Shutl | Online delivery revolution

Archive for the ‘Clients’ Category

Shutl Top 5 Tips for Easter

Wednesday, April 20th, 2011

The countdown to Easter has begun…

To make your bank holiday weekend extra special, we’ve pulled together a few ideas that will make things run a little smoother – whether you’re planning a family gathering at home, or heading out to a party.

1. BBQ
If you order charcoal in advance of your BBQ, you might as well be doing a rain dance. Instead, order from Argos and get Shutl’d to you on the day so that you can be sure the sun is shining. And if you think we’re in for a ‘barbecue summer’, you might even choose to upgrade your hardware… after all Argos is the catalogue of dreams.

2. Fizz
If you’re going to be hosting people, there’s nothing nicer than being able to relax outside with a glass of bubbly… and in the spirit of the upcoming Wedding, why not ditch the fancy French stuff and opt instead for some English fizz?

Head over to the Laithwaites Vinopolis store, test drive some South Ridge Sparkling Wine and while you’re there maybe see if their wonderful staff can help you pick the perfect match for your Easter feast.

At the till, be sure to ask for your order to be Shutl’d, leaving you to enjoy a gentle stroll along the South Bank without being weighed down by bottles. And if you don’t want to drop by the store, just place an order over the phone by calling 0207 407 6378, and asking for Shutl delivery.

3. A Gorgeous Dress
We adore Oasis’ style tips and they’ve impressed us yet again with their 3 holiday looks. We especially love this dress, which will not only wow everyone at an Easter party, but can easily be dressed up with heels and a hat for weddings in summer, or teamed with a blazer for work. Alternatively, you could go funky with this little number from Karen Millen, and ensure you’ll not only look drop dead gorgeous, but really stand out from the crowd! Have these Shutl’d to your home or office in just 90 minutes to get in the holiday spirit even sooner!

4. Easter Hamper
Treat your loved one to a fantastically decadent picnic with this gorgeous Luxury Spring Hamper. Perfect if you accidentally ruin lunch, or if you’d simply rather laze around in the sunshine than be locked in the kitchen for hours. Order online from TrueDeli and put your feet up!

5. Paddling Pool
Keeping the kids entertained is always a challenge, and especially so when there is extended family around and you have far too many other things to worry about. With the possibility of sunny weather and BBQs on the cards, perhaps Shutling a paddling pool from Argos will solve all your problems? Leave Grandma to watch over the splashing (and to get soaked from head to toe) while you tend the barbie. And once the sun sets and the kids go to bed, throw in a bag of ice: no better place exists for keeping your beers cool!

Check out our detailed instructions on how to Shutl from Argos, Oasis and Karen Millen. True Deli delivery is Shutl as standard.

Tags: argos, Easter Tips, karen millen, Laithwaites, linkedin, oasis, shutl, TrueDeli
Posted in Clients, blog | No Comments »

BT RetailWeek Technology Awards 2011

Tuesday, April 19th, 2011

Following the success of our partnership with Argos, we thought it would be a good idea to submit a joint entry to the 2011 BT RetailWeek Technology Awards. We are delighted to announce that we have been shortlisted for the “Supply Chain Excellence” alongside John Lewis, Sony and The Co-operative Group.

We’re exceptionally proud of the results that the project has yielded to date, and of the significant value we’re generating for Argos in terms of improved average order value and customer satisfaction. Of course, the greatest yard stick is what shoppers are saying about the service.

To date, over 30% of Shutl customers have left feedback rating the service at an average of 94%, with an average net promoter score (NPS) of 81% – a score that would put Shutl comfortably ahead of Apple as leader in UK NPS rankings! We reckon our customers to be 2-3x happier than traditional delivery customers.

Not bad going for a ‘supply chain’ innovation? Of course we would never think to influence the venerable judging panel who will certainly draw their own conclusions.

The awards will be announced at the Hilton Hotel on 14th June –in the meantime we’ll be keeping our fingers tightly crossed!

Tags: argos, awards, BT RetailWeek Technology Awards, linkedin, shortlist
Posted in Awards, Clients, awards, blog | No Comments »

Karen Millen join the ‘fast fashion’ movement!

Friday, April 15th, 2011

Karen Millen are the latest brand to launch Shutl’s 90 minute delivery service to their customers. Karen Millen are one of the great success stories of British Fashion, offering couture quality clothing at affordable prices.

