Moss Bros benefits from online sales increase

Thursday, September 25, 2014 - 12:52 by Simon Crisp

The past six months have been especially successful for menswear chain Moss Bros, which reported this week that it has doubled the number of sales it makes via safe shopping online over this period, according to Internet Retailing.

Some 6.8 per cent of the firm's revenues are now accounted for by e-commerce transactions, with the rise in the number of customers shopping from their smartphones and tablets helping to fuel growth so far this year.

While Moss Bros may not be the UK's largest retail chain of its kind, it has been attempting to compete with the big boys by consolidating its customer databases into a single system, thereby making it easier for it to operate across multiple channels.

This has made it possible for its high street stores to work more closely with its digital e-commerce solutions, meaning that customers can get receipts emailed to them whether they shop in-store or online, for example.

Company spokesperson Brian Brick said that the firm's multi-channel ambitions are starting to be achieved. In particular the option to login to its e-commerce site and pay using an existing Amazon account has been a big help in boosting sales, since its streamlines the checkout process.

Major e-commerce services are often able to provide smaller organisations with a starting point from which they can improve their online sales, so Amazon integration makes sense in this scenario.

Brick said that Moss Bros is keen to ensure that its customers perceive it as a true multi-channel operator, rather than a retailer that is tied down to bricks and mortar outlets. As a result it is important for it to continue consolidating its services so that they move in synch with one another, whether on desktop, on mobile or in the high street.