CO-OP GETS WEB WISE Most companies realise the importance of exploring the brave new world of online retailing or digital tv, but how many managers have the time to do it? United Norwest has realised this and has formed a team of specialists dedicated to online development. Reporting direct to society chief executive Martin Beaumont, its remit is clear: take good ideas and turn them into viable projects that the society's divisions can take forward. Heading the operation is new channels development manager Bob Taylor. He says: "We don't have this added on as five minutes at the end of the week. This is a full time project." Taylor's background is in marketing, emphasising that getting the offer and supply chain right is just as important as the technical aspects. And their work shows in the slick web site at www.coop.co.uk, primarily an information site flagging up promotions in food and pharmacy and giving the locations of stores. There are no plans to sell food on the net at this stage, although alternative models are being considered for future stages. There is enough home shopping experience to show the real bottlenecks. For now, the e-commerce site is focusing on white goods, and furniture is promised soon. Coverage is national, with deliveries outside the United Norwest area carried out by suppliers. The e-commerce pages went live in March this year, receiving 7,000 hits within the first month ­ and that was before the web site had been advertised in any way. Taylor believes the strengths of the Co-op brand will give it a particular strength in e-commerce. "Since last summer the market has recognised that traditional retailers can bring their brand values to net commerce. The Co-op is a trusted brand, which reassures many of our customers." Its priority is flagging up aggressive pricing on the site. Promotions are a major feature, from the Beat This! logo on the food page, leading to details of a buy one get one free offer for Findus Crispy Pancakes (99p), or Radox shower gel at three for the price of two (£1.99) in pharmacy. And there's the link to the Co-op electrical e-store. "People want a good deal and if you start adding fancy offers, it detracts from a good deal," Taylor says. "We've looked, but we can't find anyone to beat us on our prices for white goods." Clearly, there is tremendous scope for imaginative cross-promotions, but the initial aim is to win the business. It is easy to get potential customers to the electrical goods order page, but the attrition rate before they click the final buy button is depressingly high. "So we're making telephone contact prominent through the pages," says Taylor. "If a customer starts to get cold feet about buying online, they can click the button and have someone call them. If a buying decision really has been taken, at least the telesales operator will be able to close the deal and we'll get the business." As yet there is no data available to calculate how many buying decisions start online and finish inside a store, just one factor complicating the profitability calculations. Co-op Direct Electrical delivers throughout mainland UK. Furniture, too, will be a national operation when it gets going. "As with white goods, there is nothing to stop us from selling nationally here," Taylor says. "And we have all the expertise in the company." United Norwest is also exploiting another area of expertise ­ its funeral business. As well as offering an online service, www.funeralshop.co.uk flags up the nearest funeral parlour. This can answer a wide range of enquiries as any outside the United Norwest catchment area are referred to the nearest Co-op undertakers. In a partnership with the Pets' Pyjamas web site, United Norwest is also offering pet funerals and related products. Many of the orders can be fulfilled nationally, such as memorial stones. "In fact, we have even taken and fulfilled an order for a customer in Canada," Taylor says. Still under wraps is a pharmacy web site, which brings with it some sensitive legal issues. "Health sites are the third most popular web sites," Taylor points out. "Ours will be customer focused." United Norwest is also planning to take on lastminute.com at its own game. A travel agency area is under development, flagging up the services offered by Co-op travel. "Again, we will be bringing brand values to the late booking scene," Taylor says. "Holidays will be updated on screen every 20 minutes, so customers know that what they see is genuinely available." Taylor illustrates just how much potential there is for cross-promotion, using the travel site as an example. "It would be nice to sell a holiday and give the customer a voucher for, say, a pint of milk and loaf of bread for the day they return," he says. "Or, more simply, to offer a discount on sun block at the Co-op pharmacy before they go." To extend the reach of e-commerce to people without computers, United Norwest is planning pilot trials on five sites of internet kiosks, which will allow shoppers to check what is available online in their local stores. "Within a 3,000 sq ft store, we will be able to offer the choice of a 100,000 sq ft store," says Taylor. As for the alternative channels, digital TV has been evaluated but not yet adopted. "Nobody knows exactly how television and the internet will balance out," Taylor says. And the significantly higher set up costs of digital channels mean that no decision is likely to be taken until the financial results emerge from the e-commerce activity. l {{Z SUPPLEMENTS }}

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