So, how do you Shutl from Karen Millen?

It couldn’t be easier! Follow these simple steps and your party frock will arrive before you can finish your first glass of champagne. The only downside will be finding another excuse for your fashionably late arrival at the party!

1. Find the products that you wish to buy online and add to Shopping Bag.

2. Go to checkout

3. Click through to the 90 minute Shutl banner to check your postcode

4. Enter your postcode

5. Add your delivery address

6. Relax, and your delivery will arrive in 90 minutes.

Tags: karen millen, linkedin, shutl
Posted in Clients, Uncategorized, blog | No Comments »

Shutling from Huggle

Tuesday, April 5th, 2011

We are delighted to be working with Huggle, a stylish new concept in parenting retail. As well as selling a range of children’s clothing, nursery furniture and pushchairs, Huggle provides a space for parents to relax with their kids in the Huggle Lounge.

Parents-to-be frequently buy several items from Huggle at a time, including bulky cots and prams that may be impractical to load into their car (especially if it’s yet to be upgraded for the new arrival!). Realizing this could be a potential problem, Huggle teamed up with Shutl to offer out point of sale (POS) service, enabling purchases to be delivered immediately (from within 90 minutes) or within a 1-hour window of the customer’s choosing. Huggle staff promote the Shutl service in store, giving parents a welcome break from trying to work out the logistics of getting a changing table, pram, cot and multipack of nappies home.

Huggle is located a stone’s throw away from Swiss Cottage tube station. For further information please contact the store direct on 020 7483 2826 or email info@huggle.co.uk.

Tags: Clients, Huggle, linkedin, point of sale, POS
Posted in Clients, blog | No Comments »

Fast Fashion

Wednesday, March 30th, 2011

We are thrilled to announce that Aurora Fashions have today launched Shutl’s delivery service from its Oasis stores. Aurora operate some of the most respected women’s fashion brands in the UK notably Coast, Warehouse and Karen Millen.

So, how do you Shutl from Oasis?
Shutling form Oasis couldn’t be easier. Just follow these simple steps and your shoes, handbags and dresses will be with you in next to no time*!
*Shutl definition of next to no time is circa 90 minutes

1. Find the products that you wish to buy online and go to checkout.

2. Click “check your postcode here” next to the Shutl logo.

3. Enter your postcode.

4. Add your delivery address.

Once your payment has been processed, your confirmation page will look like this:

Tags: aurora, linkedin, oasis, shutl
Posted in Clients, blog | No Comments »

Argos wins Multichannel Retailer of the Year (and wins customer from Amazon)

Friday, March 25th, 2011

Last week our friends over at Argos triumphed at the Retail Week Awards, winning Multichannel Retailer of the Year. They staved off competition from the likes of Marks and Spencer, John Lewis and Halfords, and were especially commended for the ease and multitude of ways in which one can buy from Argos.

Moreover they were praised for their innovative new iPhone app, and a certain nifty little 90-minute delivery service that they offer within London! Retail Week recommends that Argos’s example be followed by other multichannel retailers… and we are inclined to agree! Their drive to innovate and willingness to trial new and exciting concepts that improve the value & convenience of their offering have given them a razor-sharp edge that keeps them at the forefront of multichannel retail.

We are immensely proud to be part of their fantastic success, albeit a very small part.

And it looks like their multi-channel strategy is working when they are able to ‘out innovate’ Amazon. Check out what one of our customers had to say yesterday:

“Argos delivery which made Argos better than Amazon, surprised but pleased. Only request? Had it delivered to my office, didn’t come in a carrier bag of any description, would have been helpful to get it home. Would have been happy to carry a Shutl branded bag…” – Katherine,WC1V 24/03/2011

Keep up the good work Argos!

Tags: argos, award, linkedin, Retail Week
Posted in Awards, Clients | No Comments »

Skip the queues and be the first to get a Nintendo 3DS with Argos & Shutl!

Friday, March 25th, 2011

Given the demand for this ‘must have’ gadget, queues on the high street are likely to go out the door, round the corner and down the road.

Wouldn’t it be great if you could get your hands on a 3DS today without wasting your day in a queue?

Good news… like all things worthwhile, the 3DS is stocked within the catalogue of dreams. Simply reserve the item at a Central London store on Argos.co.uk and then once you have confirmed your order choose to get it Shutl’d to you.

