

Source: FashionUnited

Mass customisation and personalization have been shown to be a successful business model. But only recently we are seeing a surge in new start-ups and offerings by established companies.

Supported by the European Commission, we are hosting the first “Create Your Own 2011” event in Berlin (30-31 May 2011) – a business symposium and an exhibition that brings together some of foremost European thinkers and doers in mass customization, personalization and customer co-design (www.cyo2011.com).

This networking event shall provide a hub for discussion, showcase experience and offer participants to expand their network with a focus on start-ups and open-minded entrepreneurs in business-to-consumer (BTC) markets.

On May 30, the event kicks off at 5pm with an opening of an exhibition of European mass customization entrepreneurs and their products, and a reception and open press conference.

On May 31, a full-day business symposium will feature over fifty co-creation entrepreneurs, makers, researchers, technology experts, policy maker, and investors from around Europe.  Plenary presentations and panels will look into the market for mass customisation, new business models, and the latest technologies that make it happen.

You will find the agenda, further information and registration at www.cyo2011.com. As the event is supported by the European Commission, registration is 200,- Euro only if you register early.

SPECIAL OFFER: If your company is offering mass customization products or services, participate at the CYO 2011 exhibition. This will be a great opportunity to showcase your offerings to a wider public, the CYO 2011 participants, and a large group of invited journalists and multiplicators. Participation at the exhibition is only 250,- Euro (including the 200,- Euro participation fee at the business seminar), but place is limited. For exhibition requests please use the exhibition request form. For all questions concerning exhibition requests please contact Nadia EL-Imam at nnegash@gmail.com.