Research & Consulting

The e-commerce industry is evolving at a pace that means businesses can be left behind if they fail to understand what the latest developments in technology, systems, consumer behaviour and demands mean for the way they operate.

IMRG offer a market research service to help businesses understand how to make the most of the opportunities available in e-commerce and avoid the pitfalls. We can provide customised research solutions tailored to meet your specific requirements and help you succeed in your future strategies.

To find out more about our market research services, please email datainsight@imrg.org.

Market Insights

  • Interested in knowing the future of e-commerce?
  • Planning to expand your business footprint across the globe?
  • Thinking of benchmarking against your competitors?
As the UK’s industry association for e-retail and with a membership network of hundreds of companies, we are in a unique position to carry out in-depth analysis of the e-commerce, m-commerce and social-commerce markets and present the latest market trends.

As our activities span such a wide range of areas, we can carry out detailed research across a multitude of different sectors including logistics, mobile, payments and many more. The research team can assist you in gaining an understanding of individual sectors in addition to arriving at a holistic view by amalgamating data and trends from different sectors.

Data Analysis


Every fresh market insight begins with data analysis and the foundation of our research is through statistical analysis of raw data. This enables us to discover developing trends and assist our clients in the formulation of winning strategies.

Our combination of quantitative and qualitative research helps us to package and communicate the key information and spares you from the requirement to sift through a mountain of unstructured data.

Our experienced team of researchers mine huge amounts of raw data using advanced statistical tools to unearth hidden trends and present facts based on client requirements. The patterns reflected from this analysis are then used for qualitative analysis which mainly comprises consumer surveys, interviews and focus-group output.

Consultancy


As the UK’s industry association for e-retail, IMRG has built up a major international presence and network. We have a wealth of experience in all areas that comprise e-retail solutions and have set up a consulting division to support all companies involved in e-retail for the benefit of the industry as a whole.

Our role in the market places us in a unique position where we can offer tailored consulting services, not through ‘professional consultants’, but via industry professionals who consult and have many years’ real operational experience across all areas of e-retail. We are able to provide this level of service by working only with our own permanent staff, supported by our fully vetted and validated IMRWorld Fellows (see below for details), all under the control and auspices of IMRG.

We operate on the basis that we will add value to any business that we work with, providing honest and open support based in the real world, coupled with innovation and creativity. This can only be achieved by working in partnership with our clients and harnessing the knowledge and experience of our expert contacts.

Services provided

With the wealth of experience in e-retail available within IMRG and its IMRWorld Fellows, we have the ability to support any aspect of e-commerce for retailers, solution providers or government departments both domestically in the UK and internationally in any market.

IMRG members will receive preferential rates but the service is also open to non-IMRG members.

Service areas covered include:
  1. Strategy: strategic multichannel and e-commerce business development and improvement
  2. International: cross-border trading in any combination or direction from any country
  3. Legal Best Practice and Legislation: advice, support and audits on the legal aspects of e-retail including international, domestic and EU best practices for any country
  4. e-Start-up: e-commerce start-up at any point in the timeline or part of the process
  5. e-Data: data, reports and statistical analysis
  6. e-Marketing: website design, CRM, social media, email marketing, online marketing, SEO/SEM, PPC
  7. e-Channels: channel integration, website optimisation and conversion, m-commerce, click & collect, in-store kiosks
  8. e-Payment & Security: online payment and security for domestic and cross-border trading
  9. e-Process: all aspects of order and goods handling from data capture through to customer delivery and post-sales including:
    • e-Fulfilment - systems, pick pack and dispatch, order management, warehouse optimisation
    • e-Delivery - one and two-man delivery operations
    • e-Returns - returns processes, operations and management
    • e-Service - telesales, aftersales service, policies and call centre operations
  10. e-Systems: e-commerce systems, platforms and infrastructure for any part of the process

Contact us for further details

For further information on IMRG Consulting or to arrange a free initial consultation, please contact our team on:

Email: consulting@imrg.org
Tel: +44 (0)20 7716 5604


About the IMRWorld Fellowship

IMRWorld Fellowship is reserved for individuals who are making – or have made – significant contributions to the improvement and professionalism of the e-retail industry.

Admission to the IMRWorld Fellowship is strictly by invitation only and the status of ‘Fellow’ is only granted once the individual has been validated and has met the stringent qualifying criteria set which include items such as:
  • more than 10 years e-Retail industry experience
  • evidence of valid and significant contribution the development of e-Retail
  • a plan of continuing education and reading to maintain up to date knowledge of innovation and thinking in the e-Retail arena
  • ongoing contribution to the Fellowship in terms of though leadership, white papers, survey participation and private Fellowship forum discussions
See here for further details about the IMRWorld Fellowship and our current fellows HERE.

Online Surveys


Online surveys provide one of the most effective means of collecting both qualitative and quantitative data to help you understand the constantly evolving nature of consumer behaviour. With a network of around 1,200 members, IMRG's research team is better positioned to understand both retailers' and consumers' views on e-commerce markets through custom-designed online surveys, targeted to reach a wide audience across the globe.

These surveys offer convenient and cost-effective ways to reach a specific demographic and extract in-depth data within a short span of time. The survey questionnaires are designed by our research team, who possess a detailed understanding of the e-retail industry, and can cover a wide range of topics such as social media, payments, mobile, logistics and usability.

We also offer an Omnibus survey option, which is designed to source responses from the panellists within 48 hours from point of launch. Such surveys enable retailers to gather customer insight around special occasions such as Christmas, public holidays and festive occasions.

IMR Smart Knowledge Base


Our market research capabilities are greatly enhanced by the IMR Smart Knowledge Base.

An exclusive product of IMRG, IMR Smart is a store-house of contemporary and historical data covering a range of relevant categories (e-commerce, demographics, telecoms, delivery and country-wide rankings for example) from countries across all regions of the world. IMR Smart features a user-friendly interface for undertaking graphical analysis of the data, exporting the data into different formats and carrying out comparative analysis.

What can you do with IMR Smart?
  1. Explore competitive markets to help grow your e-commerce business
  2. Browse country dashboards containing detailed data on many countries
  3. Understand consumer behaviour online
  4. Compare demographics, internet commerce and fiscal data within a common framework
Use of this feature is available to all visitors to the IMRG site. You can begin accessing IMR Smart HERE.

Reports

IMRG produce a range of reports every year on various topics affecting the industry. To view the current list of reports, click here.


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