Shutl will deliver it to you within as little as 90 minutes or at a time of your choice from just £4.95. You could even get it delivered straight to the pub for maximum show-off value.

Here’s how it works:
Shutl delivery is currently available from the following 12 Argos stores:

• Whitechapel

• Old Street

• Holborn

• New Oxford Street

• Camden

• Marble Arch

• Victoria

• Kilburn

• Hammersmith

• Old Kent Road

• Kensington

• Shepherd’s Bush

To place your order just follow these simple steps:
1. Find the Nintendo 3DS on argos.co.uk (by clicking on the “Shop now” button at the bottom of this post) and check local stock .

2. Reserve the item for store pick-up from one of the 12 participating Argos stores.

3. When offered Shutl delivery, click ‘Calculate my quote’.

4. Confirm your delivery postcode and choose your shutl delivery option to get a quote.

Tags: 3DS, argos, Nintendo
Posted in Clients, Shutl HQ, blog, eCommerce | 1 Comment »

Shutl makes shoppers 48% more profitable to retailers

Tuesday, February 1st, 2011

I’m told our retailer pitch is a tad long… so thought would distil down to what really matters over a series of blog posts. This is the 2nd in the series.

Why does profitability matter?

I know this is fairly obvious but worth covering off anyway… Although a newcomer to the industry, I have pretty much gleaned that retail is all about buying low & selling high, whilst creating a shopping experience that justifies the surplus value implicit within the transaction.

It follows then that the more customers converting at the highest possible price, the better… Afterall, turnover is vanity, profit is sanity.

In my previous post I showed how Shutl improves the shopping experience – which, in turn, implicitly increases the likelihood of them returning (topic for future post). These points alone have the potential to make a significant improvement on a retailer’s bottom line, however we also see Shutl as a means for a retailer to improve the profitability of their customers by increasing both Average Order Value (AOV) and conversion (particularly of higher value purchases).

Measuring Profitability

We have pretty cool data on our retail partners, regarding both their Shutl and non-Shutl orders.

On average over the last 10 months, across all of the retailers we work with, our orders have had an AOV 131% higher (yep, you read it right… 131% higher) than across their normal (non-Shutl) orders.

Furthermore we have also discovered that our orders are, on average, 37% more likely to convert than the retailer’s normal (non-Shutl) orders.

So that brings us to some pretty interesting maths:

131% increase in AOV x 37% increase in conversion = 48% increase in gross profit

This is obviously very simplistic and assumes a fixed GP across all transactions and only consider transactions where Shutl was available as a delivery option… but you get the picture- these are BIG numbers. We aim to provide client case studies in due course with a load more detail.

If you’re a retailer and would like a ballpark estimate of just how much of an impact Shutl could make to your bottom line, punch some numbers into the nifty calculator at the bottom of the page.

Why is this?

We don’t have all the answers yet… our view on the increased conversion is that shoppers are more likely to purchase because they don’t need to worry about delivery. My previous post in the series shows just how unhappy shoppers are with standard delivery.

Perhaps AOV is more likely to be high because it is the larger baskets (size & £) where Shutl’s value proposition is most pronounced (more of a pain to collect yourself combined with the fact that delivery cost is less of an issue). There is the consideration that where we are offered against ‘click & collect’ our conversion is also enhanced since the customer does not always collect and pay for the item.

I would be the first to admit that there is certainly a question of correlation vs causality here… but higher conversion across these higher profit items is compelling enough. And when you couple that with increased customer loyalty from an awesome customer experience, you have a pretty compelling value proposition.

Our vision is for Shutl to become a real driver of AOV & conversion and we look forward to being in a position to share data from some of the implementations we are working on at the moment. Watch this space!

Tags: linkedin
Posted in Clients, Multichannel retail, blog, eCommerce | 1 Comment »

Shutl’s top 10 of 2010

Monday, January 31st, 2011

I know we are already well into 2011… but as Guy will attest I am very bad at finishing blog posts!

Here are the highlights of our first full year, in chronological order: *

1. Steven Kemp joins the launch crew as Head of Service

I was really thrilled that Steven was willing to brave working with me again for 3 key reasons:

As eCourier.co.uk’s “Head of Happiness”, Steven has managed just about every operational and customer challenge courier companies can face. This unflappable man manages the service provided by our carriers to shoppers.
Before getting diverted by couriers, Steven built B2C call centres for some of UK’s best known brands. Since our couriers are not used to interacting with consumers, our call centre manage shopper relationships day to day ensuring Shutl exceeds expectations 24/7.
Steven is a 5^th Dan blackbelt with .XLS. Seriously you should see what he has done with our internal reports. Ninja.

