Innovation in e-commerce is a series of articles that will help retailers gain competitive advantage. In this article I am focusing on the need for customers' demands and expectations to drive brand commerce strategy. Customers as the ultimate source of revenue have always been important for brands, however customers have been considered only as the final link in a very complex supply chain. The opportunity for multichannel commerce strategy is to make customers part of the brand journey, rather than the end of the line.

Online merchandising is a subject we discuss frequently. Our latest findings reveal that presently, as many retailers struggle to get back into profit, it's important to build strong foundations because consumers don't distinguish between channels. All they see are multiple contact points and they expect brand consistency, which means that retailers need to provide customer-centric strategies consistently, including across partners.

I don't think anyone would argue against the need for standards regarding payment methods, and the PCI Data Security Standards (DSS) introduced over the last few years are well intentioned. In essence they say that in order to handle sensitive customer data a strict set of security criteria must be met. The introduction of these standards has taken that sensitive information out of the hands of some parties who may not have taken keeping it a secret as seriously as you do, and this is a good thing.

Innovation in today's e-commerce landscape through multichannel e-commerce has been a catalyst for the evolution of online retail, leading retailers to jump ahead of other vertical markets. Despite this, there are key differences between the retailers who really provide a successful and integrated multichannel experience and the ones who don't. This article looks at the characteristics of retailers who are succeeding through an integrated multichannel approach. These retailers have three main characteristics that differentiate them from their peers: They know who their customers are, they integrate all channels and all technologies into one consistent user experience and they know how to measure their own success.

Duncan Corps joins neoworks as a Software Developer.