7th Spectrum & Ardent eCommerce Leadership Dinner, April 2016

Spectrum’s 7th eCommerce Leadership Dinner took place on 25th April in London in association with Ardent Advisors, the corporate finance firm.

The roundtable dinner discussion began by examining the impending EU Referendum. The most notable points raised were:

  • eCommerce pricing is a challenge, regardless of whether or not the UK remained in the EU
  • The Euro and Sterling exchange rate can be volatile, and brands are not reflecting this in their pricing strategy
  • London is currently “the world capital for digital talent”. The primary beneficiary from a “Leave” vote would be Berlin
  • The UK would not be part of the EU’s “Digital Single Market” in the event of a “Leave” vote
  • Cross-border eCommerce spending remains underdeveloped
  • The majority of voting is likely to be emotional, and demographics and location are both expected to be significant factors
  • On a show of hands, two of the seventeen guests said they anticipate a “Leave” majority
  • Interestingly, both were non UK citizens (but part of the EU) living and working in London: one leading the digital transformation of an established B2C corporate, and the other is CEO of a VC-backed eCommerce venture.

The debate then moved on to discuss:

  • The need to spread investment across a variety of channels; as many digital businesses are still exclusively reliant on PPC
  • Jamie Oliver’s Family Food Tube channel was raised as a very good example of driving non PPC traffic
  • The challenges associated in dealing with the rise of fraudulent web traffic
  • Reminder to “know your USP and know your audience”
  • Everyone is looking for meaningful insight and analytics – but they remain very rare
  • Often, more can be done with point-of-sale date than online data
  • Past online purchases are often a poor predictor of future purchases

To review the key findings from previous eCommerce Leadership Dinners, please click here.

The Spectrum & Ardent eCommerce Leadership Dinners are a quarterly invitation-only forum for peer-level strategic discussion and relationship building.

To register your interest in attending our next London event, please contact Sarah Rush at Spectrum (sarah.rush@spectrum-ehcs.com).

 

About Spectrum

Founded in 2001, Spectrum is a specialist London-headquartered leadership consultancy that partners long-term with ambitious European technology organisations to help them grow: by advising on, and subsequently appointing Board members, executive management, and interim executives.

About Ardent

Ardent is a boutique corporate finance house with a specific focus on the eCommerce arena. Advising growth companies on financing and arranging exits/ trade sales, clients include online retailers, brands and publishers as wells as technology and service providers, both in the UK and across Europe.