I would not be so impertinent as to disclose Steven’s age – let’s just say that he is as close as we get to having day-to-day adult supervision! Not that you would know it from his photo.

2. Completed integration with our first carriers

We are incredibly grateful for all the support that Excel, eCourier.co.uk & Lewis Day, our first carriers, have given us over our first year. Before we began integration we spent a lot of time with them ensuring that the proposition we were planning to take to market would be viable. We owe them and their couriers a great deal; they have provided our shoppers with a fantastic quality of service even at the height of snowmageddon.

3. First retailer live and delivery complete

Our first client was Start London, arguably East London’s premier fashion boutique. We developed a very basic module for the OS Commerce which our friends at The Technical People then implemented. Start will always be close to our hearts… not just because they are our neighbours!

4. Implement our first in-store proposition

Laithwaites, the UK’s leading direct wine merchant, were the first retailer to launch our in-store Point Of Sale (POS) delivery service. The solution allows staff at flagship store, ‘The Arch‘, at Vinopolis in Borough Market, to offer their off-line customers Shutl delivery.

We see this development as a massive opportunity to expand our delivery model into traditional retail. The service has been particularly handy for those buying cases of wine without their own transportation (it is London afterall) and also for anyone leaving birthday presents to the last minute!

5. 1^st Argos delivery!

Probably the highlight of our year was the launch of our service with the UK’s largest multi-channel retailer. When we began working with Argos we were little more than a business plan and a few lines of code! We are very grateful for the chance they took with us and the support they have given us over the year. Argos have been offering our service for free on orders over £50 and customers are loving it.

6. Completing follow-on round of investment from existing shareholders

Once we were live with Argos we raised £400k from our existing shareholders. All start-ups are reliant on the faith of their investors until they are profitable. We are very grateful for the fantastic support that all our shareholders have provided, particularly as it took a little longer than we expected to get up and running…

7. Barend & Steve join our Board!

In recognition of their growing contribution to Shutl, Steve Romney, Shutl’s CTO and Barend Van Den Brande, Managing Partner of Hummingbird Ventures were both appointed to Shutl’s Board of Directors.

Steve has been responsible for the successful launch and continued development of Shutl’s technology platform.

Barend brings a wealth of experience growing enterprise software businesses…. and a pot of cash. The pot of cash does not attend board meetings.

8. Building our on-shore development team

While we continue to work with Veriqual, an off-shore development firm based in Pakistan, we intend to build our in-house capability alongside to help us speed though our development roadmap. We have lots of cool stuff we want to bring to market.

With this in mind, David Batey joined us from Accenture in October. Our new lead developer was very excited because rather than spending his time on boring SAP integrations now he gets to mess around with elastic cloud computing & beat Guy up (on the squash court). He also gets the company of Crawford Wynnes. Crawford joined Shutl straight out of uni as our development intern… however he impressed us so much he became our full-time junior developer. Crawford provides us with no end of entertainment as he recovers from a recent tonsillectomy (and has been prescribed some pretty strong drugs).

9. Awards

As the year came to a close we were really honoured to win best Angel/VC backed business at the 2010 Startups Awards organised by Startups.co.uk. This was a great win for us since at the time of entering we had only been live a few short months with very little to show…

Over the course of the year we also won:

A Bully award at the inaugural White Bull Pathways to Exit conference- a fantastic event that I heavily endorse and not just because of the award.
The Innovate!2010 London Pitch Slam with Skimlinks
The Shell Live Wire Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2010 for London
2 trophies from the European Tech Tour for being one of the top TMT start-ups in UK & Europe

10. Integration with ROCS & ACI courier despatch software

ROCS & ACI are two of the UK’s most popular courier management software packages used by UK same-day courier firms. Both these firms have now implemented integrations with Shutl’s APIs. The result is that it is now super easy for any courier company on these platforms to start working with Shutl. This is key for us because as we are offered by more retailers and serve more of the country we are going to need a lot of couriers.

*we reserve the right to publish another post of low-points at some point in the not-too-distant future when we are fantastically successful.

Tags: linkedin
Posted in Awards, Clients, Shutl HQ, blog | No Comments »